Saigō Takamori, original name Kichibē, or Kichinosuke, literary name Nanshū (born Jan. 23, 1828, Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japan—died Sept. 24, 1877, Kagoshima), a leader in the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate who later rebelled against the weaknesses he saw in the Imperial government that he had helped to restore. Although his participation in the restoration made him a legendary hero, it also, to his mortification, relegated his samurai class to impotence.
Early life
Saigō was born in 1828 at Kagoshima. His family were samurai of a low but honourable rank whose traditional responsibility was that of serving in the feudal lord’s bodyguard.
From boyhood Saigō was distinguished by his unusual size and physique; as an adult he was almost six
Musui 's Story is a samurai 's autobiography that portrays the Tokugawa society as it was lived during Katsu Kokichi 's life (1802 - 1850). Katsu Kokichi (or Musui) was a man born into a family with hereditary privilege of audience with the shogun, yet he lived a life unworthy of a samurai 's way, running protection racket, cheating, stealing, and lying. Before we discuss how Musui 's lifestyle was against the codes that regulated the behavior of the samurai, it is essential that the role of the samurai in Japanese society be understood.
The Samurai’s Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard is about a boy named Taro, the protagonist in the story. The major characters in the story are Taro, Yoshitoki, Lord Takeda Katsuyori, Lord Akiyama Nobutomo, and Togan. The setting of the story is in Japan, in around the 16th century. In the beginning of the story he was presented as a gift by the great Lord Takeda Shingen to Lord Akiyama after his parents had been killed. By using his wits and suppressing his fierce pride, Taro slowly escalates the ranks of his lord’s household until he achieves his greatest goal—becoming a samurai like his father and Lord Akiyama, whom he has come to admire. The life of a samurai is not so easy, Taro finds himself sacrificing opportunities of love and friendship
The narrator, Katsu Kokichi, was a low ranking samurai during the end of the Tokugawa Period. He was the youngest out of all his siblings and as a child he ran away from home multiple times. Kokichi told his readers how he had to beg for food and even began to pose as a representative to a feudal lord. The readers learn that he has a wife and children but he often times would beat her and he also never got an official promotion and was forced to obtain a low income by dealing swords, selling protection to shopkeepers, and sometimes using his muscle (getting into fights) and tricking others. In Kokichi’s lifetime, readers see a man whose life was filled with dishonesty, corruption, poverty, blackmail, and even lawbreaking. His story shows the reality of a samurai’s life during the end of the Tokugawa
Imagine seeing a man in Japan fighting with a katana. This man was a samurai. A samurai was a professionally trained warrior in feudal Japan.These samurais worked for their daimyo or the Shogun. They were hired to protect them, their family, and land. Samurais were hardworking and respectful to everyone. When samurais are in battle they win and do not lose.
The death of emperor Hideyoshi and subsequent ascension to the throne of Hideyori in 1598 set into motion events that would alter the political landscape in Japan for the next two hundred and fifty years. Tokugawa Ieyasu, in his quest to become absolute ruler of Japan defeated Hideyori loyalists in the battle of Sekigahara and was appointed Shogun by Hideyori in 1603. This military “coup d’état” effectively gave Tokugawa complete control of Japan and reduced the emperor to little more than a figurehead in the governing of Japan. As history would show, the feudal system of government that Tokugawa created ultimately led to
The novel Hero by Mike Lupica tells about a young boy named Zach Harriman realizing he has special powers and that there are people out in the world trying to make him turn over to the bad side, the people that use their powers for harm and not for the good cause. Zach's father, Tom Harriman, died a few months before Zach knew he was unlike others. His father worked as a special advisor to the President of the United States, doing secret operations for the President. His father was killed in a plane crash, and at the crash site the unusual thing was that no bodies were found. Zach begins to think that his father's death was no accident but murder. His father used to tell him bedtime stories of the Bads and the Good of how the used to fight
Samurai were not born with the beginning of Japan, however they did come to inhabit a large part of Japanese history, and served as one of the moving forces in the changing of said history. Initially, samurai were merely trained relatives or financially dependent swordsman hired by feudal lords as a way to protect their land (Doc H). Japan was highly chaotic and unorganized during this time, the government being so disconnected from the nation that citizens could not rely on them any longer for protection. Although
The Samurai’s Tale is about a young boy named Taro, who had became the hero of the story. The main characters in the story was Lord Akiyama, Lord Takeda Shingen, and Togan. This story took place in Japan around the 16th century. The story began with Taro, Murakami Harutomo, arguing with his mother about what she had been telling him to wear for an event that was going to happen without him knowing about. Later that day Taro saw that soldiers came attacking his house, his mother leaving him with Yone in a chest trying to keep them safe in a storehouse that had laid behind the house. A soldier then found them both and took them out of the chest, then as they walked out of the store hold, he found his mother on the ground dead. A plot twist that
2. Harutomo Murakami (Taro)- The hero of the story, the son of a poor samurai who died in battle
Samurai were the warriors of japan who were known for their skills as warriors . The samurai date all the way back to the heian period.The samurai were the protectors of the emperors in japan and the land around it.
