Samurai

Imagine yourself sitting on a horse in medieval Japan around 800 years ago. You notice an
armored man covered in shoulder pads, a chest plate and helmet. The man carefully holds an
aimed arrow in a steady bow. It is so silent that you can almost hear the fingertips pinching the
arrows feathers and the bow's sting. Who is this interesting archer? The bow itself is interesting
in it's own right, for it is the projectile weapon of the medieval warrior class of Medieval Japan. I
will share my deep research of Medieval Japan in the following text, for a better understanding
of the warriors that will be known as the Samurai; from their origins, tools of war, and their
honor in life and battle.
The origins of the Samurai class begin with the Bushi families of early medieval Japan. Bushi is
Japanese for "a warrior" and was regarded as a fighting man (Turnbull, 18). The Bushi were
defined and produced by the longbow and horse. The early Japanese Bushi would design their
bows out of wood and bamboo. The earliest of these bows were plain wood and often catalpa,
zelkova, sandalwood, or mulberry. The bows would be fashioned with layers of tendon and horn
(Friday, 68). These simple wood or bamboo bows would not bend much without breaking, thus,
to have more power they needed to be long. (see Fig. 1.) Some were over 2.5 meters long
(Friday, 69). These bows were so strong that one Japanese authority bragged that an archer could
knock a man off his horse at 100 meters (Farris, 18). It would seem the bow was a very
important weapon to the early Bushi; A poet once said, " Unthinkable! That I should forsake you
even for a night, would be like separating a bamboo slat from a familiar bow" (Friday, 69). The
poet clearly compares damaging a bow to disrespecting a person.
The weapon of the Bushi that really gave them a great advantage was the horse. The Japanese
had the horse from China, but only used them as work animals; such as in

agriculture (Farris, 16). The horse, as a weapon, was introduced by the early Koreans. The early
Japanese had to run for their lives against the Korean mounted troops. This created a great hatred
of Korea for the Japanese, and they soon learned the Equestrian skills. The horse made the
warriors much more effective when riding than as simple foot soldiers. This would be adopted by
the Japanese, with the already staple weapon of the long bow, to annihilate well trained enemy
infantry. The horse and bow were an excellent battle strategy for war because the enemy would
not have a way to escape the barrage of arrows of the well trained Bushi (Farris, 15)(See Fig.2.)
These warrior families would well become a much needed warrior class. The " way of the bow
and horse" would become the military precursor to the feudal Japan from the ninth to the
fourteenth centuries.(Friday, 102)

The Bushi where known as horse riding archers in 750 and greatly used after 900 as the Samurai
(Farris, 6). Medieval Japan would rise to a time of feudalism and the warrior class known as the
Samurai (Reischauer,Craig, 39). The retainers name of samurai comes from the Japanese verb
samurau, which means "to serve"(Turnbull, 18). The Samurai warrior class was made due to the
armed struggles of land and offices. Provincial authorities needed armed guards for protection of
themselves, for their land, and interests. The Bushi families would pick up this samurau role for
economic and political reasons (Reischauer,Craig, 39). The politics and economy were
centralized around the lord and servant class of Samurai because of the rights of land. This
profession greatly resembles Europe and the European Knights of the same time. This led Japan
to be more like feudal Europe than the long standing Chinese type of government
(Reischauer,Craig, 40). Like the Knights of feudal Europe, The Samurai of Feudal Japan needed
armor and weapons.
The Samurai though on horseback; still needed great protection in ground battle. The Samurai
created heavy durable armor made for fighting on horseback with a bow and arrow or on the
ground. There were five styles of samurai armor in the medieval times; oyoroi, haramaki,
haramaki-yoroi, domaru, and hara-ate; all were constructed the same way (Friday, 90). The
Samurai style armor was made of stacked iron or steel plates (sane) called lamellae (see Fig.3).
They look much like shingles on a roof and are laced together with braided silk or leather. The
plates were covered in leather skin and lacquered to avoid water damage. The stacking of the
plates allowed it to fold up for easy transport and storage (Friday, 90). This stacking also made it
easier to move in and the Samurai was flexible. The armor absorbed shock by spreading the
force of attacks through the layers of the lamellae. It is also said to be better than European chain
mail because it was harder to damage and easier to repair. Chain mail was also known to not
protect the wearer from cuts, and metal pieces from the chain mail could lead to infection
(Friday, 91).
The best armor of Medieval Japan was the Oyoroi ,which translates to great armor.(See Fig. 4.)
It's cuirass covers the left, front, and back side of the Samrai's chest. The right side of the
samurai was protected by separate piece called the Waidate. The Waidate was solid plate not a
lamellae one, and allowed protection for the samurai by deleting the openings on the side that
would face an enemy while aiming and shooting a bow. The front of the cuirass was often
covered in leather or a smooth deerskin. This stopped the chest from sagging and kept the
lamellae from snagging the bowstring (Friday, 92). The Helmets of the Samurai varied greatly
from each other. Some were decorated with a pair of large horns or antlers called Kuwagata that
resembled any animal they wanted. These Kuwagata were a form of self-expression and a
brilliant way of identifying each other on the battlefield. A complete Oyoroi was a major
investment; it was documented in 1107 that the value was 80 kiri; a sum equal to eight short
swords and several months wages for the period (Friday, 94). This just shows how important
protection was to the Samurai and their lords. Armor was not the only thing Samurai used to
protect them self in close combat.

