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{{Short description|Japanese warrior class}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}{{Use British English|date=January 2025}}
[[File:Koboto Santaro, a Japanese military commander Wellcome V0037661.jpg|thumb|A samurai in [[Japanese armour|his armour]] in the 1860s. [[Hand-colouring of photographs|Hand-colored photograph]] by [[Felice Beato]]]]
The '''samurai''' ({{lang|ja|侍}}) were members of the elite warrior class in [[Japan]] before the industrial era. In the most common usage of the word, it specifically refers to the warrior retainers of Japan's lords.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/americanaunivers09newy/page/n247/mode/2up?q=samurai ''The Americana Volume 9'' (1908)]: "In a wide sense it included the whole of the military nobility, the warrior class: though in a more usual and restricted sense, it meant the inferior nobility exclusive of the ''daimyo''"</ref> The samurai and their lords were the ''de facto'' rulers of Japan from 1185 to 1869.

In 1853, the United States forced Japan to open its borders to foreign trade under the threat of military action. Fearing an eventual invasion, the Japanese abandoned [[feudalism]] for [[capitalism]] so that they could industrialize and build a modern army. The adoption of modern firearms rendered the traditional weapons of the samurai obsolete, and as firearms are easy enough for peasant conscripts to learn, Japan had no more need for a specialized warrior [[caste]]. By 1876 the special rights and privileges of the samurai had all been abolished.

==Terminology==
The proper Japanese term for a warrior is {{nihongo|''bushi''|武士}}<ref name="History of the Samurai">{{cite book |last1=Lopez-Vera |first1=Jonathan |title=History of the Samurai |date=2020 |publisher=Tuttle |isbn=9781462921348 }}</ref> and the word {{nihongo|''buke''|武家}} meant "warrior family".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Louis-Frédéric |title=Japan encyclopedia |date=2002 |publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674017535 }}</ref> ''Bushi'' was not applied to any kind of fighter. For those who called themselves ''bushi'', war was their way of life and identity, as opposed to conscripts or militia. It was also a term for elite warriors, particularly those who fought on horseback. During the early Edo period, a warrior was only considered a member of the ''bushi'' class if he was a public servant, which among other things entitled him to a stipend.<ref>''The Cambridge History of Japan Volume 4: Early Modern Japan'', p. 95: "The warrior of early modern times was recognized as being of the warrior class only when he was a member of the ''kōgi'' group. Individual warriors did not possess their own land and live on it independently; their income from a fief or stipend, under conditions created by Hideyoshi and continued by the Tokugawa, was guaranteed by their belonging to the ''kōgi'' group."</ref>

In the Japanese language, the word ''samurai'' was colloquial and its meaning varied over the centuries. The word ''samurai'' originally referred to domestic servants and did not have military connotations. As the term gained military connotations in the 12th century, it referred to landless footsoldiers who served the ''gokenin''. The ''gokenin'' were warrior vassals to the shogun.<ref name="Weapons of the Samurai">{{cite book |last1=Turnbull |first1=Stephen |title=Weapons of the Samurai |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9781472844026 |ref=Weapons of the Samurai}}</ref><ref name="The Lost Samurai">{{cite book |last1=Turnbull |first1=Stephan |title=The Lost Samurai |date=2021 |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |isbn=9781526758996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JP0hEAAAQBAJ}}</ref> According to Michael Wert, "a warrior of elite stature in pre-seventeenth-century Japan would have been insulted to be called a samurai".<ref>{{Citation |last=Wert |first=Michael |title=Becoming those who served |date=2021-04-01 |work=Samurai: A Very Short Introduction |pages=4–11 |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/32797/chapter/274542399 |access-date=2024-07-05 |edition=1 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/actrade/9780190685072.003.0002 |isbn=978-0-19-068507-2|url-access=subscription }}</ref> According to Morillo, the term marked social function, and not military function.<ref name=":22">Morillo, Stephen. “[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281209156 Milites, Knights and Samurai: Military Terminology, Comparative History, and the Problem of Translation].” In ''The Normans and Their Adversaries at War'', ed. Richard Abels and Bernard Bachrach, 167–84. Woodbridge: Boydell, 2001. "Finally there is the term samurai. This noun derives from the verb saburau, to serve, and it is again a social marker, though it marks social function and not class, It means a retainer of a lord - usually, in the sixteenth century, the retainer of a daimyo, a leader of one of the essentially independent states of the Sengoku, or warring states period. It has no functional component - all sorts of soldiers, including pikemen, bowmen, musketeers and horsemen were samurai"</ref> In the Tokugawa period, the terms were roughly interchangeable, as the military class was legally limited to the retainers of the shogun or daimyo. However, strictly speaking samurai referred to higher ranking retainers, although the cut off between samurai and other military retainers varied from domain to domain.<ref name="Vaporis">{{cite book |last=Vaporis |first=Constantine Nomikos |title=Samurai. An Encyclopedia of Japan's Cultured Warriors |date=2019 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-4270-2 |publication-place=Santa Barbara, California |page=114}}</ref> Also usage varied by class, with commoners referring to all sword carrying men as samurai, regardless of rank.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tokitsu |first1=Kenji |title=Introduction to the Complete Book of Five Rings |date=2010 |publisher=Shambhala |isbn=9780834821996 }}</ref>

==History==
===Rise of the warrior clans (700 - 1180 AD)===
At the start of the 8th century AD, Japan's government was highly centralized at the imperial court, whose bureaucracy was inspired by T'ang dynasty China. All land at first belonged to the emperor, ie in the public domain (''kokugaryō''), but in the middle of the 8th century, the government instituted a major reform which allowed individuals to claim private ownership of new farmland that they had reclaimed from swampland or forests. This spurred wealthy people to start reclaiming farmland, which was necessary to feed Japan's growing population. During the 11th and 12th centuries, samurai became conspicuously involved in land reclamation, thereby becoming a landowning class.<ref>Eiko Ikegami. ''The Taming of the Samurai'', pp. 52-53: "During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, however, the level of samurai activity in land reclamation became conspicuous. With their active participation in the process of land reclamation, the samurai clearly emerged as a class of landed lords."</ref>

Taxation during the 8th century was high but temples, monasteries, shrines, and certain aristocrats obtained tax exemptions through their connections to the imperial court. To evade taxes, many landowners in the countryside donated their lands to these tax-exempt entities. The land would be registered in the name of said noble or temple and would become part of their tax-exempt estate (''[[shōen]]'') but would still be used by the same person who originally owned it. The former owner, now a steward on his lord's estate, had to pay his lord an annual tribute that was less than what he would have had to pay the emperor in tax had he been the landowner. There was usually an agreement that when the supervisor died, his children would inherit his position. If the temple or lord cheated the steward somehow, the farmer could retaliate by exposing the scheme, which might have cost the temple or noble its tax-exempt privilege.<ref>Stephen Turnbull. ''The Samurai: A Military History''</ref><ref>Eiko Ikegami. ''The Taming of the Samurai''. p. 52: "Because local reclamation landownership at this stage was still unstable, and restricted by the framework of the ancient codes, local reclamation landowners sometimes sought the protection of the power-holders in Kyoto by “commending” their own land to them. Thus the actual local owners were able to secure not only their control over land but also immunity from the local government."</ref> The growth of the ''shōen'' led to a loss of tax revenue for the imperial court, and a heavier tax burden on those farmers who worked the remaining taxable land. These farmers often could not cope and abandoned their lands, which were bought up by the landowning magnates.<ref>Mikiso Hane. ''Premodern Japan'', p. 57: "The rise of the shōen meant a steady decline in the authority of the central government. Taxes collected by the government decreased, and police and military power in the provinces fell increasingly into the hands of the local magnates. [...] The deterioration of the peasantry resulted in part from the fact that, as tax-free estates proliferated, the tax burden grew heavier upon those who worked the little-remaining taxable land. [...] Unable to pay their debts and unable to bear the burden of heavy taxes, they left the land and joined the ranks of vagrants. The land they abandoned was taken over the rising local landowning magnates."</ref>

Up until the late 8th century AD, Japan had a national conscript army. As peace settled in, the imperial court began dismantling the system, eventually ending it by 792 AD. Conscripts were seen as unreliable and poorly trained, to be used only in emergencies such as [[Mongol invasions of Japan|when the Mongols invaded]]. Conscript footsoldiers proved to be particularly ineffective in the Japanese' war with the [[Emishi]], an ethnic minority in the north that relied on mounted warriors and were thus highly mobile. The deciding factor in most battles had been professional mounted archers who came from the wealthy families.<ref>Paul Varley. ''Warriors of Japan as Portrayed in the War Tales'', p. 3: "In 792, two years before the move to Heian, the court issued an edict ending most conscription and dissolving the ''gundan'', except for those in outlying regions: Mutsu and Dewa provinces in northern Honshu, Sado Island in the Sea of Japan, and northern Kyushu. Conscription had proved difficult to administer and was socially disruptive. Moreover, most peasant conscripts were poor fighters. On those occasions when ''gundan'' forces were mobilized for battle in the late sixth and seventh centuries, the horse-riding bowmen of the elite district families provided the decisive fighting power.</ref> The government didn't bother training conscripts in horsemanship as it required years to produce a good cavalryman. So it instead recruited men who already had these skills, acquired through private training funded by their families' wealth.<ref name=HiredSwords39>Karl Friday. ''Hired Swords'', p. 39: "...fighting from horseback was an extraordinarily complex skill to master, one that required years of training and practice. It was simply impossible to produce first-rate cavalrymen out of short-term, peasant conscripts. [...] The government expended minimal effort training ordinary conscripts as horsemen, preferring instead to rely on the talents of those who had acquired skills in mounted archery before their induction."</ref> Similarly, soldiers in the imperial army were expected to provide most of their own equipment.<ref>Clements. ''A Brief History of the Samurai'': "Although Temmu died before his system had been fully implemented, by the early eighth century an organization was in place that was designed to levy a conscript militia from local peasants. Heavy matériel was provided by the state from the district arsenals, but the conscripts were expected to bring their own sword and dagger, armour and a helmet made from wicker or straw, a bow and fifty arrows."</ref> Wealthy men who could afford horses and archery training were promoted to elite units, whereas the poor were consigned to being footsoldiers. The poor disliked military service for this reason, and because their farms often fell into decay with their absence, so there was popular support for ending conscription.

In the Heian period it was the habit of emperors to keep harems, and consequently the imperial family got so large it burdened the treasury.  In the early 9th century AD, [[Emperor Saga]] expelled several dozen members from the imperial family, who formed two new clans: the [[Minamoto clan]] (814 AD) and the [[Taira clan]] (825 AD). Many wealthy provincial families married into the Minamotos and Tairas in order to acquire aristocratic status, gaining prestige and often tax exemptions. And so the Tairas and Minamotos became big and wealthy clans with lots of warrior retainers.<ref>Jonathan Clements. ''A Brief History of the Samurai'': "Sons of the Taira and Minamoto were promising matches for the daughters of provincial strongmen, adding a noble cachet to outer clans. The daughters were similarly highly thought of, and many husbands took on the surname of their wives in recognition. Even those Taira and Minamoto fallen on hard times still had their name to trade; numerous noble-born debtors adopted their provincial creditors as their heirs as a form of payment in kind, ensuring that the Taira and Minamoto names were soon firmly ingrained in provincial landholdings."</ref>

Thus with the downsizing of the national army and the decline in tax revenue, the emperors delegated the matter of security in the countryside to the burgeoning class of landed warriors. They had a personal incentive to suppress lawlessness in their own lands as it directly impacted their revenue. War and law enforcement became increasingly privatized affairs.

=== Kamakura shogunate ===
[[File:Kyodō risshi no motoi, Kusunoki Masatsura.jpg|right|thumb|A warrior in ''[[ō-yoroi]]'' armor typical of the [[Gempei War]] (1180-1185).]]
Two leading warrior clans, the [[Minamoto clan]] and the [[Taira clan]], had both gained court positions and became rivals. In the aftermath of the [[Heiji Rebellion]] in 1160, the Tairas ended up with even more influence in the imperial court. Their leader, [[Taira no Kiyomori]], became the first samurai ever to be given a senior rank in the imperial court.<ref>Jonathan Clements. ''A Brief History of the Samurai'', chpt. 3: "Kiyomori wasted no time in insinuating himself into the capital, and in 1160 became the first samurai to be awarded a senior courtly rank."</ref> Specifically, he became the chief minister (''[[daijō-daijin]]'') in 1167, and although the title was meant to be honorary, it reflected his dominance of the court. Members of the Minamoto and Taira clans had fought on both sides of the rebellion, but the Minamoto loyalists received smaller rewards than the Taira loyalists, and the Minamoto rebels received worse punishments than the Taira rebels. All this angered the Minamotos, and consequently political factions in the imperial court began to reform around clan affiliations rather than personal allegiances.<ref>Jonathan Clements. ''A Brief History of the Samurai'', chpt. 3: "Members of the Fujiwara, Minamoto and Taira clans had fought on both sides, but the punishments caused the disparate factions to begin uniting along lines of clan affiliation, instead of personal allegiance."</ref>

In 1180, Taira no Kiyomori installed his two-year old grandson ([[Emperor Antoku]]) on the throne, pushing aside older male heirs whose mothers were from the Minamoto family. This sparked a rebellion by the Minamotos, leading to the [[Gempei War]] (1180-1185). [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] promised lands and administrative rights to warriors who swore allegiance to him. The Minamotos won the war and the Taira clan was effectively destroyed. In April 1185, the controversial child emperor was drowned by his own grandmother, who then committed suicide.

