The Samurai is the name of a warrior class of people that emerged many centuries ago in Japan. We find that the Samurai have been glorified via many movies, comic books and theatre plays in recent years. The history of the Samurai seems to be equally as attractive for children as well as adults.
To understand the development of Samurai art we must first understand how this warrior class came into being. It was in the 12th century when Japan was suppressed in clashes between two powerful local clans known as the Taira and the Minamato. It was during this time that the Japanese system of governance known as Shogunate with the Shogun on top was formed.
Daimyo who were similar to the Dukes in Europe were the second powerful authority in the country. Samurai were the fighters of these dukes. There were Ronin in the Samurai tribe who became masterless as their masters had committed suicide.
The Samurai class had many special rights. Unlike the common people who were not allowed to carry any weapons with them the Samurai was allowed to carry two swords with them. They even had the right to cut off any commoner who happened to offend them.
The Samurai caste included three categories, housemen, mounted Samurai and foot soldiers. The first class was of administrators and the mounted Samurai had the permission to mount horses when fighting with enemies.
In the passage of years this Samurai life underwent many changes and now most of their descendants are farmers living in castles. On the basis of their ranks, they were authorized for a certain percentage of the rice tax also. Samurai followed some moral doctrines which were mainly founded over the obedience to the leader who was known as Daimyo. This code of Samurai life is known as Bushido, which means the way of warrior.
Suppuku was a strange custom among the Samurai people which represented a ritual of suicide. This practice was performed either within a war or outside the battle in a public ceremony and was believed to be a honourable form of death. When the era of wars and feudalism came to an end in Japan, the Samurai caste shifted into bureaucracy.
The term Samurai needs no explanation because of the fame they gained via different kinds of media and fictions. Their history and life triggers curiosity in anyone outside Japan. Their strange customs and the perfect discipline are hard to swallow for the people around the world.
The Samurai life had a great influence on the Japanese art of those times because of the power and position they had in the society. Their life, history and culture had been depicted in the Japanese art works with all the fascination. These arts catch the attention of everyone including those who are not at all acquainted with the Japanese way of life.
Japanese Samurai art just as crucual to personal development as sword handling to Japans warriors . If you want to read more on Japanese flower arranging art please click on the hyperlinks.
