The History of The Samurai
February 23 @ 10:30 – 11:30
Spèaker: John Hopwood
To Understand The Background And Emergence Of The Samurai We Must Look At Japan’s Early History, Mainly From Around The Year 800ad.
Everyone Knows Something About The Samurai. The Literal Translation Means One Who Serves.
For Many Years, They Were The Warrior Class In Japan And Whilst They Had A Tradition Of Gallantry, They Were Sometimes Quite Ruthless And They Also Had The Right To Kill Anyone Who They Thought Did Not Show Them Sufficient Respect.
This Led To The Development Of What Was Called Bushido – Or, The Way Of The Warrior – By Which The Samurai Maintained Both Their Moral And Military Values Through Training And With The Sword. Codes Of Behaviour Evolved Around The Samurai Tradition Of Absolute Loyalty And Willingness To Die For One’s Master.
The Samurai Were The Warrior Class In Japan From Around The Year 1150 And They Continued For Approximately Seven Hundred Years During The Period When Shoguns Ruled Japan Until The Mid Eighteen Hundreds – So To The Mid 19th Century – When They Were Mostly Disbanded Because In 1868 The Shogun Of That Time Abdicated In Favour Of The Emperor.