Japan is a country of brave samurai and brave shoguns. The whole world knows about the valor and courage of Japanese soldiers. Samurai are an integral part of Japanese culture, its distinctive symbol. Any warrior could envy the loyalty and discipline of the samurai.
Who are they, servants of their state, desperate warriors or masters of their land?
Samurai means “warrior” in Japanese. This word also has several other meanings - “serve”, “support”, “servant”, “vassal” and “subordinate”. That is, a samurai is a warrior who serves his state and fiercely defends it.
From ancient Japanese chronicles it is known that the samurai was a nobleman (nothing in common with European nobles). They were engaged not only in military operations. In peacetime, samurai served the highest princes and were their bodyguards.
Who is a samurai
The name war “samurai” appeared as a derivative of the verb 侍ふ “saburau”, denoting the action - “to serve”, the translation is a serving person.
The first mention of them appears in medieval Japan during the reign of Shogun Minamoto, in the 12th century. Since these times were described as a relatively calm era, the number of samurai was small, and the wars themselves were more engaged in peaceful affairs, that is, raising children and teaching martial arts
When the Japanese clan of Tokugawa shoguns came to power, the position of the samurai changed dramatically. Their number increased, they had their own Code of Honor, in which the main place was occupied by the law of “Bushido”. Following which, the samurai must worry about the life and honor of his master and obey unquestioningly, and also not spare his life for the sake of the master.
So, the first samurai were bodyguards and loyal servants. There is mention of police forces being replaced in times of peace. For honest performance of duties, they received good pay and land plots, becoming wealthy people.
By the seventeenth century, the samurai classes had taken shape and were divided:
Hatamoto are vassals of the shogun, a privileged class.
Daimyo are vassals of princes.
Ronins - warriors who lost their master, but did not die in battle, became townspeople and artisans.
Shinobi are the Japanese equivalent of ninjas, assassins.
But already at the end of the 18th century, the samurai class began to disintegrate as a result of the progress of the Japanese bourgeoisie. Most turned into farmers and traders, some went into religious cults, a small part of those who disagreed died as rebels.
Meiji (1868-1912), Taisho (1912-26) and Showa (part of 1926-45, including World War II)[edit]
Although the samurai as a class was disbanded during the Meiji Revolution, the samurai spirit still lives and is used with might and main in Japanese propaganda. After all, we must raise cannon fodder who are ready to die for the emperor and the great Yamato. In Soviet propaganda during the times of Hassan, Khalkhin Gol and the Great Patriotic War, the meaning is the same, but here the samurai are evil officers who unquestioningly serve the imperialist emperor and the bourgeoisie (“That night the samurai decided / To cross the border by the river...”). And in American propaganda of the same years, they are generally bloodthirsty monsters who need to be
destroy. The Japanese themselves fully contributed to this image.
On the other hand, at least in relation to the Great Powers (the Chinese and Koreans are a separate conversation), in the Meiji era the Japanese tried in every possible way to observe politeness and generally accepted customs - first of all, so that they would be considered civilized people by Europeans. During the Russo-Japanese and First World Wars, Japanese soldiers, on the contrary, were considered perhaps the most correct and courteous in the world. However, starting from about the middle of the Taisho era, the military elite began to develop the opinion, inflated by some nationalist philosophers, that the Japanese, as the descendants of the gods, were by definition better than everyone, which means “down with shame” - and the province began to dance... However, until Pearl Harbor, when the war took place only in China, without affecting the European colonies in Asia, the Japanese continued to behave with the Europeans and Americans in an emphatically polite manner, without any embarrassment towards the Chinese.
Education and development of a samurai
Since samurai in Japan were great and legendary characters, and before going to bed, parents told fairy tales and legends about them, from an early age they wanted to be like them, as brave and courageous. The children of the samurai were proud of their fathers and tried to grow up as worthy successors of the family and tradition.
In order to raise such a warrior, it was necessary to develop a multi-level process, starting from the earliest years.
Honoring the samurai code, children were raised in unquestioning obedience to their elders and full confidence that the man was the only head of the family. In addition, Iemoto's technique was studied, woven from strict rules of discipline and behavior that could not be violated.
History has preserved a description of how little samurai were trained for future severe trials. In addition to the mandatory mastery of various martial arts, it was considered necessary to completely master one’s own body and spirit. Warriors must endure pain without betraying their feelings through groans or other signs. It was also required to calmly and honorably obey the orders of the elder.
In the Middle Ages, boys were given a test of endurance, for example, they sat in a cold room for several days in darkness and hunger, but did not allow themselves a single complaint. Some fathers may have forced their sons to spend nights in the cemetery, not sleep, walk without shoes in cold weather, or do difficult jobs.
The most important age when a child was already considered a future warrior is 5 years old, after the samurai sword Bokken was presented. From this moment, active training in fencing and self-defense begins, as well as mastering the skills of swimming and staying in the saddle. Since the samurai is next to his master, he must be literate, write beautifully and correctly, know the history of his country and literature in order to support any dialogue. It is also advisable to understand music, philosophy and master some craft in order to feed yourself and your family.
Having walked this long path, at the age of 15 the boy became a warrior, that is, a samurai.
Samurai image
The key feature of a samurai's costume, his identification, is daisho. These are two curved iron swords. Since swords were sacred, that is, sacred objects, they were treated with great respect, looked after daily and cherished as a part of themselves. When going to bed, the sword was placed at the head of the bed, and during the day it was kept on a special wooden stand, at which the servant stood.
