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Samurai Sword, Samurai Warrior, History Tradition
Here is an interesting article that we thought you would find interesting,
since our film JUNKYARD SAMURAI involves a modern day Samurai
Samurai Sword, Samurai Warrior, History & Tradition
Samurai History
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Japanese samurai in armour, 1860 photograph.Samurai (侍 or sometimes 士) is a common term for a warrior in pre-industrial Japan. Samurai history
Most Japanese samurai were bound by a strict code of honor and were expected to set an example for those below them. A disgraced samurai could retrieve his honor and respect by committing suicide by a gruesome and painful means - stabbing himself in the stomach with his own sword. When time is allowed, samurai have a friend or student, called a "Kaishaku" (executioner) decapitate them after the initial cut across the abdomen. Being a samurai was supposed to be all about honor - even in death.
In practice, there were examples of disloyal samurai. Japanese history is filled with examples of treacherous, cowardly, brave or extremely loyal samurai. Samurai were usually loyal to their immediate superiors, who in turn allied themselves with higher lords. These alliances to higher lords often shifted, however. For example, the feudal lords allied under Toyotomi enjoyed the loyalty of their men, however the feudal lords themselves might shift their backing to Tokugawa. This did not mean that the low ranked samurai were disloyal, they merely followed the alliance of their immediate superior.
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