Preview

Why Was The Samurai Important In History

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
463 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Was The Samurai Important In History
Samurai, warriors that fought to show respect and honor to their ancestors and community. Samurai was placed in the middle of the social pyramid this means that the samurais did not have too little or too much power. Samurai are very important in history because, they would take on Seppuku which is a ritual suicide and these warriors swords had a special significance.
To begin with, the ritual suicide that the Samurai would perform is significant because, assuming that the Samurai were to lose in a battle they would have to regain their honor. For instance in the website AsianHistory.About.com it says,“ Often times Samurai who were defeted but not killed in battle were allowed to commit suicied in order to regain their honor”. (Kallie Szczepanski. This quote shown above means that Samurai really cared about dying in honor and doing whatever it takes to please what they believed in. Furthermore from the same website is “Sometimes, Seppuku was used
…show more content…
Samurai's always carried two swords with them at all times. The two swords are named the katana and the wakizashi. On the website HistoryNet.com it says,“Indeed, a sword was considered such a crucial part of a samurai’s life that when a young samurai was about to be born, a sword was brought into the bedchamber during the delivery. “(Murphy,2006). “The site shown above explains how important the two swords are to the Samurai by mentioning that the two swords are given to the Samurai when it is born. Another really important piece of information, also found on HistoryNet.com is,”A Samurai sword made the finished product not only a noteworthy weapon of war but also a cherished work of art.” (Murphy,2006). What the reference above means is that these two swords are an important part of Japan's Art. As an outcome the Samurai's swords have been passed down for generations and will always remember the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    To begin with the famous Samurai I’m researching is a man by the name of Tokugawa Leyasu. Tokugawa Leyasu was a famous and important samurai warrior due to the fact that he stands tall as possibly the most famous samurai of all time, and the only one of the three great unifiers of Japan (other 2 were Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi) to be crowned shogun.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The samurai represent strength. While recovering from a very challenging illness, Stephen in Gail Tsukiyama’s The Samurai’s Garden leaves Hong Kong and travels to the small beach town of Tarumi to recuperate. Here, he befriends the home’s servant and many other members of the area as well. After many months of living in the town, Stephen experiences many situations in which Matsu remains strong in the face of adversity. However, upon discovering his best friend’s dead body, Matsu begins deteriorating. “Since I’d arrived in Tarumi, Matsu had been the anchor and I was the one afloat. I wasn’t ready to switch places,” (Tsukiyama 102). Through his recovery in Tarumi, Stephen has constantly relied on Matsu’s strength to heal and learn. Without Matsu’s…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Knights Vs Samurai Dbq

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In document E written by Sir Thomas Malory it says “ to be loyal to the king, to give mercy to those asking it…” In the piece “to give mercy to those asking it” meant that they would not hurt you if you asked for mercy. Therefore, if you were a knight and a samurai asked for mercy, you would not kill. Due to that belief, it gave the samurai’s an advantage. Also, in the same text it also mentions that the knights are to do no wicked deed. They could not do anything wrong or make a fool of themselves. It would not be right if they hurt…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The warrior class would rule society and politics in Japan until the Tokugawa Shogunate in the nineteenth century. A samurai was a member of the Japanese elite and his lifestyle was dictated by a series of strict moral codes and ideals. True loyalty to his lord was expected, if not always followed through in its ideal form. In 1703 a vendetta carried out by forty-six former vassals avenging their lord 's death would come to be viewed as the embodiment of samurai ideals. Playwrights and storytellers have used the story of the valiant and devoted retainers many times since, due to the tale 's immense popularity in Japan. What would go on to be called "the most famous and popular work in the entire Japanese…