The new emperor, [[Emperor Go-Toba]], was of [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara]] lineage on his mother's side. Minamoto no Yoritomo didn't overthrow this emperor, but instead took over most of his authority, reducing the emperor to a figurehead. Yoritomo found it more expedient to set up a parallel military government, staffed by the warriors who fought for him. Thus began the age of the shoguns and seven centuries of military rule. Whereas the imperial court was in Kyoto, Yorimoto chose to base the shogunate in Kamakura.

Japan under the shogunate became a feudal state. The warrior clans were made vassals of the shogun and were called ''gokenin''. They were formally granted a great deal of autonomy, and the shogun was more of a mediator and coordinator than a true ruler.<ref>Eiko Ikegami. ''The Taming of the Samurai'', p. 82: "''Sōryō'' were granted extensive autonomous powers (defined by the official code of the Kamakura shogunate) over the members of their ie. In turn, they owed the house’s military obligation to the shogun as direct vassals. [...] Indeed, the function of the Kamakura government was to control and mediate the “international relations” of these independent social organizations"</ref> In the early 1190s, the shogun began appointing military governors (''[[shugo]]'') to the provinces.<ref>Marius Jansen. ''Warrior Rule in Japan'', p. 15: "The shogun began Not only were there no shugo at all until the early 1190s"</ref> Only warriors from the [[Kantō region]] could become ''shugo''. These military governors eventually displaced the authority of the civilian governors (''[[Kokushi (official)|kokushi]]'') which had been appointed by the imperial court.<ref>Louis Frédéric. ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 891</ref> A ''shugo's'' main duties were coordinating his area's ''gokenin'' in military matters, suppressing rebellions, and enforcing the law.<ref>''The Cambridge History of Japan Volume 3'', p. 81: "He was to act as coordinator of his area's ''gokenin'', in particular, commanding them in war and leading them in their peacetime guard duty in Kyoto. Second, he was to assume responsibility for controlling local rebellion and crimes of a capital nature, both duties hitherto discharged by the older civil governors. Finally, he was to serve as an adjunct to Kamakura's judicial system, performing in the joint roles of investigator, enforcer, and liaison."</ref>

During the Gempei War, many warriors had seized control of the private estates (''shōen'') of the courtiers in Kyoto. They presumptuously declared themselves the stewards (''jitō'') of these estates.<ref>''Cambridge History of Japan Volume 3: Medieval Japan'', p. 59: "With the war officially over, warriors could no longer use the Gempei labels to justify their private lawlessness. Their aggression was thus more directly an attack on the courtier-dominated estate system."</ref> The shogunate now had a responsibility to restrain this lawlessness. It was decreed that all ''jitō'' had to be appointed by the shogun. Most ''jitō'' were chosen from warrior families. The warriors who had fought for the Minamotos expected to be rewarded and would have revolted otherwise. Appointing warrior stewards also undermined the authority of the courtiers in Kyoto who owned the ''shōen''. Warrior stewards would surely be loyal to the shogun, not the imperial court. The title of ''jitō'' was heritable. A ''jitō'' could not bequeath his office to someone outside his family.<ref>''The Cambridge History of Japan Volume 3: Medieval Japan'', p. 86: The bakufu permitted its ''jitō'' to bequeath their titles, in unitary or partible fashion, to legitimate relatives of their own choosing. They were not allowed to bequeath their offices to external parties.</ref> Under the Kamakura shogunate, a ''jitō'' could not be punished for misconduct by his landlord. The landlord had to appeal to the shogunate for justice.<ref>''The Cambridge History of Japan Volume 3: Medieval Japan'', p. 83: "If the ''jitō'' committed any kind of offense against man or property, the estate owner had no recourse but to appeal to Kamakura for redress. This obliging of the ''jitō'' to manage lands on behalf of a proprietor exercising no direct control over him was what made the office revolutionary. It also ensured an unending need for a bakufu judicial authority."</ref>

=== Mongol invasions ===
<gallery class="center" widths="305" heights="150">
File:Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba e2.jpg|Samurai of the [[Shōni clan]] gather to defend against [[Kublai Khan]]'s Mongolian army during the first [[Mongol invasions of Japan#First invasion (1274)|Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274]].
File:Battle of Yashima Folding Screens Kano School.jpg|[[Battle of Yashima]] folding screens
</gallery>
{{See also|Mongol invasions of Japan}}
Various samurai clans struggled for power during the [[Kamakura shogunate]]. [[Zen Buddhism]] spread among the samurai in the 13th century and helped shape their standards of conduct, particularly in overcoming the fear of death and killing. Among the general populace [[Pure Land Buddhism]] was favored however.

In 1274, the Mongol-founded [[Yuan dynasty]] in China sent a force of some 40,000 men and 900 ships to invade Japan in northern [[Kyūshū]]. Japan mustered a mere 10,000 samurai to meet this threat. The invading army was harassed by major thunderstorms throughout the invasion, which aided the defenders by inflicting heavy casualties. The Yuan army was eventually recalled, and the invasion was called off. The Mongol invaders used small bombs, which was likely the first appearance of bombs and gunpowder in Japan.
[[File:Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba Mongol Invasion Takezaki Suenaga 2 Page 5-7.jpg|center|thumb|upright=3|Samurai [[Takezaki Suenaga]] of the [[Hōjō clan]] (right) assaults the Mongolian and Korean invasion army (left) at the [[Battle of Bun'ei#Battle of Torikai-Gata - Japanese victory|Battle of Torikai-Gata]], 1274.]]

The Japanese defenders recognized the possibility of a renewed invasion and began construction of a [[Genko Borui|great stone barrier]] around [[Hakata Bay]] in 1276. Completed in 1277, this wall stretched for 20 kilometers around the bay. It later served as a strong defensive point against the Mongols. The Mongols attempted to settle matters in a diplomatic way from 1275 to 1279, but every envoy sent to Japan was executed.

Leading up to the second Mongolian invasion, [[Kublai Khan]] continued to send emissaries to Japan, with five diplomats sent in September 1275 to Kyūshū. [[Hōjō Tokimune]], the [[shikken]] of the Kamakura shogun, responded by having the Mongolian diplomats brought to Kamakura and then beheading them.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/japanitshistory00reedgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/japanitshistory00reedgoog/page/n361 291] |quote=tokimune behead. |title=Japan: Its History, Traditions, and Religions: With the Narrative of a Visit in 1879 |first=Sir Edward James |last=Reed |date=17 April 1880 |publisher=J. Murray |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The graves of the five executed Mongol emissaries exist to this day in Kamakura at Tatsunokuchi.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kamakura-burabura.com/meisyoenosimajyourituji.htm |title=常立寺|website=www.kamakura-burabura.com}}</ref> On 29 July 1279, five more emissaries were sent by the Mongol empire, and again beheaded, this time in [[Hakata-ku, Fukuoka|Hakata]]. This continued defiance of the Mongol emperor set the stage for one of the most famous engagements in Japanese history.

In 1281, a Yuan army of 140,000 men with 5,000 ships was mustered for another invasion of Japan. Northern Kyūshū was defended by a Japanese army of 40,000 men. The Mongol army was still on its ships preparing for the landing operation when a typhoon hit north Kyūshū island. The casualties and damage inflicted by the typhoon, followed by the Japanese defense of the Hakata Bay barrier, resulted in the Mongols again being defeated.
{{Wide image|Takezaki suenaga ekotoba bourui.jpg|1000px|Samurai and defensive wall at [[Hakata-ku, Fukuoka|Hakata]] defending against the Second Mongolian Invasion. Moko Shurai Ekotoba, (蒙古襲来絵詞) {{circa|1293}}|center}}

[[File:Takezaki suenaga ekotoba3.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Samurai boarding ships of the [[Mongol invasions of Japan#Second invasion (1281)|Second Mongolian invasion fleet]], killing the Mongolian soldiers aboard, 1281]]
The thunderstorms of 1274 and the typhoon of 1281 helped the samurai defenders of Japan repel the Mongol invaders despite being vastly outnumbered. These winds became known as ''kami-no-Kaze'', which literally translates as "wind of the gods".<ref>{{cite web|date=2017-04-26|title=Formative Memory: The Thirteenth-Century Mongolian Invasions and Their Impact on Japan|url=https://kyotojournal.org/uncategorized/formative-memory-the-thirteenth-century-mongolian-invasions-and-their-impact-on-japan/|access-date=2020-10-25|website=Kyoto Journal|language=en-US}}</ref> This is often given a simplified translation as "divine wind". The ''kami-no-Kaze'' lent credence to the Japanese belief that their lands were indeed divine and under supernatural protection.

===Nanboku-chō and Muromachi period===
In 1336, [[Ashikaga Takauji]], who opposed [[Emperor Godaigo]], established the [[Ashikaga shogunate]] with [[Emperor Kōgon]]. As a result, the southern court, descended from Emperor Godaigo, and the northern court, descended from Emperor Kogon, were established side by side. This period of coexistence of the two dynasties is called the [[Nanboku-chō period]], which corresponds to the beginning of the [[Muromachi period]]. The Northern Court, supported by the Ashikaga shogunate, had six emperors, and in 1392 the Imperial Court was reunited by absorbing the Southern Court, although the modern [[Imperial Household Agency]] considers the Southern Court to be the legitimate emperor.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230414234502/https://www.kunaicho.go.jp/ryobo/successive_list.html 天皇陵.] Imperial Household Agency</ref> The {{lang|la|de facto}} rule of Japan by the Ashikaga shogunate lasted until the [[Onin War]], which broke out in 1467.

From 1346 to 1358 during the Nanboku-cho period, the Ashikaga shogunate gradually expanded the authority of the {{nihongo3||守護|[[Shugo]]}}, the local military and police officials established by the Kamakura shogunate, giving the ''Shugo'' jurisdiction over land disputes between {{nihongo3||御家人|[[gokenin]]}} and allowing the ''Shugo'' to receive half of all taxes from the areas they controlled. The ''Shugo'' shared their newfound wealth with the local samurai, creating a hierarchical relationship between the ''Shugo'' and the samurai, and the first early {{nihongo3|feudal lords|大名|[[daimyo]]}}, called {{nihongo3||守護大名|shugo daimyo}}, appeared.<ref name="shugosen">{{cite web|url=https://www.touken-world.jp/history/history-important-word/shugodaimyo-sengokubusho/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317181933/https://www.touken-world.jp/history/history-important-word/shugodaimyo-sengokubusho/|script-title=ja:守護大名と戦国武将|language=ja|publisher=The Japanese Sword Museum Nagoya Touken World|date=|archive-date=17 March 2024|access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref>

[[File:大太刀, 銘 正(家), Ōdachi forged by Masaie.jpg|thumb|{{transliteration|ja|[[Ōdachi]]}} forged by Sadaie, 14th century, [[Nanboku-chō period]], [[Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai#Shinsa (grading examination)|Important Sword]]]]

During the Nanboku-chō period, many lower-class foot soldiers called {{transliteration|ja|[[ashigaru]]}} began to participate in battles, and the popularity of {{transliteration|ja|haramaki}} increased. During the Nanboku-chō and Muromachi periods, {{transliteration|ja|dō-maru}} and {{transliteration|ja|haramaki}} became the norm, and senior samurai also began to wear {{transliteration|ja|haramaki}} by adding {{transliteration|ja|kabuto}} (helmet), {{transliteration|ja|[[men-yoroi]]}} (face armor), and gauntlet.<ref name="nanmuro">[https://web.archive.org/web/20220406070240/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/51939/ 甲冑の歴史（南北朝時代～室町時代）] Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Nagoya Touken World.</ref>

Issues of inheritance caused family strife as [[primogeniture]] became common, in contrast to the division of succession designated by law before the 14th century. Invasions of neighboring samurai territories became common to avoid infighting, and bickering among samurai was a constant problem for the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates.

