StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Samurai Warriors - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
The Samurai warriors of Japan are synonymous with loyalty, bravery and efficiency which resulted in their strong impact upon Japanese culture and society, even after they had been forced to give up their traditional task of being warriors, who protected the interests of their masters. Topic in this paper is a samurai. Who are they?…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.4% of users find it useful
Samurai Warriors
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Samurai Warriors"

Samurai Warriors Order No. 293987 No. of pages: 4 6530 The Samurai warriors of Japan are synonymous with loyalty, bravery and efficiency which resulted in their strong impact upon Japanese culture and society, even after they had been forced to give up their traditional task of being warriors, who protected the interests of their masters. Eiko Ikegami in his book “The Taming of the Samurai” asserts that “from the late 12th century, well into the 19th, the Samurai, or landed military class were the most important and powerful actors in Japanese society.” (pp16) It is a common fallacy to think of the Samurai as fierce warriors, since the best of them were great visionaries who pursued spiritual, artistic and cultural endeavors apart from their regular, prescribed duties. “The Samurai were… the ruling class of Japan, dominating the central stage of their political theatre for centuries.” (Ikegami ,pp 9) The samurai were people of the aristocratic warrior class, but after the 12th century, it referred to all the warriors who gained power in the 12th century and ruled national politics and society up to the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The transformation of the samurai from a purely warrior class began during the Tokugawa period (1603–1867), when most of them had to take on administrative jobs as bureaucrats or else practice any kind of trade during these 250 years of relatively peaceful times. Times of peace bring about prosperity and this impacted the simple and stoical existence of the Samurai which was overtaken by the urban culture which was seeping into Japanese society. ("Samurai." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online) The shoguns of the Tokugawa, made the Samurai relinquish their farms and swords in exchange for running the bureaucracy and soon the administrative structure of Japanese polity and industry came into the efficient hands of the disciplined Samurai. Under their stewardship, the nation scaled new heights and Japan reached the zenith of its powers within a short span of 50 years and was soon seen as an equal to the nations it wished to emulate. The decline of the Samurai as warriors was completed during the Meiji period but they channeled their energies towards building a new Japan, in their capacity as “statesman, soldiers and businessmen…”(The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition) In the Meiji era, they took on positions in the military, holding some of the most important posts and the Meiji government itself accepted that the samurai were among the most intelligent as well as effective class in Japanese society. (Harootunian "The Progress" 259) With their background of martial skills, the Samurai became experts in the use of western modern arms and ammunition. By doing so the Samurai cemented their position as defenders of the nation while at the same time modernized themselves, enhancing their qualities of loyalty, honor and commitment. The government took further initiative in redefining the place of the Samurai in the modern society and went so far as to say that “Let those Samurai with ability be placed in charge of new enterprises... so that all Samurai now idle will be useful producers." (Iwakura, qtd in Smith 34) The samurai were guided by not only honor, but their agile and quick thinking warrior mindset, coupled with their inborn ideal of sacrificing their own selves for the greater good pushed them into the forefront of the modernization of Japan. “The remarkably swift and thorough program of nation-building in Meiji Japan (1868-1914) was carried out primarily by former samurai.” (Ikegami, pp 16) "Civilization and Enlightenment" was the clarion call given during the Meiji Restoration. Cultural and educational exchanges were initiated between Japan and the Western nations and some of those who went to study abroad were former Samurai, and they were chosen for this task since they were already equipped with primary education. Many of these Samurai started schools and created newspapers, and added to the literary wealth of the nation. The Samurai had their own code of conduct known as Bushido or the "The way of the Samurai", which promoted the concept of "freedom from fear". This brought in loyalty for the masters whom they served and later with the breakdown of the feudal system, this loyalty was transferred to the new masters, i.e. those in government and power. In modern days this is seen in the loyalty of workers towards their employers and of the ordinary citizen towards his country. Children are still brought up on stories of the legendary deeds of the Samurai, especially of the 47 ronin, who showed the loyalty towards the master by killing his murderer, even though the master of the Ronin was partly to be blamed for his own death. (http://asianhistory.about.com/od/warsinasia/p/SamuraiProfile.htm) A very important part of the Samurai life was to engage oneself in literary and artistic pursuits. Some of the finest gardens, buildings, poetry, landscapes, especially the rock gardens, and paintings are the handiwork of the Samurai and the renowned tea ceremony as well as the Kabuki and Noh theaters were part of the Samurai legacy in the Japanese society. It was one of the prescribed routes given to them to reach their full potential and ultimately acquire the Way. Musashi, one of the greatest Samurai is credited with creating some of the finest works in Japanese art involving paintings made with ink and brush as well as the beautiful calligraphy. He is the author of ‘The Book of Five Rings,’ which details the various ways of swordsmanship, and the strategies that he had outlined in this book were used by later 20th-century generations to fight boardroom wars in the corporate arena. He is also one of the greatest practitioners of Zen Buddhism, which is yet another remarkable legacy bequeathed not only to Japan, but to the world at large, by the Samurai. (Wilson, The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi) The Samurai, in spite of being warriors had some of the finest qualities to be found in men and writing about them Xavier said that, “among barbarous nations there can be none that has more natural goodness than the Japanese… wonderfully desirous of honor and rank… however poor… receive the same honor from the rest as if they were rich" (Varley, H. Paul Japanese culture) References Eiko Ikegami. The taming of the Samurai. Lone Samurai http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Samurai-Life-Miyamoto-Musashi/dp/product-description/477002942X "samurai." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 26 Apr. 2009 . The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved. Harootunian, Harry D. "The Progress of Japan and the Samurai Class" The Pacific Historic Review 28 (1959): 255-266 Samurai History http://asianhistory.about.com/od/warsinasia/p/SamuraiProfile.htm Smith, Thomas C. Politcal Change and Industry Development in Japan: Government Enterprise. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1955. The Disappearance of the Role of Samurai During the Meiji Restoration http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/640603/the_disappearance_of_the_role_of_samurai_pg8.html?cat=37 William Scott Wilson. The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi (Hardcover) Editorial Reviews. Varley, H. Paul Japanese culture (University of Hawaii Press, 2000) ISBN 0824821521, 9780824821524 Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Samurai Warriors Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Samurai Warriors Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1554343-samurai-warriors
(Samurai Warriors Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
Samurai Warriors Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words. https://studentshare.org/history/1554343-samurai-warriors.
“Samurai Warriors Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1554343-samurai-warriors.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Samurai Warriors

