samurai

Japanese term for the warrior class which became the ruling military elite for almost 700 years. A samurai was an armed retainer of a daimyō (large landowner) with specific duties and privileges and a strict code of honour. The system was abolished in 1869 and all samurai were pensioned off by the government.

From the 16th century, commoners were not allowed to carry swords, whereas samurai had two swords, and the higher class of samurai were permitted to fight on horseback. It is estimated that 8% of the population belonged to samurai families. A financial depression from about 1700 caused serious hardship to the samurai, beginning a gradual disintegration of their traditions and prestige, accelerated by the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, in which they had assisted. Under the new Meiji emperor, they were stripped of their role, and many rebelled. Their last uprising was the Satsuma Rebellion 1877-78, in which 40,000 samurai took part.

The rank system established by the first shogun, Yoritomo, from 1180 divided the military into kenin ‘housemen’ or vassals, mounted samurai, and foot soldiers. The code of behaviour known as bushido developed over the following centuries. Despite the emphasis on loyalty, it was not uncommon for samurai to change sides in battle. The practice of committing suicide on the death of one's daimyō, never obligatory, was banned in 1663. The great warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who unified Japan after the civil wars of the 16th century, separated samurai from their rural base (many had farmed their land in peacetime) and made them live in castle towns. He also introduced a land-taxation system based on rice, and every samurai received a stipend of rice proportionate to his status. All the needs of the samurai household had to be provided for by the sale of surplus rice, and when rice rose less quickly in price than other commodities, the samurai became poorer and poorer. There were also no spoils of war to supplement their resources during the peaceful Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867). Instead, the samurai became bureaucratic administrators and often scholars. After the Meiji restoration, the introduction of universal conscription 1872 ended their military role, and their stipends were converted to government bonds 1876.

Miyamoto Musashi is a classic samurai hero.