===Sengoku period===
The outbreak of the [[Onin War]], which began in 1467 and lasted about 10 years, devastated [[Kyoto]] and brought down the power of the Ashikaga shogunate. This plunged the country into the [[Sengoku Period|warring states period]], in which ''[[daimyo]]'' (feudal lords) from different regions fought each other. This period corresponds to the late Muromachi period. There are about nine theories about the end of the Sengoku Period, the earliest being the year 1568, when [[Oda Nobunaga]] marched on Kyoto, and the latest being the suppression of the [[Shimabara Rebellion]] in 1638. Thus, the Sengoku Period overlaps with the Muromachi, [[Azuchi–Momoyama period|Azuchi–Momoyama]], and [[Edo period]]s, depending on the theory. In any case, the Sengoku period was a time of large-scale civil wars throughout Japan.<ref name="jp191129">{{cite web|url=https://mag.japaaan.com/archives/132811/3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131030808/https://mag.japaaan.com/archives/132811/3|script-title=ja:最長で200年説も！戦国時代とはいつからいつまでを指すのか？諸説をまとめました|language=ja|author=Akio Tsunoda|publisher=[[Shōgakukan]]|date=19 November 2020|archive-date=31 January 2023|access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="jk061222">{{cite web|url=https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=1930|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206163952/https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=1930|script-title=ja:戦国時代|language=ja|publisher=Japan Knowledge|date=|archive-date=6 December 2022|access-date=29 January 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Tepu5.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|{{transliteration|ja|[[Tanegashima (gun)|Tanegashima]]}} ([[Matchlock]])]]
[[File:Strings for night firing.jpg|thumb|upright|Large numbers of {{transliteration|ja|[[ashigaru]]}} (foot soldiers) in close formation began to use {{transliteration|ja|[[yari]]}} (spears) and {{transliteration|ja|[[tanegashima (gun)|tanegashima]]}} (gun), changing battlefield tactics and the equipment of the samurai class.]] 
''Daimyo'' who became more powerful as the shogunate's control weakened were called {{nihongo3||戦国大名|sengoku daimyo}}, and they often came from ''shugo daimyo'', {{nihongo3|deputy Shugo|守護代|[[Shugodai]]}}, and {{nihongo3|local masters|国人|kokujin or kunibito}}. In other words, ''sengoku daimyo'' differed from ''shugo daimyo'' in that a ''sengoku daimyo'' was able to rule the region on his own, without being appointed by the shogun.<ref name="shugosen"/>

During this period, the traditional master-servant relationship between the lord and his vassals broke down, with the vassals eliminating the lord, internal clan and vassal conflicts over leadership of the lord's family, and frequent rebellion and puppetry by branch families against the lord's family.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gendai.media/articles/-/83871?page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307071317/https://gendai.media/articles/-/83871?page=3|script-title=ja:意外と知らない「下剋上」とは一体何か？戦国時代の「主殺し」の実像 3/4|language=ja|publisher=[[Kodansha]]|date=18 June 2021|archive-date=7 March 2024|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref> These events sometimes led to the rise of samurai to the rank of ''sengoku daimyo''. For example, [[Hōjō Sōun]] was the first samurai to rise to the rank of ''sengoku daimyo'' during this period. [[Uesugi Kenshin]] was an example of a ''Shugodai'' who became ''sengoku daimyo'' by weakening and eliminating the power of the lord.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gendai.media/articles/-/83871?page=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307071419/https://gendai.media/articles/-/83871?page=4|script-title=ja:意外と知らない「下剋上」とは一体何か？戦国時代の「主殺し」の実像 4/4|language=ja|publisher=Kodansha|date=18 June 2021|archive-date=7 March 2024|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="shugosen2">{{cite web|url=https://www.touken-world.jp/history/history-important-word/shugodaimyo-sengokudaimyo/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317190415/https://www.touken-world.jp/history/history-important-word/shugodaimyo-sengokudaimyo/|script-title=ja:守護大名と戦国武将の違い|language=ja|publisher=The Japanese Sword Museum Nagoya Touken World|date=|archive-date=17 March 2024|access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref>

This period was marked by the loosening of samurai culture, with people born into other social strata sometimes making a name for themselves as warriors and thus becoming ''[[de facto]]'' samurai. One such example is [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], a well-known figure who rose from a peasant background to become a samurai, ''sengoku daimyo'', and ''[[Sessho and Kampaku|kampaku]]'' (Imperial Regent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/202017?page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229075803/https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/202017?page=3|script-title=ja:豊臣秀吉はなぜ「征夷大将軍」ではなく「関白」になったのか——秀吉をめぐる「三つのなぜ」|language=ja|publisher=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]|date=24 September 2023|archive-date=29 February 2024|access-date=29 February 2024}}</ref>

From this time on, infantrymen called {{transliteration|ja|[[ashigaru]]}}, who were mobilized from the peasantry, were mobilized in even greater numbers than before, and the importance of the infantry, which had begun in the Nanboku-chō period, increased even more.<ref name="rekishi200940">''歴史人'' September 2020. pp.40–41. {{ASIN|B08DGRWN98}}</ref> When [[matchlock]]s were introduced from Portugal in 1543, Japanese swordsmiths immediately began to improve and mass-produce them. The Japanese matchlock was named {{transliteration|ja|[[tanegashima (gun)|tanegashima]]}} after the [[Tanegashima|Tanegashima island]], which is believed to be the place where it was first introduced to Japan. By the end of the Sengoku Period, there were hundreds of thousands of arquebuses in Japan and a large army of nearly 100,000 men clashing with each other.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/givingupgun00noel |url-access= registration |title= Giving up the gun: Japan's reversion to the sword, 1543-1879 |pages=17–28|author= Noel Perrin |publisher= David R Godine |year=1979 |access-date=2011-09-22|isbn= 978-0-87923-773-8 }}</ref>

On the battlefield, {{transliteration|ja|ashigaru}} began to fight in close formation, using {{transliteration|ja|[[yari]]}} (spear) and {{transliteration|ja|tanegashima}}. As a result, {{transliteration|ja|yari}}, {{transliteration|ja|[[yumi]]}} (bow), and {{transliteration|ja|tanegashima}} became the primary weapons on the battlefield. The {{transliteration|ja|naginata}}, which was difficult to maneuver in close formation, and the long, heavy {{transliteration|ja|[[tachi]]}} fell into disuse and were replaced by the {{transliteration|ja|[[nagamaki]]}}, which could be held short, and the short, light {{transliteration|ja|[[katana]]}}, which appeared in the Nanboku-cho period and gradually became more common. The {{transliteration|ja|tachi}} was often cut off from the hilt and shortened to make a {{transliteration|ja|katana}}. The {{transliteration|ja|tachi}}, which had become inconvenient for use on the battlefield, was transformed into a symbol of authority carried by high-ranking samurai.<ref name = "toukennagi">[https://web.archive.org/web/20201124014052/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/25694/ Basic knowledge of naginata and nagamaki.] Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum, Touken World</ref><ref name = "toukenssw">[https://web.archive.org/web/20201226054428/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/45927/ Arms for battle – spears, swords, bows.] Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum, Touken World</ref><ref name ="en20p42">Kazuhiko Inada (2020), ''Encyclopedia of the Japanese Swords''. p42. {{ISBN|978-4-651-20040-8}}</ref><ref name="rekishi200940"/> Although the {{transliteration|ja|ōdachi}} had become even more obsolete, some ''sengoku daimyo'' dared to organize assault and kinsmen units composed entirely of large men equipped with {{transliteration|ja|ōdachi}} to demonstrate the bravery of their armies.<ref name ="en20p39">Kazuhiko Inada (2020), ''Encyclopedia of the Japanese Swords''. p39. {{ISBN|978-4-651-20040-8}}</ref>

These changes in the aspect of the battlefield during the Sengoku period led to the emergence of the {{transliteration|ja|[[Japanese armour|tosei-gusoku]]}} style of armor, which improved the productivity and durability of armor. In the history of Japanese armor, this was the most significant change since the introduction of the {{transliteration|ja|ō-yoroi}} and {{transliteration|ja|dō-mal}} in the Heian period. In this style, the number of parts was reduced, and instead armor with eccentric designs became popular.<ref name = "gusoku">[https://web.archive.org/web/20190425051228/http://costume.iz2.or.jp:80/column/554.html 日本の甲冑] Costume Museum</ref>

By the end of the Sengoku period, allegiances between warrior vassals, also known as military retainers, and lords were solidified.<ref name="William E. Deal 2006 136">{{cite book|title=Handbook to Life in Medieval & early Modern Japan|author=William E. Deal |year=2006 |isbn=0-8160-5622-6 |page=136|publisher=Facts On File, Incorporated }}</ref> Vassals would serve lords in exchange for material and intangible advantages, in keeping with [[Confucian]] ideas imported from China between the seventh and ninth centuries.<ref name="William E. Deal 2006 136" />
These independent vassals who held land were subordinate to their superiors, who may be local lords or, in the Edo period, the shogun.<ref name="William E. Deal 2006 136" />
A vassal or samurai could expect monetary benefits, including land or money, from lords in exchange for their military services.<ref name="William E. Deal 2006 136" />

===Azuchi–Momoyama period===
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2025}}
[[File:Himeji_castle_in_may_2015.jpg|thumb|Between 1601 and 1609, [[Ikeda Terumasa]] extensively renovated [[Himeji Castle]] to give it its present appearance.]]
The Azuchi-Momoyama period refers to the period when [[Oda Nobunaga]] and [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] were in power. The name "Azuchi-Momoyama" comes from the fact that Nobunaga's castle, [[Azuchi Castle]], was located in [[Azuchi, Shiga]], and [[Fushimi Castle]], where Hideyoshi lived after his retirement, was located in Momoyama. There are several theories as to when the Azuchi–Momoyama period began: 1568, when Oda Nobunaga entered Kyoto in support of Ashikaga Yoshiaki; 1573, when Oda Nobunaga expelled Ashikaga Yoshiaki from Kyoto; and 1576, when the construction of Azuchi Castle began. In any case, the beginning of the Azuchii–Momoyama period marked the complete end of the rule of the Ashikaga shogunate, which had been disrupted by the Onin War; in other words, it marked the end of the Muromachi period.

====Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa====
[[File:The Three Unifiers of Japan.jpg|thumb|The three unifiers of Japan: from left to right: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu]]

[[Oda Nobunaga]] was the well-known lord of the [[Nagoya]] area (once called [[Owari Province]]) and an exceptional example of a samurai of the Sengoku period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sitereports.nabunken.go.jp/8395 |title=たたかう人びと |author=Nagano Prefectural Museum of History |date=2005-03-01 |website=Comprehensive Database of Archaeological Site Reports in Japan |access-date=2016-09-02}}</ref> He came within a few years of, and laid down the path for his successors to follow, the reunification of Japan under a new ''bakufu'' (shogunate).

Oda Nobunaga made innovations in the fields of organization and war tactics, made heavy use of arquebuses, developed commerce and industry, and treasured innovation. Consecutive victories enabled him to end the Ashikaga Bakufu and disarm of the military powers of the Buddhist monks, which had inflamed futile struggles among the populace for centuries. Attacking from the "sanctuary" of Buddhist temples, they were constant headaches to any warlord and even the emperor, who tried to control their actions. He died in 1582 when one of his generals, [[Akechi Mitsuhide]], turned upon him with his army.

[[File:Battle-of-Nagashino-Map-Folding-Screen-1575.png|thumb|The [[Battle of Nagashino]] (1575)]]

[[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], who founded the Tokugawa shogunate, were loyal followers of Nobunaga. Hideyoshi began as a peasant and became one of Nobunaga's top generals, and Ieyasu had shared his childhood with Nobunaga. Hideyoshi defeated Mitsuhide within a month and was regarded as the rightful successor of Nobunaga by avenging the treachery of Mitsuhide. These two were able to use Nobunaga's previous achievements on which build a unified Japan and there was a saying: "The reunification is a rice cake; Oda made it. Hashiba shaped it. In the end, only Ieyasu tastes it."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Varshavskaya |first1=Elena |title=Heroes of the Grand Pacification: Kuniyoshi's Taiheiki eiyū den |date=2021 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-48918-9 |page=26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=22tPEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |language=en}}</ref> (Hashiba is the family name that Toyotomi Hideyoshi used while he was a follower of Nobunaga.)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who became a grand minister in 1586, created a law that non-samurai were not allowed to carry weapons, which the samurai caste codified as permanent and hereditary, thereby ending the social mobility of Japan, which lasted until the dissolution of the Edo shogunate by the Meiji revolutionaries.

