The advanced culture of Japan in this era, from which the Samurai arose, was based at the north end of the Inland Sea on the main island. Across the Hakone Mountains to the east lay the Kanto, an alluvial plain that was the single largest rice growing area on the islands. To the north and east of the Kanto was the frontier beyond which lived aboriginal Japanese, known as the Ainu, who had occupied the islands since Neolithic times.

The Samurai were warrior clans that arose after 900. A tax-poor and ineffective imperial court came to rely on governors and land-holders controlling personal armies to maintain control. The warrior clans, principally the Minamoto and Taira, were first used as pawns by factions of the Fujiwara clan which dominated the imperial court. While the Fujiwara thought they were struggling for supremacy within the court, the real power was shifting from the city to the countryside where local strongmen controlled food production, taxes, and armies. The warriors came to the realization that they could eliminate the Fujiwara advisors and dominate the court in their own right.

The warrior class grew in strength because they offered security in a time of unrest. Barbarians raided down from the north end of the island and local rulers struggled with each other for land. Even important and wealthy monasteries built armies for defense and to intervene in court politics. Local farmers, the source of most wealth, offered subjugation to warriors who could provide defense.

The conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans culminated in the Gempei War, 1180 to 1185, which left the Minamoto warriors dominant. Samurai were the real power in Japan for the next 500 years.

Japan in this period was an agricultural economy, dependant on the growing of rice. Practice indicated that small holders of land were most efficient at rice growing, an intense type of agriculture. The imperial court claimed ownership of all the land in an edict of 646. Farmers were to be allotted rice growing lands on the basis of their household needs but were to pay taxes in rice and other agricultural products, and were forced to provide labor services. Labor meant both construction and military service.

New lands brought into cultivation at the frontier or reclaimed (from wetlands, for example), were exempt from taxes temporarily. In practice, the government lost control of more and more land as tax free parcels were given to Buddhist temples, members of the imperial family, members of the Fujiwara clan that dominated the central government, governors, and others. As revenues declined it became more difficult to maintain control over areas distant from the capital. The failure of the central authority helped create turmoil in the countryside that led to the rise of the Samurai class.

Shinto is the native religion of Japan, tracing back to Neolithic times. Followers of Shinto believe that all natural objects contain a god. Shinto shrines were built to be gathering places for the dead.

Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China before 550. Buddhism stressed achieving enlightenment or inner peace by striving for the right behavior in eight different areas. This new religion improved in popularity in the more settled areas of Japan, especially where Chinese influences were highly regarded. The number of Buddhist temples in the country increased from 46 in 624 to nearly 550 by the end of the century.

The Samurai adopted a variant of Buddhism called Zen that featured meditation and focusing the mind on an object or idea. Zen believers sought truth and knowledge through meditation and self-control. The Samurai believed that Zen would help them act without hesitation in battle.

The Reform Edict of 646 intended to bring all the rice growing land under central government control by consolidating the strength of the throne and providing a system of administration. The model for this edict were the governments of the Sui and T'ang dynasties of China. Japan was divided into provinces administered by a governor appointed from the official class. Provinces were divided into districts administered usually by a member of the local gentry. The number of provinces increased as new lands were brought under control. When selecting men for office considerations in order of importance were birth, character, and then ability.

Strong local clans resisted these reforms because they deprived the locals of their income and source of power. Even the peasants resisted the reforms because the double levies of produce and labor taxes could be overwhelming in bad times. The allotment system of land holding was displaced gradually by a manorial system where great land holdings were controlled by families or monasteries that enjoyed immunity from taxes and the courts.

A Samuari society, based on military prowess, replaced the nobility as the power behind the throne at the end of the 12th century. The head of the military government was the Shogun.

The Samurai warriors fought mainly with the bow from horseback and with their unique, long, curved swords on foot. They also carried a short sword. Only Samurai carried two swords and only they could use the long sword. They wore elaborate armor and carried distinctive devices or pennants of rank. They put tremendous effort into their weapons training and emphasized individual combat in battle. Before a battle, individual champions might step forward from the respective armies, recite their family history and personal military exploits, and so arrange a contest with a suitably worthy opponent.

They lived by a code of the warrior, something like the code of chivalry that arose in the roughly comparable feudal environment of Medieval Europe. The foundation of the warrior code was loyalty to the lord. The warrior expected leadership and protection. In return he obeyed the commands of his lord without question and stood ready to die on his behalf. A Samurai placed great emphasis on his ancestry and strove to carry on family traditions. He behaved so as to earn praise. He was to be firm and show no cowardice. Warriors went into battle expecting and looking to die. It was felt that a warrior hoping to live would not be effective.

In general, Samurai did not surrender. When a position was untenable, a warrior was expected to commit suicide rather than suffer the humiliation of capture. They did not take prisoners. There were no ransoms for captured enemies, as there was in Europe. Warriors were instead given rewards upon proof of the death of an important enemy. This led to the practice of decapitating the prominent dead enemies because heads were easier to transport than entire corpses.

The Samurai provided an elite at the head of the military forces. Below the Samurai were lower classes of foot soldiers who wore light armor and fought mainly with spears.

The warriors of this age clashed mainly within their own society against each other. On a few occasions Samurai-led armies attempted to invade the mainland but did not achieve any significant success. In 1274 and 1281 Mongol armies attempted to invade Japan but were defeated. On both occasions, sudden typhoons disrupted the invading navies. The bulk of the 150,000 man Mongol force of 1281 was lost in storms that became known as the kamikaze, or "divine wind."

Following the defeat of the Mongol invasions, there were internal struggles for power and the Shogunate changed hands to other clans. An invasion of the mainland was attempted, partly to relieve the pressure of having so many armed men at hand. At one point, all swords were collected from non-Samurai to reduce the risk of violence. In the 1540's and 1550's European traders began appearing in Japanese waters. Traders brought new ideas, new technologies, new weapons, and Christianity. The Tokugowa ruled Japan after 1600 and re-instituted a policy of isolationism. Firearms disappeared. Christians were persecuted and the religion stamped out. Foreign trade was eventually banned and travelers from overseas were kept out.

Despite the isolation, Japan prospered under a stable government at peace. Cities grew, industries flourished, and middle class of merchants expanded their importance.

In 1855, the United States bullied the Japanese into reopening their trade under the threat of war. This act led to the eventual downfall of the Samurai rulers. A coalition of lords and imperial forces overthrew the Tokugawas at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. This established the Meiji Restoration of imperial rule.

Rather than return to the isolationist policies of the past, under the restored emperor Japan underwent an incredible transformation. In a few short decades they converted their feudal society into a modern industrial nation. The pride and honor of the Samurai continued to influence Japan as it industrialized, attempted overseas expansion in the 20th century, and sought revenge for the humiliation it had suffered from Europe and the United States in the 19th century. The Samurai influence in the arts also carried forward in the appreciation of beautiful gardens, poetry, calligraphy, theater, and ceremony.

The Samurai are best remembered as fierce warriors, especially when wielding their Samurai swords. They are remembered also for their strict code of Bushido, especially the willingness to commit seppeku, ritual suicide, rather than accept dishonor.

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Minamoto Yoritomo

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