Samurai History

It is believed warriors and foot-soldiers in the sixth century may have formed a proto-samurai class. Following a disastrous military engagement with Tang China and Silla, Japan underwent widespread reforms. One of the most important was that of the Taika Reform, issued by Prince Naka no Ōe (Emperor Tenji) in 646 AD. This edict introduced Chinese cultural practices and administrative techniques throughout the Japanese aristocracy and bureaucracy. As part of the Taihō Code, of 702 AD and the later Yōrō Code, the population was required to report regularly for census, which was used as a precursor for national conscription. With an understanding of how the population was distributed, Emperor Mommu introduced the law whereby 1 in 3–4 adult males were drafted into the national military. These soldiers were required to supply their own weapons, and in return were exempted from duties and taxes. This was one of the first attempts by the Imperial government to form an organized army modelled after the Chinese system. It was called gundan-sei(軍団制) by later historians and is believed to have been short lived.

The Taihō Code classified Imperial bureaucrats into 12 ranks, each divided into two sub-ranks, 1st rank being the highest adviser to the emperor. Those of 6th rank and below were referred to as "samurai" and dealt with day-to-day affairs. Although these "samurai" were civilian public servants, the name is believed to have derived from this term. Military men, however, would not be referred to as "samurai" for many more centuries.

In the early Heian period, the late 8th and early 9th centuries, Emperor Kammu (桓武天皇) sought to consolidate and expand his rule in northern Honshū, but the armies he sent to conquer the rebellious Emishi people lacked motivation and discipline, and were unable to prevail.[citation needed] Emperor Kammu introduced the title of Seiitaishogun (征夷大将軍) or shogun, and began to rely on the powerful regional clans to conquer the Emishi. Skilled in mounted combat and archery (kyūdō, 弓道), these clan warriors became the emperor's preferred tool for putting down rebellions.[citation needed] Although these warriors may have been educated, at this time (7th to 9th century) the Imperial court officials considered them to be little more than barbarians.

Ultimately, Emperor Kammu disbanded his army, and from this time, the emperor's power gradually declined . While the emperor was still the ruler, powerful clans around Kyoto (京都) assumed positions as ministers, and their relatives bought positions as magistrates.[citation needed] To amass wealth and repay their debts, magistrates often imposed heavy taxes, resulting in many farmers becoming landless.

As the threat of robbery rose, the clans began recruiting these exiles in the Kanto plains. Because of their intense training in the martial arts, they proved to be effective guards.[citation needed] Small numbers would accompany tax collectors and, merely by their presence, deter thieves and bandits from attacking. They were saburai, armed retainers, yet their advantage of being the sole armed party quickly became apparent.

Through protective agreements and political marriages, they accumulated political power, eventually surpassing the traditional aristocracy.

Some clans were originally formed by farmers who had taken up arms to protect themselves from the imperial magistrates sent to govern their lands and collect taxes.[citation needed] These clans formed alliances to protect themselves against more powerful clans, and by the mid-Heian period they had adopted characteristic Japanese armour and weapons, and laid the foundations of Bushido, their ethical code.

For most of samurai history, warriors described themselves as followers of Budo or Bushido and had a universal set of values dervived from Confucianisn, Buddhism and Shinto. Families such as the Imagawa had large numbers of followers and broad influence and so their ethical code spread across the realm and were widely quoted by others. Kato Kiyomasa commanded over Japan's forces in Korea and therefore had a large influence over the other warrior families.

By the 12th century, samurai were highly literate due to the general introduction of Confucianism from China during the 7th to 9th centuries, and aspired to the more cultured abilities of the nobility. This was achieved because education was required and some lords ordered the men to be educated. Examples such as Taira Tadanori (a samurai who appears in the Heike Monogatari or "Tale of the Heike") demonstrate that some warriors idealized the arts and aspire to become skilled in them; Tadanori is famous for his skill with the pen and the sword or the "bun and the bu", harmony of fighting and learning.

From the earliest Japanese writings such as the Kojiki, samurai were expected to be cultured and literate, and the ancient saying "Bun Bu Ryo Do" (文武両道, lit. literary arts, military arts, both ways) or "The pen and the sword in accord," was an ideal to which many aspired. The number of men who actually achieved the ideal and lived their lives by it was high. By the time of the Meiji restoration, Japanese literacy rates were higher than European literacy rates.

An early term for warrior, "uruwashii", was written with a kanji that combined the characters for literary study ("bun" 文) and military arts ("bu" 武), and is mentioned in the Heike Monogatari (late 12th century). The Heike Monogatari makes reference to the educated poet-swordsman ideal in its mention of Taira no Tadanori's death:

"Friends and foes alike wet their sleeves with tears and said, 'What a pity! Tadanori was a great general, pre-eminent in the arts of both sword and poetry.' "
According to William Scott Wilson in his book Ideals of the Samurai: "The warriors in the Heike Monogatari served as models for the educated warriors of later generations, and the ideals depicted by them were not assumed to be beyond reach. Rather, these ideals were vigorously pursued in the upper echelons of warrior society and recommended as the proper form of the Japanese man of arms. With the Heike Monogatari, the image of the Japanese warrior in literature came to its full maturity." Wilson then translates the writings of several warriors who mention the Heike Monogatari as an example for their men to follow.

Plenty of warrior writings document this ideal from the 13th century onward.