Samurai

The same environment of war that advanced the development of castles also gave rise to the samurai. While their earliest origins can be traced back to the 8th century (see below), the emergence of the samurai was not until the Heian period, from the 9th-12th centuries. It was around this time that several local groups engaged in violent confrontations over land and political standing. Fearing for their safety, wealthy landowners began to hire samurai as their retainers. In exchange for protection and loyalty, the samurai was given land and rights. This was a feudal system not unlike the one seen in medieval Europe at around the same time.

Origins

The origins of Japanese culture are traced back to the southwestern island of Kyushu. From here, the Japanese gradually colonized their way eastward across the other islands. Around the 8th century AD, this progress was ground to a halt when the colonizing Yamato clans ran into tribes of barbarians called the emishi, who populated the northern end of Honshu island. While their exact origins are not known, what is known is that they were fearsome in combat, being fast on horseback and employing guerilla tactics.

Meanwhile, bordering the emishi-held lands was the Kanto plain. Located in central Honshu, east of the Hakone Mountains, the land was mostly separated from the 'Home Provinces', and those who chose to settle there needed to be independent, brave, and strong-willed. The plain was also the most suitable location in Japan for raising horses. These factors, coupled with the frequent skirmishes with the emishi, combined to harden the warriors of the Kanto plain; soon they were regarded as the best fighters in Japan.

Up until the 8th century the government had been tied up in military affairs with China and Korea. As these issues with the mainland began to settle down more attention was given to the emishi. Groups of Kanto warriors were sent to northern Honshu to subdue the barbarians. Soon, the government was relying heavily on these warriors, and it was here that the term samurai ("those who serve") first came into use. By this point the samurai had begun to adapt many of the traits that would later become their trademarks: leather armour, curved blades, and the first signs of samurai tradition.

Samurai as Defenders

With few notably historic exceptions, samurai were unconditionally loyal to their daimyo. As defenders, they could be counted on to fight to the death for the protection of their lord and his property. They trained for both armed and unarmed combat, learned to fight both mounted (on horseback) and unmounted, and mastered the use of several weapons. In short, they sought to be ideal warriors so that when the time came they would be ready to crush the enemy. In his Book of Five Rings, the great samurai Miyamoto Musashi writes:

"Students... should train from the start with the sword and long sword in either hand. This is a truth: when you sacrifice your life, you must make fullest use of your weaponry. It is false not to do so, and to die with a weapon yet undrawn."

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