The distinction between samurai and non-samurai was so obscure that during the 16th century, most male adults in any social class (even small farmers) belonged to at least one military organization of their own and served in wars before and during Hideyoshi's rule. It can be said that an "all against all" situation continued for a century. The authorized samurai families after the 17th century were those that chose to follow Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. Large battles occurred during the change between regimes, and a number of defeated samurai were destroyed, went ''[[rōnin]]'' or were absorbed into the general populace.

During the [[Azuchi–Momoyama period]] (late Sengoku period), "samurai" often referred to {{nihongo3||若党|wakatō}}, the lowest-ranking ''bushi'', as exemplified by the provisions of the temporary law [[Separation Edict]] enacted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1591. This law regulated the transfer of status classes:samurai (''wakatō''), {{nihongo3||中間|chūgen}}, {{nihongo3||小者|komono}}, and {{nihongo3||[[:ja:荒子 (武士)|荒子]]|arashiko}}. These four classes and the ''ashigaru'' were {{nihongo3|townspeople|町人|[[chōnin]]}} and peasants employed by the ''bushi'' and fell under the category of {{nihongo3|servants of the ''buke''|[[:ja:武家奉公人|武家奉公人]]|buke hōkōnin}}.<ref name="asukak">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aichikenshikenkyu/5/0/5_123/_pdf/-char/ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240719201334/https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aichikenshikenkyu/5/0/5_123/_pdf/-char/ja|script-title=ja:天正拾九年六月廿三日付 豊臣秀次条目について|page=126|language=ja|publisher=[[Japan Science and Technology Agency|J-STAGE]]/[[Aichi Prefecture]]|date=|archive-date=19 July 2024|access-date=19 July 2024}}</ref> In times of war, samurai (''wakatō'') and ''ashigaru'' were fighters, while the rest were porters. Generally, samurai (''wakatō'') could take family names, while some ''ashigaru'' could, and only samurai (''wakatō'') were considered samurai class. ''Wakatō'', like samurai, had different definitions in different periods, meaning a young ''bushi'' in the Muromachi period and a rank below {{nihongo3||[[:ja:徒士|徒士]]|kachi}} and above ''ashigaru'' in the Edo period.

====Invasions of Korea====
{{See also|Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)}}
[[File:Ulsan waesung attack.jpg|thumb|upright|Korean and Chinese soldiers assault the Japanese-built fortress at [[Siege of Ulsan|Ulsan]] during the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)|Japanese invasions of Korea]], 1597.]]

In 1592 and again in 1597, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, aiming to invade China through Korea, mobilized an army of 160,000 peasants and samurai and [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)|deployed them to Korea]] in one of the largest military endeavors in Eastern Asia until the late 19th century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yasuka |date=2017-07-24 |title=The Imjin War {{!}} KCP International Japanese Language School |url=https://www.kcpinternational.com/2017/07/the-imjin-war/ |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=KCP International |language=en |quote=Hideyoshi needed passage through Korea to get to China. But with Korea refusing his demands, he led a large army of about 160,000 men, landing at the tip of the peninsula then moving northwards.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=The Japanese Invasion of Korea, 1592-8 CE |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1398/the-japanese-invasion-of-korea-1592-8-ce/ |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en |quote=One of the largest military operations ever undertaken in East Asia prior to the 20th century CE}}</ref> Taking advantage of [[arquebus]] mastery and extensive wartime experience from the [[Sengoku period]], Japanese samurai armies made major gains in most of Korea. A few of the famous samurai generals of this war were [[Katō Kiyomasa]], [[Konishi Yukinaga]], and [[Shimazu Yoshihiro]]. Katō Kiyomasa advanced to Orangkai territory (present-day [[Manchuria]]) bordering Korea to the northeast and crossed the border into northern China.

Kiyomasa withdrew back to Korea after retaliatory counterattacks from the [[Jurchen people|Jurchens]] in the area, whose castles his forces had raided.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-16 |title=What is the Imjin War (1592-1598)? - Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute |url=https://bootcampmilitaryfitnessinstitute.com/2020/12/16/what-is-the-imjin-war-1592-1598/ |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=bootcampmilitaryfitnessinstitute.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> Shimazu Yoshihiro led some 7,000 samurai into battle, and despite being heavily outnumbered, defeated a host of allied [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] and Korean forces at the [[Battle of Sacheon (1598)|Battle of Sacheon]] in 1598. Yoshihiro was feared as ''Oni-Shimazu'' ("Shimazu ogre") and his nickname spread across Korea and into China.
[[File:YoshiClimber.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], who later commanded the invasion of Korea, leads a small group assaulting the castle on [[Mount Kinka (Gifu)|Mount Inaba]]. Print by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi]].]]
In spite of the superiority of Japanese land forces, the two expeditions ultimately failed after Hideyoshi's death,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=The Japanese Invasion of Korea, 1592-8 CE |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1398/the-japanese-invasion-of-korea-1592-8-ce/ |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en |quote=After protracted and unsuccessful peace talks, Hideyoshi launched a second, much less successful invasion in 1597 CE, and when the warlord died the next year, the Japanese forces withdrew from the peninsula.}}</ref> though the invasions did devastate the Korean peninsula. The causes of the failure included Korean naval superiority (which, led by Admiral [[Yi Sun-sin]], harassed Japanese supply lines continuously throughout the wars, resulting in supply shortages on land), the commitment of sizable Ming forces to Korea, Korean guerrilla actions, wavering Japanese commitment to the campaigns as the wars dragged on, and the underestimation of resistance by Japanese commanders.

In the first campaign of 1592, Korean defenses on land were caught unprepared, under-trained, and under-armed. They were rapidly overrun, with only a limited number of successfully resistant engagements against the more experienced and battle-hardened Japanese forces. During the second campaign in 1597, Korean and Ming forces proved far more resilient and with the support of continued Korean naval superiority, managed to limit Japanese gains to parts of southeastern Korea. The final death blow to the Japanese campaigns in Korea came with Hideyoshi's death in late 1598 and the recall of all Japanese forces in Korea by the [[Council of Five Elders]], established by Hideyoshi to oversee the transition from his regency to that of his son Hideyori.

==== Battle of Sekigahara ====
{{See also|Battle of Sekigahara}}
[[File:Sekigaharascreen.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Battle of Sekigahara]], known as {{Nihongo|"Japan's decisive battle"|天下分け目の戦い|Tenka wakeme no tatakai}}]]

Before his death, Hideyoshi ordered that Japan be ruled by a council of the five most powerful ''sengoku daimyo'', {{nihongo3|[[Council of Five Elders]]|五大老|Go-Tairō}}, and Hideyoshi's five retainers, {{nihongo3|Five Commissioners|五奉行|[[Go-Bugyō]]}}, until his only heir, the five-year-old [[Toyotomi Hideyori]], reached the age of 16.<ref name="sekigahara">{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.go.jp/exhibition/digital/ieyasu/contents3_01/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108090341/https://www.archives.go.jp/exhibition/digital/ieyasu/contents3_01/|script-title=ja:関ヶ原の戦い|language=ja|publisher=[[National Archives of Japan]]|date=|archive-date=8 January 2023|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref> However, having only the young Hideyori as Hideyoshi's successor weakened the Toyotomi regime. Today, the loss of all of Hideyoshi's adult heirs is considered the main reason for the downfall of the Toyotomi clan.<ref name="jk270323">{{cite web|url=https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=67|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327064223/https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=67|script-title=ja:豊臣秀次|language=ja|publisher=Japan Knowledge|date=|archive-date=27 March 2023|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="toyo220516">{{cite web|url=https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/117781?page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421180805/https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/117781?page=3|script-title=ja:新説！豊臣家を滅ぼした｢組織運営｣の大失敗|language=ja|publisher=Toyo Keizai|date=22 May 2016|archive-date=21 April 2021|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="yh100324">{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/cf674ebf35996045d03fcb26aab8ae4fd833e8df|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310115834/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/cf674ebf35996045d03fcb26aab8ae4fd833e8df|script-title=ja:どうして豊臣政権は短命だったのか？存続のカギは弟・豊臣秀長が握っていた|language=ja|publisher=Yahoo News|date=1 September 2023|archive-date=10 March 2024|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> Hideyoshi's younger brother, [[Toyotomi Hidenaga]], who had supported Hideyoshi's rise to power as a leader and strategist, had already died of illness in 1591, and his nephew, [[Toyotomi Hidetsugu]], who was Hideyoshi's only adult successor, was forced to commit seppuku in 1595 along with many other vassals on Hideyoshi's orders for suspected rebellion.<ref name="jk270323"/><ref name="toyo220516"/><ref name="yh100324"/>

In this politically unstable situation, [[Maeda Toshiie]], one of the ''Gotairō'', died of illness, and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], one of the ''Gotairō'' who had been second in power to Hideyoshi but had not participated in the war, rose to power, and Ieyasu came into conflict with [[Ishida Mitsunari]], one of the ''Go-Bukyō'' and others. This conflict eventually led to the [[Battle of Sekigahara]], in which the {{nihongo3|Eastern Army|東軍|Tō-gun}} led by Ieyasu defeated the {{nihongo3|Western Army|西軍|Sei-gun}} led by Mitsunari, and Ieyasu nearly gained control of Japan.<ref name="sekigahara"/>

Social mobility was high, as the ancient regime collapsed and emerging samurai needed to maintain a large military and administrative organizations in their areas of influence. Most of the samurai families that survived to the 19th century originated in this era, declaring themselves to be the blood of one of the four ancient noble clans: [[Minamoto]], [[Taira]], [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara]], and [[Tachibana clan (samurai)|Tachibana]]. In most cases, however, it is difficult to prove these claims.

===Tokugawa shogunate===
{{See also|Edo period}}
After the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu consolidated power and was declared shogun in 1603. After the [[siege of Osaka]] in 1615, there was a period of peace for 250 years. During the Tokugawa shogunate, samurai underwent many changes, and first became a truly hereditary class. Although this process was begun by Hideyoshi with the combination of the Sword Hunt of 1588 and the Separation Edict of 1591.<ref name="Schirokauer">{{cite book |last1=Schirokauer |first1=Conrad |title=A brief history of Chinese and Japanese civilizations |date=2012 |publisher=Wadsworth}}</ref> Most samurai moved from the land to the castle towns, with one town in each domain.<ref name="Modern Japan">{{cite book |last1=Tipton |first1=Elise |title=Modern Japan A Social and Political History |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415185370}}</ref> With no warfare since the early 17th century, samurai gradually lost their military function during the Tokugawa era. Neo-Confucianism became very influential and the division of society into four classes was officially adopted by the shogunate.<ref name="Modern Japan"/> Landed samurai had to choose to either give up their lands to become stipend samurai, or to keep their lands and become peasants.<ref name="Kwon">{{cite book |last1=Kwon |first1=Grace |title=State Formation, Property Relations, & the Development of the Tokugawa Economy (1600-1868) |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781317794530}}</ref>

[[File:Samurai hand colored c1890.jpg|right|thumb|The ''[[chonmage]]'' became the customary hairstyle for samurai during the Edo period.]]
Following the passing of a law in 1629, samurai on official duty were required to wear [[Daishō|two swords]]. However, by the end of the Tokugawa era, samurai were aristocratic bureaucrats for their ''daishō'', becoming more of a symbolic emblem of power than a weapon used in daily life. They still had the legal right to cut down any commoner who did not show proper respect (''[[kiri-sute gomen]]''), but to what extent this right was used is unknown.<ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last=Wert |first=Michael |title=Samurai: A Very Short Introduction |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-068510-2 |location=New York |publication-date=2021-02-01 |pages=35, 84 |language= |oclc=1202732830}}</ref> When the central government forced ''daimyōs'' to cut the size of their armies, unemployed rōnin became a social problem.

Theoretical obligations between a samurai and his lord (usually a ''daimyō'') increased from the Genpei era to the Edo era, strongly emphasized by the teachings of [[Confucius]] and [[Mencius]], required reading for the educated samurai class. The leading figures who introduced Confucianism in Japan in the early Tokugawa period were Fujiwara Seika (1561–1619), Hayashi Razan (1583–1657), and Matsunaga Sekigo (1592–1657).