Even though it was said that the bushi known as Samurai were the " men of the bow and horse,"
The sword is known as the " soul of the Samurai" (Friday,77). Japan's master sword smiths
created the Samurai's steel blades under ritualistic ceremonies. The Samurai respected their
swords and believed their swords had a spirit of their own (Varley, 26). Samurai carried swords
into the battle field, and it's worth is very noteworthy. An estimate 3 million of these Nihonto
(curved blade) swords remain today.(Friday, 78) They completely outnumber the specimens
found of other weapons used in the medieval times, which were also made of steel (Friday, 79).
The best of these swords were known as " beard and knee cutters." This is because these swords
where so sharp that when a kneeling person was decapitated; it cut though not only the neck, but
the beard and knee as well. (Varley, 26). Samurai were not just about killing with their arrows
and swords, but also had honor.
There is one story of a Samurai who received his old masters head after a battle. A man asked a
guard to lend the samurai a comb so the Samurai could dress his old masters hair, the guard said
the samurai should use his own comb; the Samurai responded: " When my master was alive I
looked up to him as heaven. How could I ever have imagined that I would be forced to dress his
hair with this filthy comb of fine?" (Varley, 30). The samurai had much honor for his old master,
he did not even want to use his own comb. This also brings up another aspect of the Samurai's
honor; The belief that a Samurai should never have to live under the same heaven as the killer of
his master or family. This would cause the Samurai to have a vendetta (Varley, 31). A Samurai
was prepared to give his life in battle. He would rush into battle in the highest concentration of
enemies and fight one opponent at time.(Varley, 30-31). This courage and honor or fighting one
enemy was a good idea, but accidents did happen. Sometimes Samurai embarrassingly killed
allies and friends in battle. The punishment for this would be for the Samurai to cut one of his
own fingers off. (Varley, 30). This is a serious action of honor, but not as extreme as Seppuku
(disembowelment) or the vulgar expression of the West, belly slitting (Hara-kiri). Common
reasons for a Samurai to perform Seppuku would be: being captured, doing a bad deed, or
disrespecting one's lord or master. The Samurai would take a blade and cut his own stomach. (
Varley, 32).(see Fig. 5.) They left the idea of being truly honorable in life and death.

Suddenly an enemy Samurai gallops out of the nearby woods. The man you had previously
noticed calmly aims, draws the arrow back and releases it. The arrow hits the target right in the
eye from 50 yards away. The Samurai you first saw slowly gallops over to the dead body. He
gets off of his horse and pulls the arrow out of the eye of the enemy. This scene demonstrates the
Samurai; from their origins on horseback, tools of war; the bow, and their honor in life and
battle.
Fig 1.
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig 4
Fig. 5

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Farris, W.F. Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan's Military, 500-1300. Cambridge
Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press, 1992.
Friday, K. F. Samurai, Warfare and the State In Early Medieval Japan. New York and London:
Routledge, 2004.
Reischauer, E. O. & Craig A.M. Japan: Tradition & Transformation. Boston Massachusetts:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1978.
Turnbull, S.R. The Samurai: A Military History. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 1996.
Varley, H.P. Samurai. London: Penguin, 1974.