1. Samurai
Dylan Miller & Mike Papathanasakis

2. Who are the Samurai?
 Members of the military class
 Used a range of weapons such as bows and
arrows and spears; but were known greatly for
their swords.
 Followed the Bushido (“the way of the warrior”)

3. The Bushido
 Strongly similar to Confucian nature
 Stressed concepts such as loyalty to ones
master, self discipline and respectful, ethical
behavior.
 Would commit seppuku to prevent being
captured or dying a dishonorable death.
 Seppuku is to commit suicide by cutting the
abdomen.

4. Heian Period
794 - 1185
-Samurai’s importance and
influence grew
-Hired as private warriors
-Two military clans were formed at
the end of this period, the
Minamoto and the Taira, which
seized control over the country

5. Kamakura Period
1192 - 1333
-During this period Minamoto
defeated Taira
-A new government was
established in Kamakura in 1192
-Minamoto was granted shogun,
which is the highest military
officer, making him ruler of Japan

6. Muromachi Period
1333 - 1573
-During this period Era of Warring
States took place
-This consisted of dozens of
independent states constantly
fighting one another
-During this time Samurai demand
was very high
-Most samurai worked on farms in
between wartime

7. Azuchi-
Momoyama Period
1573 - 1603
-During this period Japan was
reunited and a caste system was
formed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
-This forced all samurai to decide
between a farm life or warrior life
-For samurai who chose the
warrior life, were forced to live in
castle towns
-It was forbidden for anyone but
the samurai to arm themselves
with swords

8. Edo Period
1603 - 1868
-The samurai stood at the top of the
caste system
-All samurai had to live in castle
towns
-Rogue samurai were called ronin
and caused many troubles early in
this period
-Tokugawa to the right, eliminated
his last rival creating peace for 250
years
-Because of this martial skills
declined and the samurai class was
abolished