[[Pederasty]] permeated the culture of samurai in the early seventeenth century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murphy |first1=Taggart |title=Japan and the Shackles of the Past|date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York|isbn=978-0190619589 |pages=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9byvBAAAQBAJ}}</ref> The relentless condemnation of pederasty by [[Jesuit]] missionaries also hindered attempts to convert Japan's governing elite to Christianity.<ref name="Japan and the Shackles of the Past">{{cite book |last1=Murphy |first1=Taggart |title=Japan and the Shackles of the Past|date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York|isbn=978-0190619589 |pages=37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9byvBAAAQBAJ}}</ref> Pederasty had become deeply institutionalized among the daimyo and samurai, prompting comparisons to ancient [[Pederasty in ancient Greece|Athens and Sparta]].<ref name="Japan and the Shackles of the Past"/> The Jesuits' strong condemnation of the practice alienated many of Japan's ruling class, creating further barriers to their acceptance of Christianity.<ref name="Japan and the Shackles of the Past"/> [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]], the third shogun, was known for his interest in pederasty.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murphy |first1=Taggart |title=Japan and the Shackles of the Past|date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York|isbn=978-0190619589 |pages=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9byvBAAAQBAJ }}</ref>

From the mid-Edo period, wealthy {{nihongo3|townsman||[[chōnin]]}} and farmers could join the samurai class by giving a large sum of money to an impoverished {{nihongo3|||[[gokenin]]}} to be adopted into a samurai family and inherit the samurai's position and stipend. The amount of money given to a ''gokenin'' varied according to his position: 1,000 ''ryo'' for a {{nihongo3|||[[yoriki]]}} and 500 ''ryo'' for an {{nihongo3||[[:ja:徒士|徒士]]|kachi}} Some of their descendants were promoted to {{nihongo3||旗本|[[hatamoto]]}} and held important positions in the shogunate. Some of the peasants' children were promoted to the samurai class by serving in the {{nihongo3||代官|[[daikan]]}} office.<ref name="yamamoto">{{cite web|url=https://imidas.jp/jidaigeki/detail/L-57-110-08-04-G252.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240719202919/https://imidas.jp/jidaigeki/detail/L-57-110-08-04-G252.html|script-title=ja:武士（ぶし）／侍（さむらい）|language=ja|publisher=[[Shūeisha]]|date=|archive-date=19 July 2024|access-date=19 July 2024}}</ref> ''Kachi'' could change jobs and move into the lower classes, such as ''chōnin''. For example, [[Takizawa Bakin]] became a ''chōnin'' by working for [[Tsutaya Jūzaburō]].<ref name="ocha">{{cite web|url=https://www.cf.ocha.ac.jp/ccjs/j/menu/consortia/d007975_d/fil/121003.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716005713/https://www.cf.ocha.ac.jp/ccjs/j/menu/consortia/d007975_d/fil/121003.pdf|script-title=ja:近世後期の江戸における武家の養子と身分 滝沢馬琴を事例に|language=ja|publisher=[[Ochanomizu University]]|date=|archive-date=16 July 2024|access-date=16 July 2024}}</ref>

====Samurai in Southeast Asia====
[[File:Yamada-Nagamasa-Portrait-Shizuoka-Sengen-Shrine.png|thumb|Portrait of [[Yamada Nagamasa]], circa 1630]]

In the late 1500s, trade between Japan and Southeast Asia accelerated and increased exponentially when the Tokugawa shogunate was established in the early 1600s. The destinations of the trading ships, the [[red seal ships]], were Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc. Many Japanese moved to Southeast Asia and established Japanese towns there. Many samurai, or [[rōnin]], who had lost their masters after the Battle of Sekigahara, lived in the Japanese towns. The Spaniards in the Philippines, the Dutch of the [[Dutch East India Company]], and the Thais of the [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] saw the value of these samurai as mercenaries and recruited them. The most famous of these mercenaries was [[Yamada Nagamasa]]. He was originally a palanquin bearer who belonged to the lowest end of the samurai class, but he rose to prominence in the Ayutthaya Kingdom, now in southern Thailand, and became governor of the [[Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom]]. When the policy of national isolation (''[[sakoku]]'') was established in 1639, trade between Japan and Southeast Asia ceased, and records of Japanese activities in Southeast Asia were lost for many years after 1688.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldhistorycommons.org/japanese-mercenaries-and-dutch-east-india-company|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208072323/https://worldhistorycommons.org/japanese-mercenaries-and-dutch-east-india-company|title=Japanese Mercenaries and the Dutch East India Company|publisher=World History Commons|archive-date=8 February 2023|access-date=14 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jafame/11/0/11_61/_pdf/-char/ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214233332/https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jafame/11/0/11_61/_pdf/-char/ja|script-title=ja:Relationship of Japan and the Netherlands in Asia Market in 17th Century and Today|language=ja|publisher=[[Wako University]]/J Stage|pages=61–67|archive-date=14 February 2024|access-date=14 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hirogin.co.jp/lib/kaigai/bangkok/report/b2107/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824133456/https://www.hirogin.co.jp/lib/kaigai/bangkok/report/b2107/|script-title=ja:「異国で王になった男」山田長政|language=ja|website=The Hiroshima Bank |archive-date=24 August 2022|access-date=14 February 2024}}</ref>

====Samurai as diplomatic ambassadors====
[[File:Hasekura in Rome.JPG|thumb|[[Hasekura Tsunenaga]] portrayed during his mission in Rome by [[Archita Ricci]], 1615]]

In 1582, three ''[[Kirishitan]]'' ''daimyō'', [[Ōtomo Sōrin]], [[Ōmura Sumitada]], and [[Arima Harunobu]], sent a group of boys, their own blood relatives and retainers, to Europe as [[Tenshō embassy|Japan's first diplomatic mission to Europe]]. They had audiences with King [[Philip II of Spain]], [[Pope Gregory XIII]], and [[Pope Sixtus V]]. The mission returned to Japan in 1590, but its members were forced to renounce, be exiled, or be executed, due to the Tokugawa shogunate's suppression of Christianity.

In 1612, [[Hasekura Tsunenaga]], a vassal of the ''daimyo'' [[Date Masamune]], led a diplomatic mission and had an audience with King [[Philip III of Spain]], presenting him with a letter requesting trade, and he also had an audience with [[Pope Paul V]] in Rome. He returned to Japan in 1620, but news of the Tokugawa shogunate's suppression of Christianity had already reached Europe, and trade did not take place due to the Tokugawa shogunate's policy of ''sakoku''. In the town of Coria del Rio in Spain, where the diplomatic mission stopped, there were 600 people with the surnames Japon or Xapon as of 2021, and they have passed on the folk tale that they are the descendants of the samurai who remained in the town.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20210316-81043/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128162019/https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20210316-81043/|title=Faithful legacy of the 'samurai ambassador'|publisher=|date=16 March 2021|archive-date=28 November 2023|access-date=15 February 2024}}</ref>

At the end of the Edo period ([[Bakumatsu era]]), when [[Matthew C. Perry]] came to Japan in 1853 and the ''sakoku'' policy was abolished, six diplomatic missions were sent to the United States and European countries for diplomatic negotiations. The most famous were the [[Japanese Embassy to the United States|US mission in 1860]] and the [[First Japanese Embassy to Europe (1862)|European missions in 1862]] and [[Second Japanese Embassy to Europe (1864)|1864]]. [[Fukuzawa Yukichi]], who participated in these missions, is most famous as a leading figure in the modernization of Japan, and his portrait was selected for the [[10,000 yen note]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/pickup/016/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223100039/https://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/pickup/016/|script-title=ja:世界を見たサムライ達|language=ja|publisher=[[National Diet Library]]|archive-date=23 February 2023|access-date=15 February 2024}}</ref>

===Dissolution===
[[File:Gasshukoku suishi teitoku kōjōgaki (Oral statement by the American Navy admiral).png|thumb|A [[Woodblock printing in Japan|Japanese woodblock print]] of Perry (center) and other high-ranking American seamen.]]
In 1853, the United States sent a fleet of steamships under the command of [[Matthew Perry (naval officer)|Commodore Matthew Perry]] to force the rulers of Japan to open their borders to foreign trade. The shogun had no choice but to comply. His samurai were no match for Perry's marines and as a pre-industrial society, Japan was no match for the United States. The Japanese were aware of how European imperialists defeated and humiliated the Chinese and they feared an invasion of Japan was soon to come. Japan had to modernize if it was to maintain its honor and independence.

The Japanese began importing large quantities of European and American weapons and hiring European and American veterans to train their armies. The new weapons included modern rifles with [[caplock]] and [[breechloader|breech-loading]] mechanisms. These new firearms were more versatile and deadly than the [[tanegashima (gun)|matchlock muskets]] the Japanese had been using for three centuries. Their [[rifling|rifled barrels]] gave them better accuracy and range, their mechanisms were less fiddly and worked even in wet weather, and they could be fitted with [[bayonet]]s to double as spears. Whereas the matchlock musket was used alongside spears and bows on the battlefield, the new rifles became the standard infantry weapon.<ref>Hoya Toru, in Hellyer et al. ''The Meiji Restoration''<br/>p. 155: "Until the late Edo period, smoothbore muskets had been used in conjunction with other weapons such as bows and spears. Furthermore, engagements involved hand-to-hand combat with weapons such as the short spear."
<br/>p. 161: "the government effectively disbanded units of archers and spearmen, key components of the early modern military structure. Moreover, the mounted cavalry, which had been the backbone of samurai military organization, was completely eliminated."</ref> [[Revolver]]s and [[derringer]]s became the self-defense weapons of choice, supplanting knives and swords. These firearms were also much easier to use than the traditional weapons of the samurai, requiring only two or so weeks of practice to master as opposed to years.<ref>An 1860 British rifle training manual, [https://archive.org/details/drillforcorpsri02lysogoog/page/n99/mode/1up?q=days ''Drill and Rifle Instruction for the Corps of Rifle Volunteers''], on p. 75 recommends one week of drilling followed by one week of target practice.</ref><ref>In ''[https://books.google.be/books?id=AApXAAAAcAAJ Questions on the Instruction of Musketry and the Hythe Papers]'' (1862), Elphinstone Waters Begbie rhetorically poses the question "How many days ought the rifle-carbine training of the Royal Artillery recruits to occupy?". In [https://books.google.be/books?id=mlABAAAAQAAJ the accompanying answer booklet], Begbie answers: "Fifteen working days"</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Japan Railway & Transport Review |date=September 1997 |pages=48–49 |title=Train Driver and Master Iaido Swordsman |url=https://www.ejrcf.or.jp/jrtr/jrtr13/pdf/people48.pdf}}
<br/>
"According to Kawaguchi, it requires some 3 years to learn to handle the sword with natural ease, and no less than 10 years to tentatively master all aspects of the art."</ref><ref>Ellis Amdur. ''Old School: Essays on Japanese Martial Traditions, Expanded Edition'': "To learn the fundamental techniques of spear fighting takes a strong body and perhaps two to three months of practice."</ref><ref name=HiredSwords39/> Peasant gunmen could be trained on an as-needed basis and were just as effective as samurai gunmen. This rendered the samurai obsolete as a specialist warrior caste.<ref>Gwynne Dyer (1985). ''War'', p. 58:<br/>"It is not doing too much violence to history to compare the warrior class of samurai in Japan with the feudal nobility of Europe. Both were groups who owed their wealth, power, and social position to their proficiency with arms and derived their own self-respect from it. But proficiency with arms is only an important distinguishing mark if it takes long and arduous training to achieve and has a direct relationship to a man's chances of success and survival in battle—as it does with the sword, the spear, or the bow. Firearms take far less time to master and are much more democratic in their effects: samurai and commoners died with equal speed and equal futility in Takeda's desperate charges at Nagashino."</ref><ref>Noel Perrin. ''Giving up the Gun'', p. 73: "So could Lord Matsudaira, Warden of Kami Province, who said disgustedly of the 1637 rebellion. ‘In this there is no difference between soldiers and peasants, because firearms are used.’"</ref><ref>Mark Ravina. ''To Stand with the Nations of the World'' pp. 24–25: "A well-disciplined deployment of peasant musketeers could destroy an elite brigade of mounted archers, whose skills reflected years of training and noble privilege."</ref>

