The Japanese Samurai

The Japanese samurai is one of the most highly recognizable aspects of Japanese civilization. Many westerners are still fascinated about some of the stories and the mysteries surrounding the samurai. They are well known not only for their extraordinary fighting techniques, but also for upholding such traits as honesty, chivalry, and an uncanny sense of duty, and not least a willing for self sacrifice if the situation demanded it. The term samurai initially was a verb that meant to accompany a high-ranked member of society. Later the term samurai referred to the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan.

The samurai lived by a strict set of rules called the Bushido. Some of these rules can be found in the everyday life of most Japanese today, and even in some martial arts such as Kendo. Bushido means the way of the warrior, and the biggest emphasis was placed on honor. If the Japanese samurai failed to uphold his honor, than the only way he could regain it was by committing a form of ritual suicide which implied the cutting open of the abdomen, or disembowelment, and bleeding to death, known in the Japanese culture as seppuku. Seppuku was performed not only when a samurai was disgraced, but also if he was defeated or mortally wounded. Dying by seppuku was actually a brave and admiral way to dye, and it ensured for the samurai both a forgiving of all his earthly sins, and the release of his spirit in the most dynamic way. Because this was one of the most painful ways to die, most times it is said that samurais would ask a comrade in arms to cut of hi head at the moment of agony.

The ultimate goal of the bushido code was to die a good death, with one’s honor intact. A notable difference from western cultures is the fact that a good death was in itself a reward, and not a prerequisite for a happy afterlife. Bushido applied to the samurais but it also influenced every part of the Japanese civilization. It didn’t just emphasize the importance of such characteristics as calmness, propriety, and justice, but it also gave guidelines for how one should dress, or groom himself, and even raise his children. The samurai became the de facto aristocratic class of Japan throughout the thirteenth up to the seventeenth century. They were the ones who established some traditions that we associate with Japanese culture nowadays such as rock gardens, poetry or ceremonial tea drinking.

Probably one of the most intimate links between a warrior and his weapon was the relationship between a samurai and his special sword called the katana. The katana is for many the most potent symbol of the Japanese samurai. In the Bushido, the katana was said to be the soul of the samurai. The katana was also a sign of the samurai throughout the Middle Age, because they were the only people allowed to wear a sword in the Japanese society. The whole process of obtaining a katana was marked by ceremonial events in a child’s life. At the age of five he would get his first katana which was just a toy actually but it was an important process thru which the young child would get used to carrying in both physical and metaphorical sense the weight of the sword. By the age of thirteen he would get his first real weapon and he would become a samurai.

The katana is considered one of the most efficient swords in any culture in medieval times. The process of making the katana is one of painstaking work, and ceremonial mysticism, and not least, incredible craftsmanship. Few blacksmiths ever became good enough to be eligible for making a katana. The katana is made from specialized Japanese steel called Tamahagane. This steel is a combination of high carbon steel and low carbon steel. These two have both important proprieties in order to make a good sword, and the katana is probably the only weapon that manages to find the right combination between them, in order to get the desired effect. The high carbon steel is much harder, and it can hold a sharper blade easier. The low carbon steel is much more malleable and flexible and it is ideal for absorbing the energy of a blow without breaking. The slightly curved shape of the katana makes it ideal for slashing.

The Japanese samurai represent a model for how an honorable man should live his life, not only for Japanese, but also for most westerners. Their traditions and teachings influence the way modern Japanese society works. The downfall of the Japanese samurai came as a result of modernization, and of the need for a western type army that could be competitive against threats from abroad.

The Japanese Samurai

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