preview

Pros And Cons Of Traditional Samurai In Modern Japan

Better Essays

Introduction
Samurai’s were the Japanese warrior noblemen who dominated Japan from the 10th to the 19th century. They held a special position in society where they were the only people who were allowed to carry a sword and followed a code of honour called Bushido which is best translated to “the way of the warrior”. It was a strict set of rules where one rule was broken, a suicide ritual must be taken place and is called harakiri. Samurai’s wore an elaborate armour and fought with three different weapons: A lance A bow
 Samurai’s were excellent archers
 Their bows had the length of seven to ten feet long with the materials of bamboo, wood, cane and leather
 The bamboo arrows had metal tips which could shoot 330 metres in distance A …show more content…

It was the beginning of the country’s military dictatorship called ‘shogunate’. Samurai’s were the servants of daimyo, the great lords and they backed up authority of shogun in which empowered them over Mikado, the emperor. Samurai’s were dominant over the Japanese government and society, but during the Meiji Restoration during 1868, the feudalism was restored. The disadvantages of traditional privileges made many samurai’s elite politics and industrial ranks in modern Japan. The traditional samurai code of honour, discipline and morality, or bushido, was revived and made the basic code of conduct for a variety of the Japanese …show more content…

During this time, there was a 250 year stretch of peace and prosperity in Japan, and for the first time the samurai’s took on the responsibility of administrating through diplomatic means rather than through army force. Samurai’s were told to train equally in arms and “polite” learning in accordance to Confucianism principle. The traditional faith, along with its emphasis on loyalty and duty, exceed Buddhism during the Tokugawa period as the assertive religion to the samurai. During this period, the principles of bushido started to emerge as a general code for the general Japanese public. Bushido varied due to the influences of Buddhist and Confucian thought, its warrior spirit remained continuous, including the emphasis on military skills and fearlessness in the face of their enemies. Bushido emphasise on efficiency, kindness, honesty and care to family members, particularly the

Get Access