Brief History of the Samurai

When most people think about the samurai they picture a warrior with unique armor and the unique sword called the katana. But the samurai were warriors in premodern Japan who used weapons that weren't only katanas but also guns, spears, bows, and arrows. The early samurais were mostly hired by wealthy landlords who wanted to be independent of the emperor. The age of samurai is said to begin in 1185 when land owners of feudal Japan rose to power with this new warrior class, some samurai who were wealthy or gained wealth were also the holders of power. Samurai were also called the bushi who lived their lives in conformity with the philosophy of bushido, otherwise known as the way of the warrior.

While some samurais lived their lives according to the teachings of Zen Buddhism, most samurai followed the seven principles of bushido while shaping their lives. The seven virtues of bushido are integrity, respect, heroic courage, honor, compassion, honesty and sincerity, and lastly duty and loyalty. The first known samurai was called Taira no Masakado. Taira no Masakado was a powerful and wealthy landowner who is known as a samurai for leading the first self-governing party. Samurais received their payments as rice from the lords they served, their feudal lords were also called daimyo. Samurais who didn't serve any lord or master were called ronin. When Japan's feudal period ended in 1868, the warriors which were known as samurai came to extinction.