    • 1658 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Samurai Dbq Analysis

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The first way that Samurai's have an advantage is because of their weapons. In a video made by Terry Schappert, t says that the sword called the Katana has a very good grip and it is mainly used to cut and slice. This is a good thing because the handle is made out of sting ray skin, so it has a leathery structure. Since it is used for cutting and slicing, it would be easy to use in battle. Another piece of evidence that supports the claim is in document D written by Terry Bennett. it says "The body of the armor had four parts. Samurai did not wear armor on their right arm so they could easily draw their bow." They don't have armor on their right arm, so it might be easier to shoot with their arrow. But the bad part is that if the armor gets wet, it becomes very very heavy.…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Samurai lived by the code of Bushido, which emphasized on the rule that they should respect and honor those above them on the social class. And they should obey all the commanders. On the contrary, the reality is a large percentage of samurai become jobless and homeless at the end of Tokugawa Era. Less of governmental offices can provide them occupations as the long period of peace for 200 years. So without war, the samurai’s role and life style dramatically changed since there was no more…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In document E written By Yamaga Soko it says Outwardly he stands in Physical readiness for any call to service and inwardly he strives to fulfill the Way.” Samurais were physically and mentally ready. Samurais would be calm, but when they were called to fight, they were ready and would fight till the end. Another piece that shows that Samurais OR Knights could win is in document E also but written by Sir Thomas Malory. It states, ¨...Solemnly promising to do, not wicked deed, to be loyal to the king, to give mercy to those asking it.” Samurais were also loyal to their king(emperor), but knights gave mercy to anybody who was willing to ask for it. Knights were warriors in Europe but when they did not have to kill, they didn´t. They still fought at the best of their…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Samurai didn’t wear armor or any protection on their right arm so they could easily draw their bow without any trouble(Document C). This made it easier for them to kill a knight or anyone who they were in conflict with. This was also very dangerous because, their arm would be vulnerable to anything that it came in contact with which then you would have one less arm. Their armor created a “shell” that provided both mobility and protection(Document C). A knight’s armor was really heavy to move as quickly, but they were very well protected from anything. This “Shell” like armor that the samurai wore made it easier to move and they were also protected. For these reasons that even though a samurai has good protection and great mobility, doesn’t mean he couldn’t…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In medieval Japan, the relationship between warriors and clan chiefs was very intense. An outcome of this feudal arrangement was a strict code of warrior behavior emerged known as Bushido (way of the warrior), which called upon warrior to sacrifice his life for his master. Such an act was thought of as the highest from of honor and respect. It was during the twelfth century that these warriors became known as samurai, meaning “those who serve.” Although the samurai were mainly soldiers, many excelled in the arts and philosophy. In these pursuits, the samurai normally showed the same type of discipline that characterized their martial…

    • 3342 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The samurai (or bushi) were the soldiers of premodern Japan. They later created up the ruling military category that eventually became the best ranking social caste of the Edo amount (1603-1867). Samurai used a variety of weapons like bows and arrows, spears and guns, however their main weapon and image was the arm.…

    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Knights Dbq

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To begin Knights and Samurai have a lot of common traits, but they also have differences. Traits that they both share are, they are warriors who protect their land. But a difference is that they have different weapons,armor,training and different religions. While knights and samurai have many similarities, in a one on one battle, the advantage would be given to the knight and this can be seen in their training,armor,and their Honor Code.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Samurai Knights Dbq

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Social Position: The first area of important similarities was social position. They have a comparison of both of their lords, lesser lords, kings, both military, classes and peasants. These similarities are significant because both Samurai and knights showed great loyalty to their lords.The samurai warriors who owed loyalty and military service to daimyos for land or regular payment. According to Document A: Social Pyramids, with families the Samurai’s made up to 10%of Japan's…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Samurai were a little higher up than Knights in the feudal social order. In the social order in feudal Japan if you were a Samurai you were a warrior who owed loyalty and military service to Dalmyos for land or regular payment. All of the Samurai plus their family made up about ten percent of Japans population. Now, Knights on the other hand were warriors who owed loyalty and military service to a lord for land. There were about twelve thousand Knights in England and Normany France in the twelfth century. (Documents A, B)…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    - Each lord surrounded himself with a body guard of loyal warriors called samurai. They were expected to show reckless courage, reverence for the gods and dying an honorable death was judged more important than living a long life.…

    • 7725 Words
    • 31 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the first battle scene the Japanese army is unprepared even though that had a huge advantage over the samurai as far as technology goes. The samurai used bow and arrows, swords, spears, and rode on horseback. They wore traditional dress such as large metal armor and ornate headpieces. The Japanese army wore modern outfits and fired their arms in synchronized lines. The samurai reigned victorious. It was considered an honor among the samurai to die in battle while fighting for what they believed in. They practiced a form of suicide known as hari cari if they were disloyal. Even if they were wounded in battle and were soon to die, they'd rather kill themselves then be defeated by the enemy. The American general is captured as a prisoner and brought back to the samurai village. He is taught "bushida" or the ways of the warriors. The village was very primitive and showed no signs of being modernized. Women were subordinate to men, which was shown when Taka was forced to obey her brother. These people were very religious and practiced a form of Buddhism which included deep meditation.…

    • 545 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays