Who are samurai? Education, training, preparation. The most famous samurai (7 photos) Japanese warriors

Japan is a country of brave samurai and brave shoguns. The whole world knows about the valor and courage of Japanese soldiers. Samurai are an integral part of Japanese culture, its distinctive symbol. Any warrior could envy the loyalty and discipline of the samurai.

Who are they, servants of their state, desperate warriors or masters of their land?

Samurai means “warrior” in Japanese. This word also has several other meanings - “serve”, “support”, “servant”, “vassal” and “subordinate”. That is, a samurai is a warrior who serves his state and fiercely defends it.

From ancient Japanese chronicles it is known that the samurai was a nobleman (nothing in common with European nobles). They were engaged not only in military operations. In peacetime, samurai served the highest princes and were their bodyguards.

History of samurai

The first samurai appeared in Japan at the beginning of the 12th century. At that time, the state was ruled by the brave shogun Minamoto. These were fairly peaceful times, so the number of samurai was relatively small. The warriors took an active part in peaceful life - they grew rice, raised children, and taught martial arts.

During the reign of the great Japanese Tokugawa shogun clan, the number of samurai almost tripled. They probably served their shogun and owned considerable plots of land. Under the Tokugawa, these warriors were considered the most prosperous people.

During the Tokugawa era, a large set of samurai laws was published. The main one was the law of Bushido. It said that a warrior must unconditionally obey his master and boldly look death in the face. In addition, the samurai was given the right to kill with impunity an ordinary peasant who was unacceptably rude to the warriors. In times of peace, samurai faithfully served their shogun, and sometimes took part in suppressing peasant revolts.

There were also samurai who eventually moved into the ronin class. Ronins are former warriors who have freed themselves from vassalage. Such samurai lived like ordinary people: they carried out trade, craft and agricultural activities.

Many samurai became shinobi. Shinobi are assassins for hire, a kind of ninja.

In the mid-18th century, the collapse of the samurai class began. During this period, the Japanese bourgeoisie began to actively progress. Trade, craft and manufacturing flourished. Many samurai were forced to borrow from moneylenders. The situation of the samurai was becoming unbearable. Their role for the country became unclear even to them. Some tried to adapt to peaceful life, many turned to religion. Others became traders, artisans and farmers. And the samurai rebels were simply killed, completely undermining their will and spirit.

Education and development of a samurai

Raising a samurai is a complex, multi-level process. The formation of a warrior began from an early age. Already from childhood, the sons of samurai knew that they were the successors of their family and reliable guardians of family customs and traditions.

Every evening, before going to bed, the child was told about the history and courage of the samurai, about their exploits. Stories gave examples of how legendary samurai bravely looked death in the face. Thus, courage and valor were instilled in the child from childhood.

An important aspect of samurai education was the Bushido technique. She introduced the concept of seniority, the main thing in the family. Boys were taught from an early age that the man is the head of the family, and only he can determine the direction of his child’s activities. Another Japanese technique by Iemoto taught boys discipline and behavior. The technique was purely theoretical in nature.

In addition, boys from childhood were accustomed to severe trials. They taught various martial arts, pain tolerance, control of one’s own body, and the ability to obey. They developed willpower and the ability to overcome even the harshest life situations. There were times when boys were tested on their endurance. To do this, they were raised at dawn and sent to a cold, unheated room. There they were locked up and not fed for a long time. Some fathers forced their sons to go to the cemetery at night. So they instilled in the boys the courage of a valiant warrior. Others took their sons to executions, forced them to do backbreaking work, walk in the snow without shoes, and spend several nights without sleep.

At the age of 5, the boy was given a bokken. Bokken is a samurai sword. From then on, training in the art of fencing began. In addition, the future warrior had to be able to swim well, hold a great position in the saddle, and be literate in writing, literature and history. The boys were taught self-defense lessons - jiu-jitsu. In addition, they were taught music, philosophy and crafts.

At the age of 15, the boy turned into a valiant samurai.

Continuing the theme of Japanese names, in this part I will focus on Japanese male names and surnames. I will try to answer the questions: what first and last names are given to Japanese boys? What do they mean and how do they influence their future fate? What Japanese male names are considered "cool" or "samurai" and why? I will also provide an unofficial table of translations of Russian male names into Japanese.

