HISTORY

THE SAMURAI

 

 

For more than 800 years, the samurai helped to lay the foundations of Japan's culture. Their reverence for honor, duty, and service remains ingrained in Japanese society even today.

Together with their renowned martial capabilities, these characteristics made the ‘Samurai’ what historian Stephen Turnbull calls "the knights of old Japan." In this interactive time line, one can become familiar with the samurai and their challenges, and learn how the warrior class evolved.

 

 

8th–10th Centuries  - Those who serve…….

 

The term "Samurai" comes from the Japanese word saburau, meaning "to serve," and was first used in A.D. 702 to describe mid-to-low-ranking court administrators and, later, armed imperial guards. Their title was mostly metaphorical, referring to their loyalty to the emperor.

By the 10th century, when provincial governors began offering heavy rewards for military service, the samurai as we know them came into being. The term eventually gained strong aristocratic overtones and brought great prestige to the samurai's lineage—so much so that warriors would recite their ancestry on the battlefield.

 

 

Mid-12th Century – Rival Clans……

 

By the 11th century, powerful military clans had begun vying for power. Two particularly strong family groups, the Taira and the Minamoto, stood out from the rest and went on to influence Japanese politics for centuries to come.

Each took part in the Hogen Rebellion of 1156, a civil war fought over the disputed imperial line of succession following the death of the emperor Toba.

The conflict resulted in the Taira rising to power to form the first samurai-led government in the history of Japan.

 

 

Late 12th Century – The Gempei War…….

 

In 1180, the Minamoto clan resumed hostilities with the Taira in what became the first armed conflict of the Gempei War (so-named for the Chinese reading of both clans' names). The war spelled defeat for the Taira and changed the role of shogun—previously a commissioned military leader hired to dispose of enemies of the throne—to permanent military dictator. The war also had lasting implications for the samurai and fostered many of the codes of excellence by which these warriors led their lives, including selfless heroism, high personal standards of conduct, and martial prowess.

Even the samurai's understanding of art and poetry can be traced to stories of the Gempei  War.