SAMURAI

The samurai were originally an entourage serving the highest dignitaries in Japan, but also the bodyguard of the emperors. In the Western world, the term generally extends to Japan's feudal "knighthood" before the Meiji era (1868-1912) and from its origins. It is assumed that samurai made up about 10% of Japan's population in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is often assumed that samurai appeared in the history of the Land of the Rising Sun in the 8th century AD - and lasted until 1871! The basis of the samurai's weapons was his sword (Japanese: katana) and a short sword (Japanese: wakizashi), which was also used to commit ritual suicide, i.e. seppuku, if the samurai found that he had broken the bushido code. In addition, samurai were trained to fight with a spear (yari), a specific Japanese pole weapon called naginata, or in archery (Japanese: yumi). It is worth adding that the samurai were educated in the spirit of indisputable submission to the will of their superior and in contempt for death.