It is known that Russian surnames were mostly formed from family names (Nikanor -> Nikanorov) and nicknames (Bezrodny -> Bezrodov), including those associated with profession (Blacksmith -> Kuznetsov). formed in strict relation to a specific area. Therefore, surnames common in the Kanto region, such as Tanaka (田中 - rice field + middle), Ito (伊藤 - character for Italy + wisteria), Kobayashi (小林 - small + forest), Watanabe (渡辺 - move + side), Yamamoto (山本 - mountain + spring), etc. are less common in the southern regions of Japan. Unusual surnames are more common there, see the table below (information from the website myoji-yurai.net)

Shimane Prefecture	Obina – 帯名 – belt + name
Aichi Prefecture	Oti -越智 – grow + wisdom
Miyazaki Prefecture	Kōhi - 甲斐 – high ambitions
Saga Prefecture	Kōga – 吉賀 – old + holiday
Okinawa Prefecture	Higa – 比嘉 – compare + good

Traditional Japanese male names

In ancient times, Japanese boys were often given names in the order of their birth:

• first son – Ichirō 一郎 (one + son),
• second – Jirō 二郎 – two + son,
• third – Saburō 三郎 - three + son and so on

Ancient Japanese male names, like those of the samurai, are still in demand today. I easily found a site entirely dedicated to these names: http://naming.nobody.jp/category/wafu-otoko.html

Samurai names are distinguished by their intricacy: they often have three hieroglyphs. They also have typical endings. Let me give you a few examples:

1. Genzō - 源蔵 - source of wealth,
2. Naotaro - 直太郎 - correcting mistakes, courageous,
3. Ryunosuke - 竜之介 - striving to be strong like a dragon and many others.

Here are some more ancient traditions regarding male names. One is to use the same last character of the name for all brothers. For example, if the eldest son’s name is Yuma - 悠馬 - calm + horse, then his younger brothers can be called: Kazuma - 和馬 - a hieroglyph denoting everything Japanese + horse, Sakuma - 咲馬 - bloom + horse, Ryoma - 亮馬 - bright + horse. This final hieroglyph seems to unite all the brothers.

The second tradition is to use hieroglyphs from the name of the parent, mainly the father, in the son’s name for continuity in the family. Here I will tell you a true, but not entirely accurate story from my life that reflects this situation. When my husband and I were expecting our first child, we thought for a long time about what name to give him. Since the son was born in Japan, they decided to give him a Japanese name. But the problem was that the husband only has one hieroglyph in his name: 学- Manabu - teach, study. It is not used as a name in combination with other hieroglyphs. I'm a foreigner. The Japanese came up with hieroglyphs for me: 織雅 – Origa – canvas + elegant. But since I do not have Japanese citizenship, these hieroglyphs are not in the documents.

However, this made us think that the character for "elegant" 雅 would be good for a son's name. So he became Ryuga – 龍雅 – dragon + elegant. The second child also turned out to be a son. The beautiful name Kōga – 皇雅 – majestic + elegant was already taken by our recently born nephew. Therefore, we gave the second son the name Taiga - 太雅 - courageous + elegant, following the ancient tradition. In addition, the pronunciation of the name is close to the English tiger, that is, tiger. It would be possible to include the hieroglyph for “tiger” in the name, but that would be too “brilliant” a name.

Nowadays, the above traditions are gradually being lost: brothers are given completely different unrelated names. This approach is considered more modern.

Modern Japanese male names

Nowadays, the use of foreign names is considered modern and elegant. At the same time, not all parents have the courage to give their child a foreign name. Nevertheless, such a percentage exists. Most often, such names are given to children born in an international marriage. Globalization also made its contribution to this process. A foreign name may also prompt the desire to make a world-class professional out of a child or, depending on the city of the couple’s honeymoon.

According to the rules, foreign words, including names, are written using the katakana alphabet. But along with this, there is also a way to select hieroglyphs by sound, as in the Chinese language. Perhaps this is a legacy of the Meiji Restoration, when the Japanese, like sponges, absorbed new information pouring in from the West. Here is a small list of such borrowed Japanese-English names (see the original). http://nisshin-geppo.com/international-name/).

American male names in Japanese:

Name, character, destiny...

When coming up with a name for a child, the Japanese pay great attention to choosing the right hieroglyphs... Through the meaning of these hieroglyphs, they try to give the child certain qualities in the future: kindness, courage, compassion, strength and much more. Also, various natural objects are sometimes included in the name: sea, sky, animals and plants. Thus, the sea conveys the breadth of vision, the sky speaks of serenity and endless life, animals endow their bearer with strength and endurance, and plants give strength and health. Using the example of famous Japanese from different eras, let's trace the connection between their name, character and fate.

In my opinion, the most striking illustration of this principle is the life and fate of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣 秀吉 - abundance + servant, excellent + ancient) - one of the unifiers of Japan and great military and political figures. Coming from a simple peasant family, throughout his life, along with the growth of his personal status, he changed his name, strengthening his position and exalting himself.

So, at birth he was given the name Hiyoshimaru (日吉丸 - day, sun + ancient + circle, indicator of a male name). But the poor peasants did not have surnames. As a child, Hideyoshi also had a nickname for "monkey" - Saru 猿. When he grew up, he ran away from his home to become a samurai. The reason was the mistreatment of his stepfather (Hideyoshi's mother remarried). From then on, he began to call himself Kinoshita Kōkichirō (木下藤吉郎 - the surname literally means “under the tree”, and the name – wisteria + old + indicator of a male name).

Ttoyotomi Hideyoshi

There are two versions about the origin of his surname. According to one version, Hideyoshi chose his surname by analogy with the surname of his new overlord Matsushita (松下 - literally “under the pine tree”). According to another, due to the fact that he entered into a contract with another famous unifier of Japan, Oda Nobunaga, standing under a huge tree. One way or another, he appropriated the name Hideyoshi to himself only when he had significantly advanced through the ranks. The promotion of the son of an unknown peasant in the service of Oda Nobunaga became possible only thanks to the exceptional military talent of Hideyoshi.

The fact is that Nobunaga evaluated his subordinates only by their abilities, without paying attention to their origin. This fact played a major role in the career of the future “great minister”. When Nobunaga handed over the lands to him, he again changed his surname from Kinoshita to Hashiba (羽柴 - wings + bush) taking kanji from the surnames of two people he respected: Niwa 丹羽 and Shibata 柴田. Continuing to unite the disparate Japanese principalities, Hideyoshi again changed his surname to Fujiwara (藤原 - wisteria + spring). The reason was that the characters Taira 平 - calm, unchanging, Geng 原 - source and Hashi 橋 - bridge were used only in the names of royal vassals. That is, he wanted to become closer to the ruling elite.

When the unification of Japan was completed, Hideyoshi, who became the regent-kampaku, received the royal surname Toyotomi from the Emperor himself. And although the Toyotomi family will be interrupted in just one generation, the story of Hideyoshi is a story of greatness and the name plays an important role here. Information taken from the page http://www12.plala.or.jp/rekisi/hideyosi-namae.html

I will give a list of outstanding Japanese people of various talents and professions (surnames are borrowed from Wikipedia) and a literal translation of their names:

Historical figures

• Miyamoto Musashi — 宮本 武蔵 – castle + root, warrior + wealth- Japanese ronin, considered one of the most famous swordsmen in Japanese history.
• Sakamoto Ryoma – 坂本 龍馬 – slope + root, dragon + horse- Japanese political and public figure of the Edo period. One of Japan's national heroes.
• Hirohito 裕仁 – abundance + virtue- Emperor of Japan (Showa 1926 - 1989). Hirohito's time in power was the longest in Japanese history; During his reign, a radical transformation of Japanese society took place.

Cultural figures

• Ken Watanabe — 渡辺 謙 - move + sideways, outlook- Japanese actor. He is best known abroad for his roles as rebel leader Daimyo Katsumoto in The Last Samurai (nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor), General Kuribayashi in Letters from Iwo Jima, and businessman Saito in Inception.
• Takeshi Kitano 北野 武 north + field, warrior- Japanese film director and actor. Director's works: "Fireworks", "Yakuza Brother", "Zatoichi".
• Hayao Miyazaki 宮崎 駿 castle + peninsula, fleet-footed- Japanese animation director. Together with Isao Takahata, he founded the animation studio Studio Ghibli. Winner of an Oscar (2003) and an honorary Oscar for outstanding achievements in cinema (2014).

• Kitaro 喜多郎 –joy + a lot + indicator of a male name(real name Masanori Takahashi 高橋 正則 - high bridge, correct + law) - Japanese composer, multi-instrumentalist, Grammy Award winner (2000) for best new age album.
• Haruki Murakami — 村上 春樹 – village + up, spring + tree- popular modern Japanese writer and translator.
• Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 – song + river, wide + heavy(real name Ando Hiroshige 安藤 広重 - calm + wisteria, wide + heavy) - one of the most famous and revered masters of Japanese painting and engraving, a representative of the ukiyo-e movement, a master of color woodcuts. Author of no less than 5400 engravings. In lyrical chamber landscapes with genre motifs, he conveyed the unstable states of nature, the atmospheric effects of snow and fog.
• Kenzo Takada 高田 賢三 tall + field, agile + three- Japanese fashion designer and designer, founder of the Kenzo brand.

Athletes

• Morihei Ueshiba — 植芝 盛平- plant + grass, ardent + unchanging(also known as the Great Teacher) - founder of Aikido.
• Osamu Watanabe — 渡辺 長武 — move + side, long + warrior- Japanese freestyle wrestler, Olympic champion, two-time world champion, Asian Games champion. One of the greatest pound-for-pound wrestlers in history. He has never been defeated in his career. With 189 victories in 189 official fights, he was included in the Guinness Book of Records. Moreover, throughout his entire career he has not lost a single point to anyone.
• Keisuke Honda — 本田 圭佑 – root + field, resultant + helper- Japanese footballer, midfielder of the Italian club Milan and the Japanese national team. Participant of the 2010 World Cup, winner and best player of the 2011 Asian Cup.
• Hanyu Yuzuru — 羽生 結弦 – wings + life, connected + string- Japanese singles skater. The first skater to surpass 100 points in the short program, 200 points in the free skate and 300 points in the total program.

Scientists

• Hideki Yukawa — 湯川 秀樹 – warm + river, gifted + tree- Japanese theoretical physicist. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics (1949) “for the prediction of the existence of mesons based on theoretical work on nuclear forces” (Yukawa Potential).
• Michio Kaku — 加來 道雄 add + freshness, path + male name indicator- American scientist, specialist in the field of theoretical physics. Known as an active popularizer of science and author of popular science books.

Businessmen

• Kiichiro Toyoda — 豊田 喜一郎 – wealth + field, joy + first son- Japanese businessman. Founder of Toyota.

• Iwasaki Yataro — 岩崎 弥太郎 – rock + peninsula, spread + courageous + masculine name indicator- Japanese entrepreneur, founder of the Mitsubishi industrial and trading corporation.
• Hiroshi Yamauchi — 山内 溥 – mountain + inside, swim across- Japanese businessman. Former head of Nintendo.
• Soichiro Honda — 本田宗一郎 – root + field, sect + first son- Japanese entrepreneur, founder of the Honda company.
• Konosuke Matsushita — 松下 幸之助 – pine + below, a man who brings happiness- Japanese businessman. Founder of Panasonic Corporation (Matsushita Electric).

Translation of Russian names for boys into Japanese

Strictly speaking, there are no translations of Russian names into Japanese. Foreign names in Japan are written using katakana. In this case, the pronunciation changes noticeably due to the discrepancy between the letters of the Russian alphabet and katakana characters. For example, in the Japanese alphabet there are no letters “l”, “k”, “m” or “t”, but there are, for example, “ru”, “ku”, “ma” or “to”. That is, to put it simply, their syllables are letters. And not all syllables possible in Russian exist in Japanese. In order not to be unfounded, I will give examples of how Russian men would be called by their Japanese friends:

• Oleg will become "Ore:ggu"
• Alexander and Alexey will most likely be called simply “Arekusu”
• They will call the current president of Russia “Buradmira.”

And who are “Pabe:ru”, “Konsutanchi:n” and “Bareri” you can guess for yourself.

Perhaps only Anton, Boris, Denis, Nikita, Roman, Semyon, Sergei, Yuri and Yana were lucky. The pronunciation of their names will undergo the least changes in Japan. With some experience and skill, you can learn the “Japanese” pronunciation of Russian words. Nevertheless, at the request of the workers, I will provide a table of translations of Russian male names into Japanese. This table is compiled on the principle of comparing the meaning of names. Names from the same line have approximately the same meanings and completely different pronunciations. However, this hypothetical comparison of names was a good exercise for me in Japanese. Japanese names selected using the site: https://b-name.jp/

Although the words “samurai” and “bushi” are very close in meaning, “bushi” (warrior) is a broader concept, and it does not always refer to a samurai. Also, in some definitions, samurai- This is a Japanese knight. The very word “samurai” comes from the verb “saburau” - literally translated it means: to serve a superior person. Samurai were not just knights, they were also the bodyguards of their daimyo (see below), and at the same time servants in everyday life. The most honorable position was the caretaker of his master's sword, but there were also such positions as the caretaker of an umbrella or the “supplier” of water in the morning, after sleep.

Story

Origin

According to the most common opinion, samurai originated in the 8th century in the east, northeast and extreme south of Japan. Since ancient times, on the outskirts of the empire, the Ainu tribes who settled here fiercely defended their lands from the imperial troops. The basis of samurai was made up of fugitive peasants and free hunters who were looking for “land and freedom” on the borders of the empire. Like the Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks, they spent their lives in constant campaigns and skirmishes with warlike aborigines, defending state borders.

The beginning of the identification of samurai as a special class usually dates back to the period of the reign of the feudal house of Minamoto (-) in Japan. The protracted and bloody civil war that preceded this (the so-called “Gempei Troubles”) between the feudal houses of Taira and Minamoto created the preconditions for the establishment of the shogunate - the rule of the samurai class with the supreme military leader ("shogun") at its head.

Golden age

The era of internecine wars

Over time, military governors became increasingly independent of the shogunate. They turned into large feudal lords, concentrating rich land plots in their hands. The houses of the southwestern provinces of Japan were especially strengthened, which significantly increased their armed forces.

In addition, thanks to the brisk trade with China and Korea, the feudal lords of the western and southwestern provinces, from where it was mainly carried out, became significantly enriched. The Kamakura shogunate, not wanting to put up with the strengthening of individual samurai houses, interfered with the trading activities of the feudal lords, which served as one of the reasons for the emergence of opposition sentiments towards the Kamakura shogunate among the samurai houses.

As a result, the Kamakura shogunate was overthrown, and the title of shogun passed to representatives of the Ashikaga house. The first shogun of the new dynasty was Ashikaga Takauji. The head of the new shogunate left the former bakufu headquarters, Kamakura, which was destroyed during civil strife, and, together with the entire government, moved to the imperial capital of Kyoto. Once in Kyoto, the shogun and influential samurai, in order to catch up with the arrogant court nobility, began to build themselves magnificent palaces and gradually became mired in luxury, idleness, the intrigues of the imperial court and began to neglect state affairs.

The military governors of the provinces immediately took advantage of the weakening of centralized power. They formed their own samurai units, with which they attacked their neighbors, seeing everyone as an enemy, until, finally, a full-scale civil war broke out in the country.

The last phase of this war in medieval chronicles is called the “era of the fighting provinces” (Sengoku Jidai). It lasted from to

Sunset

The samurai class received a clear design during the reign of shoguns from the feudal house of Tokugawa (-) in Japan. The most privileged layer of samurai were the so-called hatamoto (literally, “under the banner”), who were direct vassals of the shogun. The majority of Hatamoto occupied the position of the service class in the personal estates of the shogun. The bulk of samurai were vassals of princes (daimyo); most often they did not have land, but received a salary from the prince in rice.

Bushido

The ethical code of conduct of the samurai in medieval Japan. The Code appeared between the 11th and 14th centuries and was formalized in the early years of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Female samurai

Samurai in modern culture

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (film)

Death Trance (film)

see also

• Onna-bugeisha - female warrior
• Onna buke - a woman of the samurai class (not necessarily able to fight, just social status)
• Hitokiri - a samurai with a dubious reputation, “famous” for the number of commoners he hacked to death for disrespect

• Shikken (regent for a minor or puppet Shogun)

Famous Samurai

Literature

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Mikhail Ikhonsky | Jun 25, 2018

At the turn of the 7th – 8th centuries, the rulers of Japan began to form professional military units. The basis of the regular army were samurai.