Even before the [[Meiji Restoration]], the shogun and other feudal lords put a stronger emphasis on commoners when they set about rebuilding their armies.<ref>Jaundrill. ''Samurai to Soldier'', p. 71: "On the national level, the Tokugawa shogunate had inaugurated an ambitious attempt to create a new kind of army: one composed primarily of commoner soldiers and solidly under the control of Tokugawa authorities—not vassal warriors, as had been the case early in the regime’s history."</ref><ref>Hoya Toru, in Hellyer et al. ''The Meiji Restoration'', p.153: "In the wake of armed internal conflicts, almost every domain embraced modern, military organizational methods modeled after those of contemporary Europe. The key trigger to these reforms was the adoption of modern firearms, notably rifles, which decisively reshaped the military organizations of the day."</ref> There were political advantages. Commoners tended to be more submissive as they came from humbler backgrounds, did not inherit any military tradition, and were easier to replace.<ref>Jaundrill. ''Samurai to Soldier'', p. 47: "Because the soldiers recruited through the 1863 conscriptions ranked as the lowest members of the warrior status group, Tokugawa military leaders were free to use them as test subjects in their experimental effort to create a Westernized military. Unlike the warriors who had attended (or avoided) the Martial Arts School, the new recruits had no prior experience with military service, and thus no preconceptions about the limits of their superiors’ authority."</ref>  They were less resistant to social reform because they had little to lose and potentially a lot to gain. They typically came without any political baggage or conflicting loyalties, which became especially important later on when the Meiji government sought to create a national army that cut across feudal domains. During the Meiji era, conscription into the national army exposed men across Japan to nationalist indoctrination, a way to build unity and national identity.<ref>Jaundrill (2019). ''Samurai to Soldier'', p. 44: "Others domains like Choshu and Saga recruited on and outside the margins of the warrior status group in order to avoid sparking political conflicts within the domain."</ref><ref>Esposito. ''Japanese Armies 1868-1877'', p. 13: "The peasant conscripts would be trained in regular, disciplined units with modern firearms; there would be no place for the selective loyalties of traditional samurai entourages in any future wars."</ref><ref>Edward J. Drea. ''Japan's Imperial Army'', pp. 22, 29</ref> 

The Japanese realized that in order to match the industrial and military might of the Western imperial powers, Japan had to abandon feudalism for a capitalist economy with a strong central government.<ref>Jaundrill. ''Samurai to Soldier'', p. 31: "Thus the Ansei (1854–1860) round of reforms aimed to graft new technology onto existing organizational frameworks. The setbacks encountered in the Ansei reform era led shogunal and domainal leaders to conclude that technological reform was not possible without organizational reform—a political act that most authorities were unwilling to undertake unless absolutely necessary."</ref><ref>Ravina. ''To Stand with the Nations of the World'', p. 106: "...the crisis of 1866 prompted one of the most remarkable reform efforts in Japanese history. Defeat by Chōshū had discredited defenders of the shogunal status quo. Yoshinobu seized this chance to push through the most radical Japanese reform project in a millennium. Yoshinobu sought nothing less than the complete reorganization of the shogunate “from a feudally organized suzerain regime into a unified national regime organized along the bureaucratic lines of Napoleonic France."</ref> In November 1867, the unpopular shogun relinquished his authority to the emperor, who was seen as a unifying figure by the Japanese. Thus began the [[Meiji Restoration]].<ref>Ravina. ''To Stand with the Nations of the World'', p. 116: "Yoshinobu’s move was tactically brilliant. By agreeing to restore political power to the court, he stole the issue from Chōshū and Satsuma. At the same time, his “surrender” allowed Yoshinobu to reposition himself in the emerging political order. The imperial court accepted Yoshinobu’s “return of political authority” on 10/15 but also called for a meeting of the daimyo to decide the course of reform. Since Yoshinobu had deftly manipulated daimyo councils before, he had every reason to expect substantial power in any national assembly.</ref> Between 1869 and 1871, the ''[[daimyo]]'' (Japan's feudal lords) were stripped of their lands and titles. Their domains became prefectures subject to the authority of the imperial government. Some former ''daimyo'' were given government jobs, but most retired with lavish pensions.<ref>Ravina. ''To Stand with the Nations of the World'', p. 122: "Rather than fight in defense of noble privilege, many of the last generation of daimyo were eager to be coopted: a handful received positions in the new Meiji government, but most simply accepted lavish pensions and disappeared from political life.</ref>

[[File:Saigo Takamori Portrait by Ishikawa Shizumasa.jpg|right|thumb|[[Saigo Takamori]] is romanticized as the last samurai. He led a failed rebellion against the new government which saw his kind as obsolete and troublesome.]]
The dissolution of the ''daimyo'' class made the samurai defunct as a feudal retainer caste, so the Meiji government began repealing their special rights and privileges. In 1869, the government reclassified high-ranking samurai as ''shizoku'' (warriors) and lower status samurai as ''sotsuzoku'' (foot soldiers).<ref>Ravina. ''To Stand with the Nations of the World'', p.131: "As vassals of vassals, Inada samurai were to be classified as soldiers (sotsu) rather than samurai (shi), resulting in a reduction in both income and status."</ref> In 1872, the ''sotsu'' rank was abolished and the ''sotsuzoku'' were reclassified as ''shizoku''.<ref>Ravina. ''To Stand with the Nations of the World'', p. 181: "It eliminated the distinct rank of “sotsu” for lower samurai and classified all retainers with heritable income as “shizoku,” a neologism for “former samurai.”"</ref> In 1871, the government banned the samurai topknot (the ''[[chonmage]]'').<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.meijishowa.com/calendar/4272/08-09-1871-japan-abolishes-the-samurai-topknot | title=08-09 (1871) Japan Abolishes the Samurai Topknot &#124; MeijiShowa - Vintage Images of Japan }}</ref> From 1873 to 1879, the government started taxing the stipends and transformed them into interest-bearing government bonds. The main goal was to provide enough financial liquidity to enable former samurai to invest in land and industry. In 1876, the government forbade anyone outside the military to wear swords even if they were of samurai lineage, and repealed the right of a samurai to strike an insolent commoner with potentially lethal force (''[[kiri-sute gomen]]'').<ref>Laurence Winkler. ''Samurai Road'': "In 1876, the wearing of swords was forbidden to anyone except members of the national armed forces, and all samurai stipends were converted to government bonds, at significant financial loss. The samurai right of ''kirisute gomen'', which allowed them to execute commoners who paid them disrespect, was abolished."</ref> 

Most samurai accepted these reforms. In fact the Meiji leadership was composed mostly of samurai. Although they were no longer entitled to rule, many former samurai were offered positions in the new civilian government because they were typically well-educated. Others were offered teaching positions in the new public education system.<ref>Eiko Ikegami. ''The Taming of the Samurai'', pp. 360-361</ref>

But some samurai could not be placated, leading to sporadic samurai rebellions. The largest of these was the [[Satsuma Rebellion]] of 1877. Many disgruntled samurai flocked to Satsuma where the radical samurai [[Saigo Takamori]] had set up academies where he taught samurai the ways of modern war and his militant right-wing beliefs. The Meiji reforms of 1873 gave farmers ownership rights so that the government could tax them directly. This eliminated the traditional feudal role of the samurai landowners, of which Satsuma had an exceptionally high number.<ref>''The Cambridge History of Japan Volume 5: The Nineteenth Century'', p. 395: "In most fiefs the ''gōshi'' had lost their warrior status at the beginning of the Tokugawa period and were assimilated into the wealthy farmer (''gōnō'') class. However, the Satsuma ''gōshi'' were accorded elite status and continued to think and act as warriors. [...] More concretely, the 1873 land tax revision threatened their socioeconomic power in the village. By conferring ownership rights on peasant farmers and taxing individual proprietors, the Meiji land tax eliminated the feudal role of the Satsuma ''gōshi'' as petty overlords."</ref> Saigo therefore found a lot of sympathetic samurai in Satsuma. The imperial government feared an insurrection and sent a task force to disarm Takamori's growing paramilitary force. In response, Takamori marched his army on Tokyo. The rebel samurai were defeated by the imperial army, which was composed mostly of commoners. Both armies were equipped with modern weapons. After this rebellion was quashed, the Meiji government faced no further challenges to its authority.<ref>Ravina. ''To Stand with the Nations of the World'', p. 196: "A primary cause of the 1877 rebellion was the government’s attack on samurai privilege."</ref>

In 1947, the ''shizoku'' class was abolished.

==Martial traditions==
During the [[Heian period]] (794 - 1185), distinctive weapons such as the ''[[tachi]]'' and ''[[naginata]]'', commonly associated with the samurai, came into use.<ref name ="ejs33">{{Cite book|first=Kazuhiko |last=Inada |date=2020|title=決定版 図説日本刀大全 Encyclopedia of the Japanese Swords|page=33, 35|publisher=One Publishing Co.,Ltd.|isbn=978-4651200408 |language=ja }}</ref> This era also saw the development of [[Japanese armour|armor]] styles such as the ''[[ō-yoroi]]'' and ''[[dō-maru]]''. High-ranking samurai, who fought primarily on horseback using archery (''[[yumi]]''), typically wore the heavy and expensive ''ō-yoroi'', which was well-suited for mounted combat. In contrast, lower-ranking samurai fought on foot, wielding ''naginata'' and wearing the lighter and more affordable ''dō-maru''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rekihaku.pref.hyogo.lg.jp/digital_museum/bugu-kacchuu/kc_ooyoroi/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219080001/https://rekihaku.pref.hyogo.lg.jp/digital_museum/bugu-kacchuu/kc_ooyoroi/|script-title=ja:甲冑の種類と変遷|language=ja|publisher=[[Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of History]]|date=|archive-date=19 February 2025|access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/10955/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250528082758/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/10955/|script-title=ja:胴丸・腹当・腹巻|language=ja|publisher=The Nagoya Japanese Swords Museum Nagoya Touken World|date=|archive-date=28 May 2025|access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref> The ''warabite-tō'' swords used by the Emishi influenced the evolution of Japanese swordsmithing techniques, eventually leading to the development of the curved ''tachi''. As a result, straight swords were gradually replaced by curved ones better suited for slashing in combat<ref name ="ejs33"/>

==Samurai ranks==
The samurai class was highly stratified. Rank was determined by a variety of factors such as the rank of one's lord and the size of one's stipend. Individual domains also made their own distinctions. The domain of Choshu had forty strata for the military class. The highest ranking Tokugawa vassals were the daimyo, who had at least 10,000 koku. Next came the hatamoto, who were distinguished by the right of audience with the shogun, followed by the gokenin. Samurai with a large enough stipend had their own retainers who were also samurai, called baishin. Each daimyo had his own retainers that were divided into many ranks. They were roughly divided into shi and sotsu. The highest ranking shi could have a larger stipend than some daimyo. These were usually cadet branch of the domain's ruler or [[karo]] families.<ref name="Craig, A">{{cite journal |last1=Craig |first1=Albert |title=The Restoration Movement in Chōshū |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |date=February 1959 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=187–197 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/2941681 |doi=10.2307/2941681|jstor=2941681 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Most samurai were hizamurai (ordinary samurai) who had an average stipend of 100 koku, and typically were mounted. Under them were the kachi who were on foot and were sometimes not considered samurai. Ashigaru were the lowest ranking members of the military class, although they carried two swords they are often not considered samurai, although they are sometimes listed as lower samurai.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jansen |first1=Marius |title=Sakamato Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration |date=8 December 2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9781400879656 |ref=Jansen}}</ref><ref name="Bloomsbury Publishing">{{cite book |last1=Vaporis |first1=Constantine Nomikos |title=Samurai An Encyclopedia of Japan's Cultured Warriors |date=14 March 2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=9798216141518 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iwTHEAAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lidin |first1=Olof |title=Ogyu Sorai's Discourse on Government |date=1999 |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=9783447040754 |ref=Ogyu}}</ref>

==Bushido==
{{See also|Bushido|Kiri-sute gomen}}
[[File:Onikojima Yatarō.jpg|thumb|upright|A samurai holding a [[Headhunting|severed head]]. After a battle, the heads of enemies were presented to the daimyo.]]

In the 13th century, [[Hōjō Shigetoki (born 1198)|Hōjō Shigetoki]] wrote: "When one is serving officially or in the master's court, he should not think of a hundred or a thousand people, but should consider only the importance of the master."<ref>Wilson, p. 38</ref> [[Carl Steenstrup]] notes that 13th- and 14th-century warrior writings (''gunki'') "portrayed the ''bushi'' in their natural element, war, eulogizing such virtues as reckless bravery, fierce family pride, and selfless, at times senseless devotion of master and man".<ref>[[Carl Steenstrup]], PhD Thesis, University of Copenhagen (1979)</ref>

[[File:Oishi Yoshio Gishi Seppuku No Zu Painting.png|thumb|upright=1.2|A painting of [[Ōishi Yoshio]] performing [[seppuku]], 1703]]
[[File:Sekigahara Kassen Byōbu-zu (Gifu History Museum).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|An [[Edo period|Edo-period]] screen depicting the [[Battle of Sekigahara]]. It began on 21 October 1600 with a total of 160,000 men facing each other.]]

