The Samurai

Over the course of their long history, the samurai performed many roles: they were traditionally warriors but also made important contributions to the Japanese arts of ceramics, poetry, calligraphy and flower arranging as well as developing the tea ceremony; they were civil servants for centuries; they used the sword as a weapon and a symbol; and they both resisted western  influence and championed it.

The philosophy of bushido is central to Japanese identity even today and has become a defining feature of the history and mythology of the samurai. Along with the much misunderstood geisha, the samurai are, in many ways, how the rest of the world thinks of Japan.

What, then, are the samurai? How did they originate and evolve? Even though they were abolished  a hundred and forty years ago, how much impact do they still have on how the Japanese are seen today?

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the samurai came into existence. We know that they are mentioned  for the first time in writing in an anthology of poetry written between 905 and 914. Yet, it seems clear that they were already well-developed by this time and, probably, started out as a recognisable entity around 400.

Accustomed as most of us are to seeing Japan as an economic tiger, it might be apposite to remind ourselves that the country was a late developer and, in the first millennium, borrowed heavily from Imperial China in building its own society and infrastructure. This was especially true of  its administrative systems and the development of a warrior  class in the countryside, answerable to the centrally located aristocracy.

Certainly from the eighth century, there was a shifting of power from the capital to rural areas, especially where merchants and wealthier farmers felt the need for protection. As the Emperor became weaker, more and more authority flowed  to individuals and clans that could exercise it in the countryside.

The samurai played a major role in settling property disputes and, in modern terminology, operated a sort of protection racket where villages bought military power whether they wanted it or not. Two groups in particular came  to the fore at this time: the Minamoto and the Taira. They had grown larger and  stronger as the years had passed, not least because they acted as depositories for the ever-increasing number of younger sons born into the samurai caste  who had no inheritance.

Eventually, in the mid- and late twelfth century, the incessant fighting between the rival clans led almost inevitably to a showdown. Although there were ups and downs for both, the Minamoto triumphed in 1185  and their leader, Yoritomo, declared himself 'shogun' (or  general) of the whole country. Now was the time when the samurai developed a more complex identity  than being merely warriors. Yoritomo, in particular, championed old art forms and  encouraged their development, especially ceramics, metalwork and calligraphy, but also story-telling.

Throughout the thirteenth century, even after Yoritomo's power base declined and others took his place, the position of the samurai in society solidified so that they became a caste  with an assured position in the social order, in many ways superior to the aristocracy. While they maintained their martial role, they also began to develop a philosophy based on loyalty and expertise both with the sword and the (calligraphy) brush.

Their caste was at this time a closed one that boys had to be born into. Even in battle, caste and social position  remained important to them: before challenging an opponent, they would make sure that he was of equal status and would never put themselves in a situation where they might be killed by an inferior.

The last quarter of the century saw the realisation of the Mongol threat. Yet, unlike almost everywhere  else the Mongols invaded, they were unsuccessful in Japan. In 1274, partly owing to a storm at sea, ten thousand samurai were  able to hold off a Mongol army of four times that number. Realising that the reprieve was only temporary, they built a great stone wall around Hakata Bay the following year. They rejected all Mongol attempts to settle their differences through diplomacy, executing the many messengers sent by the Khan.

In 1281, the Mongols sent a huge army of 140,000 soldiers in five thousand ships. Once again, luck was on  the Japanese side, however, as a typhoon scattered the enemy fleet – a typhoon that has since  become known as the divine wind – and the vastly outnumbered samurai were able to defeat their enemy. Not only did this mean that  the Mongols never returned, but that many Japanese began to believe their homeland was divinely protected.

The wars with the Mongols served  a more practical purpose though. The Japanese were appalled by the arts of war the Mongols had used and, although they held them in contempt as lacking all respect for hierarchy (for instance, in the use of hand grenades and the greater importance  given to infantry over cavalry), they learnt from them too. The samurai, while perfecting the design  and importance of the sword, would never again rely so  heavily on the horse in battle.