By the 900’s, the Japanese government began losing control over rural areas due to its weak ruler and the samurai warrior class stepped in to take control. This was due to a civil war called the “Hogen Rebellion” in 1156. This rebellion was due to conflicts regarding Imperial Japanese succession and unexpectedly laid the groundwork for the samurai clans to gain dominance. With both “would-be emperors” losing the Hogen Rebellion, the imperial government of Japan lost all of its remaining power. This led to the Heiji Rebellion in 1160 which was fought between two samurai clans, the Minamoto and Taira. With the victory of the Taira clan, the first samurai-led government (Shogunate) was formed. This type of government was controlled by the samurai clans, and the Emperor of Japan was only used as a figurehead to the government.
Another evident sign of the declining of the samurai was Yoshida's lack of faith in what he called the third group, "those who were with Oishi in his plan to get the castle restored, but who were suddenly unavailable when it came to embarking on the road to vengeance." (P.172) This proved to be true, as certain developments began unfolding, the original 300 ronin who pledged allegiance, dwindled down to 47. The decline of the samurai was also evident in the house of Uesugi as well, and after the successful assassination of Kira, a messenger from the Shogun's council arrived before Lord Uesugi to carry out the Shogunate's official decrees. Lord Kira's grandson, Sayhoe, was to disembowel himself for his inability to fight to the death in defense of his kinsmen. Secondly, the retainers who fled without aiding their kinsmen were to be beheaded and cast adrift as ronin. Lastly, since Lord Uesugi failed to act on behalf of Kira, his domain is ordered to be ceased forever. The official decrees of the Shogunate all display the decline of the samurai under the house of Uesugi.
The Minamotos won, and the emperor made Minamoto Yoritomo shogun, the head of the military. Yoritomo however wanted more and took all power away from the emperor and made himself dictator. At this time the samurai gained power, through land given to them by the new shogun. Their rise in status was beginning.
The samurai, or bushi (warrior), are well-trained cavalrymen that serve a particular lord. The first recorded history of the samurai was about the 9th century A.D. At that time the capitol of Japan was Kamakura, a military installation. Japan was ruled by an emperor who controlled his empire through the use of shoguns. Shoguns were generals that ruled over
Naruto Uzumaki (うずまきナルト, Uzumaki Naruto) is a shinobi of Konohagakure and the jinchūriki of the Nine Tails — a fate granted on the day of his birth. After failing so many times in the past, he finally succeeds by pulling a twist on the exams by creating shadow clones as opposed to regular clones. He's assigned to Team 7 led by Kakashi Hatake, his teammates being his pals Sasuke Uchiha and Nakuka. Naruto worked hard to gain the village's acknowledgement all the while chasing his dream to become Hokage. In the following years, through many hardships and ordeals, he became a capable ninja regarded as a hero both by the villagers, and soon after, the rest of the world, becoming known as the Hero of the Hidden Leaf (木ノ葉隠れの英雄, Konohagakure no Eiyū,