The translator of ''Hagakure'', [[William Scott Wilson]], observed examples of warrior emphasis on death in clans other than Yamamoto's: "he (Takeda Shingen) was a strict disciplinarian as a warrior, and there is an exemplary story in the ''Hagakure'' relating his execution of two brawlers, not because they had fought, but because they had not fought to the death".<ref>Wilson, p. 91</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Daisetz Teitarō Suzuki |title=Zen and Japanese culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j8c9AAAAIAAJ |year=1938 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-691-01770-9}}</ref>

===Religion===
The philosophies of Confucianism,<ref name="William E. Deal 2006 136"/> [[Buddhism]] and [[Zen]], and to a lesser extent [[Shinto]], influenced the samurai culture. Zen meditation became an important teaching because it offered a process to calm one's mind. The Buddhist concept of [[reincarnation]] and rebirth led samurai to abandon torture and needless killing, while some samurai even gave up violence altogether and became Buddhist monks after coming to believe that their killings were fruitless. Some were killed as they came to terms with these conclusions in the battlefield. The most defining role that Confucianism played in samurai philosophy was to stress the importance of the lord-retainer relationship—the loyalty that a samurai was required to show his lord.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Literature on the subject of ''bushido'' such as ''[[Hagakure]]'' ("Hidden in Leaves") by [[Yamamoto Tsunetomo]] and ''Gorin no Sho'' ("Book of the Five Rings") by [[Miyamoto Musashi]], both written in the Edo period, contributed to the development of ''bushidō'' and Zen philosophy.

According to Robert Sharf, "The notion that Zen is somehow related to Japanese culture in general, and bushidō in particular, is familiar to Western students of Zen through the writings of D.&nbsp;T. Suzuki, no doubt the single most important figure in the spread of Zen in the West."{{sfn|Sharf|1993|p=12}}

==Culture==
[[File:Shōkō-ken.jpg|thumb|The {{nihongo3|small tea room||[[chashitsu]]}} was a place of politics and socializing for lords and samurai.]]
{{nihongo3|Japanese poetry||[[Waka (poetry)|Waka]]}}, {{nihongo3|Japanese dance-drama||[[noh]]}}, {{nihongo3|Japanese football game||[[kemari]]}}, [[Japanese tea ceremony|tea ceremony]], and {{nihongo3|Japanese flower arranging||[[ikebana]]}} were some of the cultural pursuits enjoyed by the aristocratic samurai in the Sengoku Period.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/113261/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427025841/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/113261/|script-title=ja:武士の生活|language=ja|publisher=The Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Nagoya Touken World|date=|archive-date=27 April 2024|access-date=27 April 2024}}</ref>
 
''Waka'' poems were also used as {{nihongo3|death poems|[[:ja:辞世|辞世の句]]|jisei no ku}}. [[Hosokawa Gracia]], [[Asano Naganori]], and [[Takasugi Shinsaku]] are famous for their ''jisei no ku''.

''Noh'' and ''kemari'' were promoted by the [[Ashikaga shogunate]] and became popular among {{nihongo3|feudal lords||[[daimyo]]}} and samurai.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/article/53496|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205225102/https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/article/53496|script-title=ja:神社と深くつながる「蹴鞠」|language=ja|publisher=[[Kokugakuin University]]|date=16 February 2018|archive-date=5 December 2022|access-date=27 April 2024}}</ref><ref name="nohgaku">{{cite web|url=https://www.nohgaku.or.jp/guide/whywhat1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004141553/https://www.nohgaku.or.jp/guide/whywhat1|script-title=ja:能楽と歴史について|language=ja|publisher=The Nohgaku Performers' Association|date=16 February 2018|archive-date=4 October 2023|access-date=27 April 2024}}</ref> During the [[Sengoku period]], the appreciation of ''noh'' and the practice of tea ceremonies were valued for socializing and exchanging information, and were essential cultural pursuits for ''daimyo'' and samurai. The view of life and death expressed in ''noh'' plays was something the samurai of the time could relate to. Owning tea utensils used in the tea ceremony was a matter of prestige for ''daimyo'' and samurai, and in some cases tea utensils were given in exchange for land as a reward for military service. The {{nihongo3|small tea room||[[chashitsu]]}} was also used as a place for political meetings, as it was suitable for secret talks, and the tea ceremony sometimes brought together samurai and townspeople who did not normally interact.<ref name="nohgaku"/>

===Education===
[[File:Koan Ogata 1901.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kōan Ogata]], a samurai, physician and rangaku scholar in late Edo period Japan, noted for establishing an academy which later developed into [[Osaka University]]]]

In general, samurai, aristocrats, and priests had a very high literacy rate in [[kanji]]. Recent studies have shown that literacy in kanji among other groups in society was somewhat higher than previously understood. For example, court documents, birth and death records and marriage records from the Kamakura period, submitted by farmers, were prepared in Kanji. Both the kanji literacy rate and skills in math improved toward the end of Kamakura period.<ref name=Matsura>Matsura, Yoshinori Fukuiken-shi 2 (Tokyo: Sanshusha, 1921)</ref>

Some samurai had ''buke bunko'', or "warrior library", a personal library that held texts on strategy, the science of warfare, and other documents that would have proved useful during the warring era of feudal Japan. One such library held 20,000 volumes. The upper class had ''Kuge bunko'', or "family libraries", that held classics, Buddhist sacred texts, and family histories, as well as genealogical records.<ref>Murray, S. (2009). ''The library : an illustrated history''. New York: [[Skyhorse Pub.]]; Chicago : ALA Editions, 2009. p. 113 {{ISBN?}}</ref>

<blockquote>There were to Lord Eirin's character many high points difficult to measure, but according to the elders the foremost of these was the way he governed the province by his civility. It goes without saying that he acted this way toward those in the samurai class, but he was also polite in writing letters to the farmers and townspeople, and even in addressing these letters he was gracious beyond normal practice. In this way, all were willing to sacrifice their lives for him and become his allies.<ref>Wilson, p. 85</ref></blockquote>

In a letter dated 29 January 1552, [[St Francis Xavier]] observed the ease of which the Japanese understood prayers due to the high level of literacy in Japan at that time:

In a letter to [[Ignatius of Loyola|Father Ignatius Loyola]] at [[Rome]], Xavier further noted the education of the upper classes:

<blockquote>The Nobles send their sons to monasteries to be educated as soon as they are 8 years old, and they remain there until they are 19 or 20, learning reading, writing and religion; as soon as they come out, they marry and apply themselves to politics.</blockquote>

===Names===
A samurai was usually named by combining one [[kanji]] from his father or grandfather and one new kanji. Samurai normally used only a small part of their total name.

For example, the full name of [[Oda Nobunaga]] was "Oda Kazusanosuke Saburo Nobunaga" ({{lang|ja|織田上総介三郎信長}}), in which "Oda" is a clan or family name, "Kazusanosuke" is a title of vice-governor of Kazusa province, "Saburo" is a formal nickname (''[[yobina]]''), and "Nobunaga" is an adult name (''[[nanori]]'') given at [[genpuku]], the coming of age ceremony. A man was addressed by his family name and his title, or by his ''yobina'' if he did not have a title. However, the ''nanori'' was a private name that could be used by only a very few, including the emperor. Samurai could choose their own ''nanori'' and frequently changed their names to reflect their allegiances.

Samurai were given the privilege of carrying two swords and using 'samurai surnames' to identify themselves from the common people.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wert |first1=Michael |title=Samurai: A Concise History |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-093294-7 |page=38}}</ref>

===Marriage===
[[File:Taikō gosai rakutō yūkan no zu.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] with his wives and concubines]]

Samurai had arranged marriages, which were arranged by a go-between of the same or higher rank. While for those samurai in the upper ranks this was a necessity (as most had few opportunities to meet women), this was a formality for lower-ranked samurai. Most samurai married women from a samurai family, but for lower-ranked samurai, marriages with commoners were permitted. In these marriages a [[dowry]] was brought by the woman and was used to set up the couple's new household.

A samurai could take [[concubine]]s, but their backgrounds were checked by higher-ranked samurai. In many cases, taking a concubine was akin to a marriage. Kidnapping a concubine, although common in fiction, would have been shameful, if not criminal. If the concubine was a commoner, a messenger was sent with betrothal money or a note for exemption of tax to ask for her parents' acceptance. Even though the woman would not be a legal wife, a situation normally considered a demotion, many wealthy merchants believed that being the concubine of a samurai was superior to being the legal wife of a commoner. When a merchant's daughter married a samurai, her family's money erased the samurai's debts, and the samurai's social status improved the standing of the merchant family. If a samurai's commoner concubine gave birth to a son, the son could inherit his father's social status.

A samurai could divorce his wife for a variety of reasons with approval from a superior, but divorce was, while not entirely nonexistent, a rare event. A wife's failure to produce a son was cause for divorce, but adoption of a male heir was considered an acceptable alternative to divorce. A samurai could divorce for personal reasons, even if he simply did not like his wife, but this was generally avoided as it would embarrass the person who had arranged the marriage. A woman could also arrange a divorce, although it would generally take the form of the samurai divorcing her. After a divorce, samurai had to return the betrothal money, which often prevented divorces.

==Women==
{{Main|Onna-musha}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2023}}
[[File:Tomoe-Gozen.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Tomoe Gozen]] by Shitomi Kangetsu, {{Circa|18th century}}]]

Maintaining the household was the main duty of women of the samurai class. This was especially crucial during early feudal Japan, when warrior husbands were often traveling abroad or engaged in clan battles. The wife, or ''okugatasama'' (meaning: one who remains in the home), was left to manage all household affairs, care for the children, and perhaps even defend the home forcibly. For this reason, many women of the samurai class were trained in wielding a polearm called a ''[[naginata]]'' or a special knife called the ''[[Kaiken (dagger)|kaiken]]'' in an art called ''[[tantojutsu]]'' (lit. the skill of the knife), which they could use to protect their household, family, and honor if the need arose. There were women who actively engaged in battles alongside male samurai in Japan, although most of these female warriors were not formal samurai.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7GHCwAAQBAJ|title=Samurai Women 1184–1877|last=Turnbull|first=Stephen|date=2012|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-78096-333-4|language=en}}</ref>

A samurai's daughter's greatest duty was [[political marriage]]. These women married members of enemy clans of their families to form diplomatic relationships. These alliances were stages for many intrigues, wars and tragedies throughout Japanese history. A woman could divorce her husband if he did not treat her well and also if he was a traitor to his wife's family. A famous case was that of [[Tokuhime (Oda)|Oda Tokuhime]] (daughter of [[Oda Nobunaga]]); irritated by the antics of her mother-in-law, [[Lady Tsukiyama]] (the wife of [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]]), she was able to get Lady Tsukiyama arrested on suspicion of communicating with the Takeda clan (then a great enemy of Nobunaga and the Oda clan). Ieyasu also arrested his own son, [[Matsudaira Nobuyasu]], who was Tokuhime's husband, because Nobuyasu was close to his mother Lady Tsukiyama. To assuage his ally Nobunaga, Ieyasu had Lady Tsukiyama executed in 1579 and that same year ordered his son to commit seppuku to prevent him from seeking revenge for the death of his mother.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

Though women of wealthier samurai families enjoyed perks of their elevated position in society, such as avoiding the physical labor that those of lower classes often engaged in, they were still viewed as far beneath men. Women were prohibited from engaging in any political affairs and were usually not the heads of their household. This does not mean that women in the samurai class were always powerless. Samurai women wielded power at various occasions. Throughout history, several women of the samurai class have acquired political power and influence, even though they have not received these privileges ''[[de jure]]''.

After [[Ashikaga Yoshimasa]], 8th ''shōgun'' of the Muromachi shogunate, lost interest in politics, his wife [[Hino Tomiko]] largely ruled in his place. [[Nene (aristocrat)|Nene]], wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was known to overrule her husband's decisions at times, and [[Yodo-dono]], his concubine, became the ''de facto'' master of Osaka castle and the Toyotomi clan after Hideyoshi's death. [[Tachibana Ginchiyo]] was chosen to lead the Tachibana clan after her father's death. [[Yamauchi Chiyo]], wife of Yamauchi Kazutoyo, has long been considered the ideal samurai wife. According to legend, she made her kimono out of a quilted patchwork of bits of old cloth and saved pennies to buy her husband a magnificent horse, on which he rode to many victories. The fact that Chiyo (though she is better known as "Wife of Yamauchi Kazutoyo") is held in such high esteem for her economic sense is illuminating in the light of the fact that she never produced an heir and the Yamauchi clan was succeeded by Kazutoyo's younger brother. The source of power for women may have been that samurai left their finances to their wives. Several women ascended the [[Chrysanthemum Throne]] as a [[Empress of Japan|female imperial ruler]] (女性天皇, [[Josei Tennō|josei tennō]])

As the Tokugawa period progressed more value became placed on education, and the education of females beginning at a young age became important to families and society as a whole. Marriage criteria began to weigh intelligence and education as desirable attributes in a wife, right along with physical attractiveness. Though many of the texts written for women during the Tokugawa period only pertained to how a woman could become a successful wife and household manager, there were those that undertook the challenge of learning to read, and also tackled philosophical and literary classics. Nearly all women of the samurai class were literate by the end of the Tokugawa period.