By 1467, Japan had once  again declined into anarchy. Civil war erupted throughout the country. The samurai went into the war as protectors of property for their clients, but soon it was every man for himself, as chaos ruled in the countryside and Kyoto was burnt. The emphasis on loyalty slowly eroded till samurai just became profiteers.

By the 1560s, after a century of fighting, individual armies had become so big and the costs of battle so great that there was nothing to be gained by fighting. Once again, central authority was established and, to maintain the peace, the samurai were banned from the countryside. This meant that they were  not only idle in the cities where their swords and skills had no value, but had to wait for their income to be sent from their villages. If it was late, they had no option but to  economise until it arrived.

As time went by, they became increasingly frustrated with the purposelessness of their existence and many turned to other  interests and occupations, such as the civil service and academic study. Others became trainers in swordsmanship. Of course, there were not enough jobs for everyone and many did not have the abilities  to enjoy academic interests. Besides, there were more and more samurai who had lost their masters and could not find others to replace them. They became ronin – unattached samurai – and this caused great  disturbance in the villages, as they had no choice but to terrorise people in order to eat.

As it seemed that the samurai were forever to be refused their military role, a good deal of soul searching went on to establish a new identity for themselves. In the end, this gave rise to the code of ethics which still has such a profound  effect on modern Japan – bushido.

Bushido can be defined, perhaps, as the way of the warrior. Its characteristics are: loyalty, frugality, protection of the weak, martial arts and honour till death. As new samurai were now  admitted from other castes, a definition of the inner life, public service and duties of a samurai had to be articulated, rather than socialised within  a small family or clan.

Renewed attention was paid to the arts, although the kind of progress that was made was insignificant compared to Yoritomo's a couple of hundreds of years before. New helmets, arrows and armour were designed but it was now only ceremonial as the samurai's skills as warriors were no longer required.

By the nineteenth century, the samurai were without a purpose. They had no land and, in most cases, were poor. This time, it was the intrusion  of the West into Japan that once again gave some  meaning to life for the samurai. In 1853, the United States demanded that Japan open its markets to free trade and insisted on changes in  line with European values in economic areas. The shogun was too weak to respond to the gunships and military  technology of the west. In 1858, Japanese ports were opened and the country quickly became accustomed to white foreigners walking its streets.

The Japanese were not impressed. They were shocked by westerners  wearing their shoes inside buildings and touching each other, for example by shaking hands. But, worst of all, was the terrible smell they gave off. They were seen as barbarians and the Japanese had no desire to emulate their customs. They wanted all foreigners out of their land and to see Japan strengthened to the extent that the  country would never be forced into such a humiliating position again. In 1868, a coup d'état was  staged by the samurai elite. Once again, the samurai had a purpose: this time, to protect Japan from the unwelcome attentions of the west.

Sadly, the samurai could not reach agreement on how this was to be realised. Some were in favour of maintaining the old ways and their role in the military, while others felt that unless  Japan adapted to the modern world – and that meant using western  expertise in weapon manufacture, among other things - they had no hope of survival. A bitter struggle ensued but the winning side was never really in doubt. The samurai no longer had  a place in modern warfare and were abolished as a class in 1876.

Of course, there were successes as a result of modernising the army, as the shocking victory of Japan over the great European power  of Russia demonstrated in 1905. The history of the samurai was selectively used in the 1920s and '30s to heighten xenophobia at a time when nationalism  was a worldwide phenomenon. But such national pride only gave rise to increasing isolationism and militarism, leading to invasions of China and the disastrous attack on  Pearl Harbour in December 1941.

The story of the Second World War, ending in the dropping of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan's immediate surrender is well-known. Suffice to say that a demilitarised Japan held its first exhibition at the newly re-opened National Museum in Tokyo in 1946. It was a celebration of the samurai sword.