The samurai were the warrior nobility of Japan and are probably most famous for their code of honour and loyalty and their consummate ability to wield the famous katana.

The purpose of this article is to give a brief outline for the warriors known as samurai beginning with their history together with brief descriptions concerning their arms and armour. More in-depth details can be found in other articles on this website.

A Brief History

The first samurai were a class of wealthy landowners and their followers who were summoned to the imperial court for predominantly military duties, including the suppression of bandits and any opponents to the imperial throne. The first use of the term 'samurai', which means 'those who serve', first appears in a military context in the 10th century and at this time they were predominantly horsemen who fought with bow and arrow, essentially horse archers. By the 11th century the samurai grew in power and the two most powerful were the clans of Taira and Minamoto. Disputes over the succession to the throne soon broke out and culminated into the conflict known as the Gempei War in 1180 fought between the leading families of these clans. Finally in 1185 the Taira clan was defeated and in 1192 the Minamoto leader, Yoritomo, became Japan's first shogun or military dictator and the emperor was deprived of any political power. Originally the title was a temporary office and was given to a samurai with a commission to hunt rebels against the imperial throne. Now the title was permanent and was to last until as recently as 1867 when the last shogun, Yoshinobu Tokugawa, renounced his power to the imperial throne thus heralding the Meiji era and the subsequent modernisation of Japan.

The only real threat to the samurai came in the form of the Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281. The first was a raid directed on the southern island of Kyushu but the second was an earnest attempt by the Mongol emperor of China, Kublai Khan, to conquer. By now the samurai had developed rules of battle whereby the brave and noble samurai warrior declares his name and some of his exploits, together with those of his illustrious ancestors, to his enemy. Then a dignified combat ensues with the loser having his head nobly hewed off. But when the samurai came out to display their usual defiance in the face of the enemy they were slaughtered by showers of Mongol arrows. Luckily for the Japanese the Mongols retreated after their first invasion due to a storm. The second time the samurai were ready and held no fear for an enemy that had conquered a huge empire and struck terror wherever they went. A large coastal wall was built and the Japanese confronted the two Mongol invasion fleets carrying 150,000 men. Amazingly the samurai met them in small boats and attempted to harass and burn their ships. Luck yet again smiled on the Japanese forces as a typhoon of monumental strength - the famous kami-kaze or divine wind - came down and destroyed the best part of the Mongol force.

Japan remained more or less under the rule of the shogunate despite attempts by the imperial throne to restore its authority over the bakufu heralding the 'Wars between the Courts' or the Nanbokucho Wars between 1336 to 1392. A northern court was established by Ashikaga Takauji who installed a puppet emperor at Kyoto. Meanwhile Emperor Go-Daigo established his own court in Yoshino in the south. In 1338 Ashikaga was made Shogun by the Northern emperor and despite the best efforts of the south could not be overthrown. The south claimed true lineage to the imperial throne because they possessed the sacred relics yet by the 1370s they had been all but defeated. Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu finally defeated them and unified the courts after it was agreed that the imperial throne would alternate between the North and South. The last Southern emperor, Go Kameyama, returned the relics to Kyoto and that was the last the South saw of them. The Northern emperors have thus remained on the throne ever since.

Nevertheless more attempts were made to undermine the Northern court by the supporters of the Southern court and this culminated in the Onin War of 1467-1477. The Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, wanted to abdicate and, because he had no son, brought his brother Yoshimi out of his monastery with the intention of passing the position onto him. However, Ashikaga's wife gave birth to a son not long afterwards and the most powerful rivals in the land saw it as an ideal opportunity to wage war on one another. Yamana Sozen threw his support behind the young infant son, Yoshihisa, while his bitter rival Hosokawa Katsumoto pledged his support for Yoshimi. Kyoto became the battle ground as the two sides competed for supremacy and it wasn't long before the fighting spilt out onto neighbouring provinces as other feudal lords, encouraged by the breakdown in bakufu power, sought to increase their power.

The ensuing breakdown in civil power produced the period known as the Sengoku Jidai or the 'Age of Warring States' (between 1467 and 1638) where the old shugo or military governors, who ruled Japan on the Shogun's behalf, became feudal rulers in their own right: they were the first daimyo, which literally means 'great names'. This period saw the gradual increase in size of Japanese armies as the more powerful daimyo absorbed the lesser ones and the pivotal introduction of gunpowder weapons in 1543. As the ashigaru increased in importance the samurai of old - the mounted archer - could no longer survive and was for the most part a spearman either on horseback or foot. Furthermore it was no longer necessary to possess the sacred relics to legitimize one's right to rule: military might now mattered more as the daimyo waged all out war. The most powerful daimyo of the period was Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Ultimately it was Tokugawa Ieyasu who finally provided Japan with stability and became Shogun in 1603 which heralded the Tokugawa era or Edo period.

The Tokugawa era lasted from 1603 to 1867 and although they ruled with an iron fist there was lasting peace. Society was divided up between the warriors, samurai and ashigaru, who were at the top; then the peasants and farmers; followed by the merchants; and then the outcasts, many of which were criminals. The daimyo had to submit their families to the Shogun who were held as virtual hostages in his castle at Edo in order to cement their loyalty to him for their lives would be at risk if the daimyo stepped out of line. Accompanied by a huge entourage each year the daimyo had to journey to Edo in order to pay their respects to the Shogun and no doubt this was designed to impoverish them. With major battles becoming something of a shadow of the past the samurai had little to do and many became government officials while others became ronin or wanderers. The Exclusion Edict of 1638 closed the island of Japan to all but China, Korea, and a small number of Protestant Dutch merchants. From this moment on Christians were persecuted and anti-Western feelings were rife.