Over time, they were separated into a separate class, and the fame of their valor and courage spread throughout the world. Everything that was connected with them with Japanese warriors gradually became overgrown with legends and myths, until the samurai themselves became a kind of ideal warrior: brave, loyal and at the same time educated, and putting the honor of a warrior above all else.

But... what remains if we weed out all the existing myths that have been repeatedly reinforced by modern directors, artists and writers? What were Japanese samurai really like? As it turns out, they are not ideal at all.

Unconventional sexual preferences

Among the samurai, sex between masters and their young students was considered the norm. Such relationships were called “shudo” (translated as “the way of the youth”) and were part of the education of a new generation of samurai. It was believed that in this way young warriors were prepared for subsequent submission and service to their master.

Starting from the age of 13, a teacher was “attached” to each teenage student. The young and adult samurai lived together for the next 6 years, and all this time the master used his student to satisfy his own sexual needs.

As for intimate relationships with women, they were considered unnecessary and even unnecessary among samurai, since, according to the warriors, they could weaken their spirit and body.

Samurai married only in order to have offspring, but they never tried not to get carried away with their own wives - this was considered a sign of bad taste and could serve as a reason for the loss of respect among their “colleagues.”

Loyalty exclusively to one's own interests

It would seem that the loyalty and devotion of a samurai is an indisputable fact. However, it turned out to be a myth. There are facts in history when samurai not only went over to the side of the enemy in order to avoid death, but also handed over the head of their master to the enemy.

To obtain benefits, some samurai clans even deliberately divided themselves and stood on opposite sides of the barricades when sorting out the relationship between the two feudal lords. As a result, no matter which side won, the clan still received its “honestly earned” money.

At the same time, public opinion did not at all condemn the samurai, who served first one master or another. On the contrary, such concern for one’s own interests was even encouraged.

As for the boundless courage of the samurai, this fact is significantly exaggerated, since history knows battles during which an entire army, consisting of the elite of Japanese warriors, simply ran away at the sight of the enemy. Similar evidence was preserved not only in Japanese chronicles, but also in the documents of its closest neighbors.

Those left out of work

Whether bad or good, but while the passions of civil strife were raging in Japan, samurai were quite in demand. However, after the unification of the country and the cessation of internal wars, when there was no one to fight with, the samurai were left completely out of work (in external conflicts, to protect the interests of the country, the most famous Japanese warriors in their entire centuries-old history took part only once - in the 12th century) .

By this time, many samurai were already hereditary professional warriors, and were not accustomed to other work.

Along with their work, the samurai also lost their many advantages, so, willy-nilly, they had to look for other ways of existence.

Some managed to adapt, taking up crafts, trade and other activities, along with respectable citizens. Others continued to earn their living through their martial arts, as bodyguards for wealthy Japanese nobles.

But there were also many who, unable to find a use for themselves, took the criminal path. They became hired killers and founders of the Japanese Yakuza, no less famous than the samurai.

And not aristocrats at all

It is widely believed that only representatives of the Japanese nobility could become samurai. But in fact, samurai were originally the name given to the servants of aristocrats who held military posts in peacetime. These servants were mainly engaged in farm work and accompanying their master to various official events.

For a long time between military conflicts, samurai also continued to engage in farming. However, they were practically no different from other farmers in the country. Their only privilege was the right to bear arms.

Samurai code of honor

The Code of Bushido appeared much later than the samurai themselves and became one of the elements of that very myth, due to which the glory of Japanese warriors far outlived them.

The foundations of the “Way of the Warrior” were laid by Daidoji Yuzan and Yamamoto Tsunetomo, both from families of hereditary samurai. The second formulated the basic principles of the code in his work.

However, the code itself was never written down anywhere - its postulates were transmitted exclusively orally from generation to generation.

At the same time, the truth of the statements was never disputed or questioned. Those who dared to break at least one of the rules could not only be expelled from the samurai, but also forced to take their own lives (commit hara-kiri).