Additionally, each warrior had a katana, resembling a saber about 75 cm long.
yumi bow , which was revered in the same way as swords and was considered an animate object endowed with great power. It reaches a length of 2 meters.
Samurai armor was a suit of metal plates covered with leather and connected with lacing, weighing about 15 kg.
In Praise of Simplicity
Important features of the samurai image were its simplicity, sincerity and naturalness. The hero of the early gunki is a straightforward person, which was not always good, but at the same time invariably sincere and honest. Even aristocrats did not escape the charm of the “savage” simplicity and truthfulness of samurai. In addition, external asceticism and undemandingness in everyday life became the ideal of samurai culture long before the dominance of the principles of “wabi-sabi” in Japanese aesthetics began. In an attempt to preserve the unity of the fragile, changeable world of medieval samurai, the political leaders of the military class actually proclaimed the first step to be a return to the way of life of the times when, on a campaign, a warrior slept on the ground, ate simple food, and put his own helmet or hand under his head rather than a pillow.
In addition, in the early stories, the samurai begin to show traits of powerful collectivism, but at the same time, collectivism is based not on blood ties (which very quickly lose significance in the context of the institutional history of the samurai), but on economic and geographical ties. This approach enhanced the tragedy of the story, since representatives of the same family were often forced to fight each other. The samurai were united by a commitment to a certain way of life and strict obedience to the specific norms, rules and customs of a particular military house. The texts often emphasize personal loyalty to the master, while the samurai might not be devoted to the common cause, but loyalty to his overlord was considered mandatory. The predominance of personal connections over collective interests is another integral feature of the samurai in early war stories.
Famous samurai in history
Today it seems that samurai are characters from distant fairy tales, but in Japan they remember and honor famous warriors:
Taira no Kiyomori (1118 - 1181) the creator of the first management system and at the same time was a warrior politician who was able to suppress the uprising and become the head of 2 clans of warriors in Kyoto. Later he was able to become related to Emperor Takakura and actively participate in the transfer of the throne to his grandson.
Benkei (1155 – 1189) is a favorite of children and a hero of Japanese folklore, in which he is described as the child of a demon or even God. In history he is described as a two-meter tall and invincible warrior who did something unimaginable during every battle. The heroic death of a samurai after he remained, even dead, standing covered in wounds and arrows received the historical name “Benkei’s Standing Death.”
Hattori Hanzo (1542 - 1596) famous ninja. He first felt the taste of victory at the age of 16, and his enemies were afraid of him because they believed that he was able to disappear, foresee the future and influence the psyche of his enemies. In old age he became a monk.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536 – 1598) went from a simple peasant to the second great unifier of Japan. He demanded that civilians be prohibited from carrying weapons, built many temples and actively fought against Christianity.
Oda Nobunaga (1534 – 1582) Changed the art of war by introducing the use of firearms and long pikes, and changed the warrior class system so that it was based solely on ability.
Miyamoto Musashi (1584 – 1685) is considered the greatest swordsman in Japanese history. He founded his own technique of fighting with two swords, and also wrote many books on the philosophy of war, strategy and tactics. In his life he was never defeated in a duel.
Eastern barbarians
The first works that describe the character and lifestyle of samurai include gunki (“war stories”), which appeared in the 12th-14th centuries. Gunkas were written by aristocrats, since in the early stages of its development the samurai movement was poorly educated, and the samurai, due to his specific professional activity, assigned an insignificant role to science and art. The samurai contrasted the ossified courtly, feminine, sensual world of the Heian aristocracy with a dynamic culture based on brutality and masculinity.
At court, samurai were often called “eastern barbarians,” since most of them came from the Kanto Plain, located in the east of the country. Samurai, who did not know how to compose poetry and have a subtle sense of the world around them, occupied a very low position in the eyes of the aristocrats; they were rude, uneducated people, more suited to shedding blood than maintaining a pleasant conversation. Samurai from the Kanto Plain were engaged in agriculture (lower ranks) and providing security for vast fiefs. The aristocrats treated the samurai who came from the western lands of Japan a little better. Western samurai were involved in trade relations between Japan and China and led a more relaxed lifestyle, allowing them to devote more time to science and art.
In the text Heike Monogatari (Tales of the House of Taira), one of the characters describes the difference between Eastern and Western samurai. “It will be difficult to fight the eastern samurai,” says the hero of the story, “because if during a battle between the western samurai a son dies, the battle stops for a day, if the father - for a week, until all the mourning ceremonies are celebrated, the samurai of the east fight until the end and only then are sadness and mourning given. If provisions run out, the Western samurai suspend the military campaign until a new harvest is harvested. Eastern samurai wage war no matter what, limiting their needs and thereby achieving victory.” Of course, this is a somewhat idealized representation of the 13th century samurai. about ourselves. But it very well conveys the perception of differences in the worldview and lifestyle of the Kanto and Kansai warriors.
Samurai in modern culture
Samurai in Japan today remain an example of a unique personality, combining the traits of a brave warrior, a sophisticated poet and an inspired artist who was not afraid to die in battle and was able to leave a magnificent dying poem, committing ritual suicide.
The active penetration of Eastern culture into the Western world made it possible to place this image on the pages of books, in films, and of course was reflected in the anime culture, giving rise to various manga, cartoons and embodied in stylized costumes.