Finally in 1854 the American Commodore Perry forced the Tokugawa shogunate to open its doors and sign a treaty of friendship with the United States. Other nations followed suit and for the first time in over two centuries Japan embraced the international community. This isolation had made Japan military weak compared to the major powers of Great Britain, France and the United States, as they were still using matchlock guns and swords. Japan abolished the old regime with incredible speed as she attempted to modernise. The last Tokugawa shogun Yoshinobu handed power back to the emperor, Meiji, in 1867 and the road to modernity continued apace. Traditionalists thought that the emperor would maintain their values but instead he embraced the West with vigour. First, in 1871 the samurai were stripped of their privileges; then in 1874 the old feudal system was abolished followed in 1876 by the prohibition of wearing two swords. The samurai it seemed were well and truly finished. However, in 1877 Sago Takamori, 'the last samurai', attempted to fight against this Westernising tide and rose in rebellion with an army of samurai. But this failed against the modern army of Emperor Meiji and Sago committed seppuku (suicide) once defeat was in sight.

Samurai Armour

The armour worn by the samurai is probably very recognisable to most people with its characteristic crested helmet and face mask, large, square-like shoulder guards and colourful armoured body plates to give its box-like appearance. But there were subtle variations over the centuries and the face mask, for example, was only introduced in the 16th century. The box-like armour or yoroi suit developed in the 10th century probably as a result of the samurai's military role as an equestrian archer. It was mostly comprised of many small plates made from iron or leather laced together to form a composite piece. To give the armour more solidity the horizontal sections of the plates were joined together by vertical rows of thick silk cords. The shoulder guards or sode, the do or body armour, and the skirt pieces or kusazuri, would be made from this composite material. To give it protection from the elements the armour was also lacquered. The finest armour was the o-yoroi or 'great armour' worn by many samurai generals and it was characteristic for its rich, gilded decorations and large kuwagata or ornamental antlers; unlike the Vikings samurai did adopt a fashion of wearing horns on their helmets.

By the 14th century samurai were fighting more and more on foot and battles were on a larger scale. As a result the yoroi style armour was gradually giving way to the do-maru or a wrap round style of body armour and this looked less box-like. Like the yoroi the do-maru was suspended from the shoulders but was made in such a way that it could be wrapped round the body. The large and rather bulky armoured apron of the kusazuri developed into several armoured flaps to make it more manageable and allow for more freedom of movement on foot. For added protection to the legs thigh guards or haidate were introduced.

In the 16th century, during the Sengoku Jidai, the rounder do-maru style of armour was commonplace. Other styles also emerged including the nuinobe-do and the namban-do. The former was armour comprised of large scales and the latter was armour incorporating European styles. For example, a namban-do might incorporate a European breastplate and similarly a samurai might wear a European helmet with a shikoro or neck guard added to it. A further innovation was the addition of a face mask or mempo to protect the face which often bore moustaches made from horsehair, the nose part could often be removed.

Because armies were on a much larger scale than before, the 16th century saw the adoption of the sashimono which was a small flag attached to the back of the do. This banner bore the mon or badge of the samurai's clan and served to identify him and his allegiance.

Samurai Weapons

For centuries the primary samurai weapon was the longbow (rather than the sword) and it was usually operated on horseback. Where European knights fought duels using swords samurai would often fight archery duels. It was considered the mark of a warrior if one was proficient with a longbow and a martial art developed to master the practice on horseback called yabusame the 'way of horse and bow'; this involved releasing arrows at three targets while on the gallop. The longbow itself was made from deciduous wood faced with bamboo and was reinforced with a binding of rattan to further strengthen the composite weapon together. Like the spear the longbow was also lacquered to waterproof it. The length of the weapon was considerable, just over two metres, and was bent in the shape of a double curve. The bowstring was made from a fibrous substance originating from plants (usually hemp or ramie) and was coated with wax to give a hard smooth surface and in some cases it was necessary for two people to string the bow. It took a lot of training to be proficient with the longbow because of the strength needed to draw it.

More developments occurred in the Sengoku Jidai. Armies were much larger than before and the foot soldiers, the lower class ashigaru ('light feet'), were becoming more professional, better equipped and better trained. Larger bodies of ashigaru were carrying longbows and were then superceded by equally large contingents armed with the new arquebus. The samurai had to change if they were to survive in this new era of conflict. The sear or mochi-yari ('held spear') was the preferred battlefield weapon and varied in length between 3.2 metres to 4 metres with blades between 10cm to 1.5 metres long. This enabled the samurai to deliver a charge against the ranks of ashigaru foot soldiers. Fighting techniques developed in the use of the spear so that the samurai spearman would be ready for any situation be it on horseback, foot, or from the battlements of a castle. Nevertheless equestrian archery was still valued in a samurai despite the military advances of the period. Samurai could even be found using the arquebus.

But the weapon most associated with the samurai is the sword or specifically the katana. It was the symbol of his status in society and the instrument by which he would keep it. The blade was on average 70cm long, slightly curved and was polished to a razor-edged finish although only on one side. When worn with the blade facing upwards and through the sash or belt the blade was known as a katana but when it was facing down with the scabbard suspended it was known as a tachi. The samurai also carried the short sword or wakizashi which was an average length of 50cm and was merely a shorter version of the katana. When worn together the set was known as the daisho or two swords. Both the katana and wakizashi were used for close combat and were primarily cutting weapons. The wakizashi could also be used to behead an enemy or for ritual suicide.

Further Reading

Samurai Armies (Osprey Publishing) - Anthony J Bryant.

Samurai 'The World of the Warrior' - Stephen Turnbull.

Secrets of the Samurai - Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook.

Warriors of Medieval Japan - Stephen Turnbull.