The Role of Women in Chinese Society

nother factor that contributes to the male dominance is the Samurai Warriors who were looked upon as fierce warriors and were made of all manly things.... Women are assumed to be obedient creatures subservient to men.... They are supposed to get married to a man, bear children and help… However there have been many periods where women have been given considerable freedom and civil rights....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Outline of Intercultural communication term paper

Most Samurai Warriors prefer killing the prisoner as dictated by their culture.... Samurai Warriors are supposed to serve their families and protect them.... However, cultural change is an extremely complex issue and calls for a revision of long set ideologies and… The Last samurai is a good example of how a person can undergo cultural change and effectively adapt to the new life, regardless of the hardships and complexity of the situation. After he is defeated by the samurai, Algren is brought into the samurai village where it is Due Culture Change in The Last samurai Introduction Culture refers to the ideologies of a group of people....
2 Pages (500 words) Term Paper

Analysis of Magic Treehouse Series: Night of the Ninjas

At the same time, they get an opportunity to learn much about their secrets especially before meeting the evil Samurai Warriors.... "Analysis of Magic Treehouse Series: Night of the Ninjas" paper focuses on a series of stories which was written by Mary Pope Osborne and published by the Random House Books for Young Readers in 1995....
1 Pages (250 words) Book Report/Review

Book exploration of Cooper, They Came to Japan

The book, ‘They Came to Japan' by Michael Cooper, explores the fundamental social relations in the Japanese society in the period 1543-1640, as observed by the Europeans who visited and lived within this society (Cooper, 16).... The social relations of the Japanese society was… ound to have been built around fundamental social values, which defined the interpersonal as well as the social class structure and interaction within the society....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Workplace Bullying in Japan

Japanese people view the culture as a source of inspiration especially fashion, geisha traditional dancers and Samurai Warriors wielding their two swords.... Japanese business leaders perceive themselves as Samurai Warriors and deal effectively with subordinates through bullying or issuing verbal commands that may be insulting....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Social Stratification Journal 3

The next group was the Samurai Warriors who were on the same level as the Brahmin priests in Sociology Journal 3: Global Social Stratification It was not until recently that I discovered that Japan also had its own social systems where people got divided into castes like in India.... The next group was the Samurai Warriors who were on the same level as the Brahmin priests in India....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Analysis of the War, Violence and Conflicts

The philosophy that deemed essence of Bushido undoubtedly helped to instill gallantry amongst the Samurai Warriors.... This religion/ philosophy influenced the psych of the warriors making them protect Japan from its foes.... The Japanese World War II was battled by the philosophical conceptions that significantly motivated the warriors to engage in an unrelenting battle.... The country's physical, spiritual and mental preparation for war was incredible. The cornerstone of Japan's… The samurai was cajoled into believing the philosophical teachings regarding the inevitability of death....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Seven Samurai: Warriors and Society

The author focuses on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai film which depicts the foremost epic themes widely recognized by storytellers in Western societies since ancient times—heroism, warfare, and warriors.... This essay analyzes the themes of warriors and society, and the notion of honor in the film Seven Samurai.... Seven Samurai attains its harmony of plot due to the strength of its goal, which a group of farmers show when they made a decision to hire jobless, starving warriors to back them up in their effort to rescue the village from marauders....
5 Pages (1250 words) Movie Review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us