The Japanese samurai have an almost mythical reputation. The idea of ​​katana-wielding warriors adhering to a noble code is incredibly romantic. Moreover, it was supported by legends and films. But in fact, many real facts about samurai are kept silent, since this would destroy the romantic flair created by cinema and literature.

1. “Horo” capes

Samurai wore massive 2-meter horo capes, which were stuffed with lightweight materials and fluttered around the samurai's body at the slightest wind. The horo was supposed to protect the samurai from arrows. The horo was also the main status symbol of the war. An enemy killed in battle wearing a horo was buried with honors.

2. Samurai swords

In the 13th century, when Japan was attacked by the Mongols, the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun first encountered an army equipped with heavy armor. Their swords did not stand up to criticism at that moment. Thin Japanese weapons got stuck in Mongolian leather armor, and often simply broke in half. These thin samurai swords broke so often that they were forced to abandon them and begin making larger, heavier swords to resist the Mongols.

3. Samurai “sissies”

In feudal Japan, a man who spent the night with a woman was considered a sissy. Samurai believed that sex with women had a "feminizing" effect on a man's mind and body. The samurai married if he needed it to procreate, but he never allowed himself to get carried away by his wife. If a samurai was seen kissing his wife in public, then his masculinity was questioned. At the same time, homosexual relationships were perceived as something ordinary.

4. The guarantor-lover

When a boy was learning the art of the samurai, he was often paired with an older man. The elder taught the boy martial arts, etiquette, a code of honor, and in return used him to satisfy lust. This was called "sudo", which means "the path from boy to teenager." When a boy turned 13, he usually swore allegiance to his teacher and lived with him for the next six years. This was considered completely normal. One Japanese poet wrote: “A young man without an older guarantor-lover is like a young girl without a groom.” It really was treated like a marriage.

5. Immediately and in front of a witness

If a samurai was treated disrespectfully by someone from the lower class, he could kill this person on the spot. There were several rules. The samurai had to do this immediately and in front of witnesses. Moreover, not doing this was considered shameful.

6. Right pant leg only

Samurai began to be paranoid about their bathroom after the incident of the daimyo Uesugi Kenshin, who was killed in the toilet in the 16th century. The killer sneaked into the toilet and stabbed Uesugi Kenshin with a spear, catching him by surprise with his pants down. After this, his rival Takeda Shingen became concerned that someone might do something similar to him and took action. Since then, all martial arts masters began to teach adherents to go to the toilet with their right pant leg completely lowered in order to ensure freedom of action. Samurai bathrooms were designed to be safe from assassins.

7. Post-mortem smell

A legendary samurai named Shigenari Kimura fought his last battle in 1615, defending a castle in Osaka. He boldly led his troops onto the battlefield, after carefully cutting his hair and fumigating his helmet with incense. Kimura knew that he would not survive and decided to "take care" of his future killer, leaving him with a fragrant corpse. He knew his head would be someone's trophy and he wanted it to smell good.

8. Dog in armor

At least one set of samurai armor, custom-made for a dog, survives today. Details are no longer known regarding how the dog armor was used, but scientists believe that it was likely that the armor was not intended for combat, but rather that it was used during parades or was simply ordered by someone from a collector. However, at one point in history, a samurai walked the streets of a Japanese city with a dog dressed in full battle armor.

9. Shakuhachi

One of the strangest types of samurai weapons are shakuhachi - bamboo flutes. Initially, these were simply musical instruments played by Buddhist monks. Over time, flutes were transformed when a group of Buddhists called komuso began walking around with baskets on their heads, playing the flute and preaching. The samurai realized that these people with baskets on their heads were simply the perfect disguise and began to pretend to be them. The samurai spies who were sent to suppress uprisings looked like monks in komuso. At the same time, samurai flutes had spikes for use as self-defense weapons.

10. Samurai Devotion

The Samurai Code didn't actually exist until the 1600s, and before that, samurai constantly betrayed their masters. Even after this, the samurai's loyalty existed only on paper, but not in real life. If the owner did not care about the samurai and did not adequately reward the warrior who protected him, then the samurai, as a rule, used any chance to slaughter him and go to serve the one who pays more. When Western missionaries first came to Japan, they were shocked by how much betrayal and backstabbing they saw.

And in continuation of the Japanese theme, we publish.