The Samurai and Their Swords - a Legend or Reality?

The Samurai's Origin

What associations come into your head when you hear the word "samurai"? Probably you imagine a brave warrior fighting with a legendary samurai sword and think of such concepts as honor, devotion and justice. Who in fact were the samurai? They represented a class of warriors who loyally served their superiors (the word samurai means "to serve"). This class appeared in the period of the 9th-12th centuries as the result of struggle for land which started between influential Japanese clans, the Minamoto, the Fujiwara and the Taira being the most powerful of all. They were subdivided into two groups - samurai, who were knights-retainers, and bushi, meaning warriors.

Thousands of years of Japanese history were marked by the battles conducted by clans comprising several families and ruled by a chief. While some of the samurai were taken for service by a feudal landowner, the majority of them belonged to the ruling class and was honored to represent the highest of the four existing social classes, especially in the period of the 15th - 18th centuries. During this time the samurai were the only ones permitted to carry swords. Their mission was to conquer more land and defend their territory. In return, the samurai were given land, as well as prominent position within the court.

Over the time the clans realized they could find the compromise which led to their uniting and gradually up to the 18th century the fighting stopped. By that time Japanese way of life was significantly influenced by Western customs, having caused the process of modernizing which also contributed to the end of wars.

In the 19th century in Japan there appeared the modern army and military equipment and the samurai service became no longer required. Moreover, in 1876 a law prohibited wearing swords and the samurai class disappeared.

However, till the present moment the ideals attained by the Samurai have aroused much admiration and idealization. Nowadays, they have embodied the principles of the bushido and unshakable loyalty, as well as the imperturbable attitude towards pain or death.

Samurai Swords

Initially, the samurai fought mainly with bows and arrows, while riding a horse or on the ground. In the late 13th century the situation changed - fierce battles with the Mongols, followed by the samurai's defeat, made the samurai look for new strategies. The samurai swords became the primary weapon of the warriors and the samurai exceedingly practiced fighting on foot.
The samurai became well-known for their experience and excellent skills in both armed and unarmed fighting. Their armor consisted of a helmet, a breastplate, arm and shoulder shields, leg and thigh protectors, and a belly wrap.

The two Samurai swords, the daisho, always accompanied their masters. The sword was the tabernacle of a samurai's soul. One of these, the katana, which is over 24 inches, became synonymous with samurai while the other, the wakizashi, a samurai's "honour blade," was shorter. The samurai held to a belief that their swords enclosed the essence of their warrior's skills and influenced the course of the battle and had the tradition to give their swords names.
There was a ceremony of giving a wakizashi to a male child when he has reached the age of thirteen, followed by giving him an adult name and initiating him into a samurai. A young samurai also received the permission to carry a katana.

The samurai ran onto the battlefield crying out their family name, rank, and achievements, and fought with an enemy of the same rank. Having won the battle, the samurai would cut the loser's head off. The samurai brought the heads of the enemies of the highest rank to the capital and displayed them for the city's authorities.

The Samurai and Bushido

The samurai were frugal in their habits and were not attracted by wealth as pride and honor were their life priorities. Their courage became really legendary and to lose one's life in battle was the greatest honor they could bring to their lord and family.

All the life of a samurai had to be based upon bushido code - Way of the Warrior, the philosophic teaching and practical code of life initially influenced by Zen and Confucianism. This may be compared to the European concept of chivalry. According to the bushido, the major virtues of a samurai had to be modesty, fidelity, honed skills in martial arts, self-sacrifice, polished manners, affection, purity of thought, and honorable attitude towards the death. The samurai were so devoted to bushido and their warlord that they would not hesitate to lose their own lives if it was required in fighting or by performing seppuku (hara-kiri), a ritual suicide - an act to uphold one's honor. It is important that the bushido influenced not just the samurai's etiquette in battle, but their personal lives as well. The samurai taught themselves to control one's emotions, no matter pain or joy, and behaved in composed manner at all times. The word of a samurai did not require signing any contract. Being sincere warriors of virtue, the samurai did their best to live in harmony with their surroundings.