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" heights="180">
File:Kasuga no Tsubone (c. 1880).jpg|''[[Lady Kasuga|Kasuga no Tsubone]] fighting robbers'' – [[Adachi Ginkō|Adachi Ginko]] ({{Circa|1880}})
File:Hangaku Gozen by Yoshitoshi.jpg|[[Hangaku Gozen]] by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi|Yoshitoshi]], {{Circa|1885}}
File:Onodera Junai no tsuma 斧寺重内の妻 (No. 4, The Wife of Onodera Junai) (BM 2008,3037.15404).jpg|Japanese woman preparing for [[jigai|ritual suicide]]
File:Tomita Nobutaka and his wife Yuki no Kata defend Tsu Castle by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 1885.png|[[Yuki no Kata]] defending [[Tsu Castle]]. 18th century
File:Femme-samurai-p1000704.jpg|A samurai class woman
</gallery>

==In popular culture==
{{Further|Samurai cinema}}

Samurai figures have been the subject for legends, folk tales, dramatic stories (i.e. ''[[gunki monogatari]]''), theatre productions in [[kabuki]] and [[noh]], in literature, movies, animated and [[anime]] films, television shows, [[manga]], video games, and in various musical pieces in genre that range from ''[[enka]]'' to [[J-Pop]] songs.

''[[Jidaigeki]]'' (literally historical [[drama]]) has always been a staple program on Japanese movies and television. The programs typically feature a samurai. Samurai films and [[Western movie|westerns]] share a number of similarities, and the two have influenced each other over the years. One of Japan's most renowned directors, [[Akira Kurosawa]], greatly influenced western film-making. [[George Lucas]]' ''[[Star Wars]]'' series incorporated many stylistic traits pioneered by Kurosawa, and ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars: A New Hope]]'' takes the core story of a rescued princess being transported to a secret base from Kurosawa's ''[[The Hidden Fortress]]''. Kurosawa was inspired by the works of director [[John Ford]], and in turn Kurosawa's works have been remade into westerns such as ''[[Seven Samurai]]'' into ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'' and ''[[Yojimbo (film)|Yojimbo]]'' into ''[[A Fistful of Dollars]]''. There is also a 26-episode anime adaptation (''[[Samurai 7]]'') of ''Seven Samurai''. Along with film, literature containing samurai influences are seen as well. As well as influence from American Westerns, Kurosawa also adapted two of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] plays as sources for samurai movies: ''[[Throne of Blood]]'' was based on ''[[Macbeth]],'' and ''[[Ran (film)|Ran]]'' was based on ''[[King Lear]]''.<ref>Roland Thorne, ''Samurai films'' (Oldcastle Books, 2010).</ref>

Most common are historical works where the protagonist is either a samurai or former samurai (or another rank or position) who possesses considerable martial skill. [[Eiji Yoshikawa]] is one of the most famous Japanese historical novelists. His retellings of popular works, including [[Taiko]], [[Miyamoto Musashi|Musashi]] and ''[[The Tale of the Heike]]'', are popular among readers for their epic narratives and rich realism in depicting samurai and warrior culture.{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}} The samurai have also appeared frequently in Japanese comics (manga) and animation (anime). Examples are ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'', ''[[Shigurui]]'', ''[[Requiem from the Darkness]]'', ''[[Muramasa: The Demon Blade]]'', and ''[[Afro Samurai]]''. Samurai-like characters are not just restricted to historical settings, and a number of works set in the modern age, and even the future, include characters who live, train and fight like samurai. Some of these works have made their way to the west, where it has been increasing in popularity with America.

In the 21st century, samurai have become more popular in America. Through various media, producers and writers have been capitalizing on the notion that Americans admire the samurai lifestyle. The animated series, ''Afro Samurai'', became well-liked in American popular culture because of its blend of hack-and-slash animation and gritty urban music. Created by [[Takashi Okazaki]], ''Afro Samurai'' was initially a ''[[dōjinshi]]'', or manga series, which was then made into an animated series by [[Studio Gonzo]]. In 2007, the animated series debuted on American cable television on the [[Spike TV]] channel. The series was produced for American viewers which "embodies the trend... comparing hip-hop artists to samurai warriors, an image some rappers claim for themselves".<ref>Charles Solomon, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-feb-02-et-afrosamurai2-story.html "Way of the sword" ''Los Angeles Times'' Feb 2, 2009]</ref> The story line keeps in tone with the perception of a samurai finding vengeance against someone who has wronged him. Because of its popularity, ''Afro Samurai'' was adopted into a full feature animated film and also became titles on gaming consoles such as the [[PlayStation 3]] and [[Xbox]]. Not only has the samurai culture been adopted into animation and video games, it can also be seen in comic books.

The television series ''[[Power Rangers Samurai]]'' (adapted from ''Samurai Sentai Shinkenger'') is inspired by the way of the samurai.<ref>*{{cite news|url=http://www.denofgeek.us/books-comics/wolverine/160466/villains-of-the-wolverine-silver-samurai-and-viper|title=Villains of The Wolverine: Silver Samurai and Viper|website=Den of Geek|date=26 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109145318/http://www.denofgeek.us/books-comics/wolverine/160466/villains-of-the-wolverine-silver-samurai-and-viper|archive-date=9 January 2015|author=Marc Buxton}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Denison |first1=Rayna |author-link=Rayna Denison |title=Transcultural creativity in anime: Hybrid identities in the production, distribution, texts and fandom of Japanese anime |journal=Creative Industries Journal |date=27 May 2011 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=221–235 |doi=10.1386/cij.3.3.221_1|s2cid=143210545  |issn = 1751-0694 }}
* {{cite magazine |last=King |first=Kevin |date=December 1, 2008 |title=Afro Samurai |department=Youth Graphic Novels in Brief |magazine=Booklist |volume=105 |issue=7 |page=44 |id={{ProQuest|235647197}} |ref=none}}
* {{cite web |last1=Manion |first1=Annie |title=Global Samurai |url=http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr45/pdf/ap.pdf |publisher=Japan Railway & Transport Review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100911002417/http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr45/pdf/ap.pdf |archive-date=11 September 2010 |pages=46–47|date=August 2006}}</ref><ref>*{{cite web |last1=Moscardi |first1=Nino |archive-date=19 March 2014 |title=The "Badass" Samurai in Japanese Pop Culture |url=http://www.samurai-archives.com/bsj.html |publisher=Samurai-Archives |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319104000/http://www.samurai-archives.com/bsj.html }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Ravina |first1=Mark |title=Fantasies of Valor: Legends of the Samurai in Japan and the United States |journal=ASIANetwork Exchange |date=1 October 2010 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=80–99 |doi=10.16995/ane.200 |url=http://www.asianetworkexchange.org/jms/article/view/200 |doi-access=free }}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-feb-02-et-afrosamurai2-story.html|title=American, Japanese pop culture meld in 'Afro Samurai'|work=Los Angeles Times|author=Solomon, Charles|date=2 February 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20150118054553/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/02/entertainment/et-afrosamurai2|archive-date=18 January 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=2}}
* [[List of Japanese battles]]
* [[List of samurai]]
* [[Musha shugyō]]
* [[Ninja]]
* [[Pechin]]
* [[Kabukimono]]
* [[Seiwa Genji]]
* [[Shudō]]
* [[Shi (class)|Shi]]
* [[Hwarang]]
* [[Kheshig]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* Absolon, Trevor. ''Samurai Armour: Volume I: The Japanese Cuirass'' (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017).{{ISBN?}}
* Anderson, Patricia E. "Roles of Samurai Women: Social Norms and Inner Conflicts During Japan's Tokugawa Period, 1603–1868". ''New Views on Gender'' 15 (2015): 30–37. [http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/iusbgender/article/viewFile/13611/19840 online]
* Ansart, Olivier. "Lust, Commerce and Corruption: An Account of What I Have Seen and Heard by an Edo Samurai". ''Asian Studies Review'' 39.3 (2015): 529–530.
* Benesch, Oleg. ''Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism, and Bushido in Modern Japan'' (Oxford UP, 2014). {{ISBN|978-0-19-870662-5}}
* Benesch, Oleg. "Comparing Warrior Traditions: How the Janissaries and Samurai Maintained Their Status and Privileges During Centuries of Peace." ''Comparative Civilizations Review'' 55.55 (2006): 6:37–55 [https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1669&context=ccr Online].
* {{cite book |author=Benjamin Duke |year=2019 |title=Dr. David Murray: Superintendent of Education in the Empire of Japan, 1873-1879 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=9780813594996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_89DwAAQBAJ}}
* Clements, Jonathan. ''A Brief History of the Samurai'' (Running Press, 2010) {{ISBN|0-7624-3850-9}}
* {{cite book|title=the Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6n9jLF4IwUC|publisher=Forgotten Books|isbn=978-1-4510-0048-1|author-link=Henry James Coleridge|author=Coleridge, Henry James}}
* Cummins, Antony, and Mieko Koizumi. ''The Lost Samurai School'' (North Atlantic Books, 2016) 17th century Samurai {{ISBN?}} textbook on combat; heavily illustrated.
* {{cite book |author=Karl F. Friday |year=1992 |title=Hired Swords: The Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=0-8047-2696-5}}
* {{cite book|author=Gwynne Dyer |title=War |year=1985 |publisher=Crown |isbn=9780517556153}}
* Hubbard, Ben. ''The Samurai Warrior: The Golden Age of Japan's Elite Warriors 1560–1615'' (Amber Books, 2015).{{ISBN?}}
* Jaundrill, D. Colin. ''Samurai to Soldier: Remaking Military Service in Nineteenth-Century Japan'' (Cornell UP, 2016).{{ISBN?}}
* {{cite book|author=Mark Ravina |year=2017 |title=To Stand with the Nations of the World: Japan's Meiji Restoration in World History |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-532771-7}}
* Kinmonth, Earl H. ''Self-Made Man in Meiji Japanese Thought: From Samurai to Salary Man'' (1981) 385pp.{{ISBN?}}
* Ogata, Ken. "End of the Samurai: A Study of Deinstitutionalization Processes". ''Academy of Management Proceedings'' Vol. 2015. No. 1.
* {{cite journal
|last     = Sharf
|first    = Robert H.
|title    = The Zen of Japanese Nationalism
|journal  = History of Religions
|volume   = 33
|issue    = 1
|date     = August 1993
|pages    = 1–43
|publisher = [[University of Chicago Press]]
|doi = 10.1086/463354
|s2cid = 161535877
}}
* Thorne, Roland. ''Samurai films'' (Oldcastle Books, 2010).{{ISBN?}}
* Turnbull, Stephen. ''The Samurai: A Military History'' (1996).{{ISBN?}}
* Kure, Mitsuo. ''Samurai: an illustrated history'' (2014).{{ISBN?}}
* {{cite book|author-link=William Scott Wilson|author=Wilson, William Scott|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zAl8YHtqXxgC|title= Ideals of the Samurai: Writings of Japanese Warriors|publisher=Kodansha|year= 1982|isbn=0-89750-081-4}}

===Historiography===
* Howland, Douglas R. "Samurai status, class, and bureaucracy: A historiographical essay". ''[[The Journal of Asian Studies]]''. 60.2 (2001): 353–380. {{doi|10.2307/2659697}} [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2659697 online].
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|侍}}
{{Wiktionary|samurai}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Samurai}}
* [http://www.samurai-archives.com The Samurai Archives Japanese History page]
* [http://www.history.com/topics/samurai-and-bushido History of the Samurai]
* [https://www.pbs.org/empires/japan/program_1.html The Way of the Samurai] – Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire
* [http://sitereports.nabunken.go.jp/en Comprehensive Database of Archaeological Site Reports in Japan], Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties

{{Japanese (samurai) weapons, armour and equipment}}
{{Social class}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Samurai| ]]
[[Category:12th-century establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:1879 disestablishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Combat occupations]]
[[Category:Japanese caste system]]
[[Category:Japanese historical terms]]
[[Category:Japanese nobility]]
[[Category:Japanese warriors]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Obsolete occupations]]