“Fate is in Heaven, the
armor is on the breast, success is with the legs. Go to the battlefield firmly
confident of victory, and you will come home with no wounds whatever. Engage in
combat fully determined to die and you will be alive; wish to survive in the
battle and you will surely meet death. When you leave the house determined not
to see it again you will come home safely; when you have any thought of
returning you will not return. You may not be in the wrong to think that the
world is always subject to change, but the warrior must not entertain this way
of thinking, for his fate is always determined.”
Uesugi
Kenshin (1530-1578)1
What
is a Samurai? In his book, Samurai: the World of the Warrior, noted
medieval expert Steven Turnbull defines a Samurai as “those who serve”. The first official mention of Samurai was in
the tenth century. To understand the Samurai culture, a quick review of
Japanese history is necessary
The
fifth century saw Japanese infantry travelling to Korea to allies with the Paekche
kingdom. The Japanese army was defeated by the Koguryo cavalry. The ancient
clans were called uji and the
strongest was the Yamato family. Learning
from their Korean opponent, the Japanese took to the saddle and within a
century the
Yamato clan turned the table on the Koreans. Initially, the armies swelled
their ranks by conscription but gradually landowners were granted commissions
by the government. The warlords were, in essence, supported by the
government. Leading their men, these
early cavalry were excellent archers and the beginning of the Samurai.
The
time period between the eighth and the twelfth centuries is referred to as the
Heian Period. The royal family, or the Imperial House, was more of a figurehead
with the true power being held by local warlords.
By
the eleventh century, the Minamoto & Taira clans had emerged as the
dominant families. Clans close to the ruling house had political clout. These
two houses, once allies, found themselves on both sides during the Hogen Rebellion of 1156. Four years later, the clans became enemies
when the Imperial House succession came into play as part of the Heiji
Rebellion. It seems Prince Mochihito, the second son of the Cloistered Emperor
Go-Shirakawa and Antoku (a mere 8 years old), reigning Emperor & grandson
of Kiyomori, leader of the Taira both claimed the throne. Which side began the
conflict is uncertain but the Minamoto came out ahead. Poor little Prince
Antoku drowned when his mother jumped in the ocean (his mother survived).
Feelings
festered and once the survivors of the Hogen massacre grew up they decided to
take revenge. The Gempei War started in 1180. At Ichi no tani & Dan no Ura,
the fighting started. The series of battles is noteworthy for a number of
reasons: first, the sheer number of heroic acts is still remembered in Japanese
history; it was a major point of Samurai culture, especially loyalty to one’s
lord; the tradition of ritual suicide was especially prevalent during these
conflicts; and, the end the wars marked the first time a Samurai leader took
the permanent rank as military dictator and with it the title of Shogun. Prior to this point, Shogun had been bestowed as a temporary
title to Samurai leaders who had been appointed to deal with any rebellions
against the Imperial Throne.
The
fight at Dan no Ura involved a sea battle. Initially, the Taira had the edge,
but when the tides changed and one of their own, Miura Yoshizumi, turned traitor and attacked his own clan’s
ships, the Minamoto started winning. During the fighting, the Sacred Sword was
lost; fortunately, the wooden casket holding the Sacred Gem was recovered as it
floated on the waves. Even divers sent to search below the waters after the
battle couldn’t find the treasured regalia. They did find the Heike crab, whose
shell has a very unique configuration. On its’ underside it has what appears to
be a face of a Samurai warrior.
Minamoto
Yoritomo was the first Shogun upon the cessation of the Gempei War. His House
ruled until the Hojo clan overthrew the Taira clan. The Hojo’s took the Shogun
title but out of respect for tradition, called themselves Regents instead of Emperors.
A Samurai wore a kimono secured by an obi (belt), a fundoshi (loincloth, tabi (socks), waraji (sandals) or geta (clogs). Kappa (raincoats) protected the men from the elements. Clothing material depended upon the ranking of the wearer. Sword or daggers were often thrust through the obi for easy access. The names of the body armor are shown on the illustration below.
In
the fourteenth century, Japan was targeted by Mongols from the East. The Mongol fleet
raided Kyushu and set their sights to invade the islands. The Samurai fought
hard to repel the Mongols and had what they believed was divine intervention. A
ferocious storm, called a kamikaze
devastated the ships and ended Genghis Khan’s hopes for a Japanese invasion.
To
the Samurai, as with medieval knights, honor was a matter of seriousness. When
all was stripped away, earthly goods, weapons, and even his clothes, a man
still had his honor. A Samurai without honor was disgraced. A man disgraced
could wipe away his sins by the act of Seppuku,
or as Westerners know it, Hari Kari.
The act of ritualistic suicide was extremely painful. The man committing
Seppuku cleared his slate and in many cases, earned bonus points for his (and
his family/lord).
Seppuku
involved the slicing open of one’s abdomen with a dagger. Many times a loyal
friend would decapitate the unfortunate fellow in a moment of extreme pain.
This was allowed. The famous Samurai, Minamoto Tametomo was the first recorded
case of Seppuku. Minamoto Yorimasa performed the act after being defeated in
battle of Uji in 1180. It should be noted that before Yorimasa killed himself,
he took a few minutes to write out a poem, thus setting a precedent for future
Samurai to emulate. Another Samurai, Akechi Mitsutoshi had to one-up Yorimasa
by writing his poem with a brush on a door in his own blood.
There
is one further type of extreme loyalty to a leader found in Japanese history.
The term is junshi and it loosely
refers to following a lord to death by ritual suicide. In 1333, at the beach of
Kamakura, the Hojo family knew they had been defeated. Word spread to Kamakura.
By the time the fanatics had finished, over six thousand bodies lay dead by
their own hands.
What
made the Samurai feared? Just like knights, samurai trained from childhood.
Learning consisted of wrestling, swordplay, archery, and riding. They were
mounted archers first and even today proud Japanese practice the art of yabusame, where participants try to hit
wooden targets at a gallop. One samurai, Imagawa Yorikuni, was known to have
twenty arrows before dying. Samurai also used spears, swords, and eventually
guns.
Beyond
the fighting arts, as the Samurai warrior evolved students learned cultural
arts, history, writing, art, and music. Students had regular school hours and
even had ‘vacations’.
I’ve
barely touched information on Samurai warriors.
Samurai:
the World of the Warrior
By
Stephen Turnbull
2003,
Osprey Publishing, Botley, UK
ISBN#
1-84176-0-9
Alas
of the Medieval World
By
Rosamond McKittterick
2003,
Oxford University Press, New York, NY
ISBN#
0-19-522158-3
Samurai
Archieves Japanese History Page
Stay
safe out there!
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