I Am the Samurai Traveler

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When I was choosing an email name about 30 years ago, I almost decided on Dr. Samurai Traveler. But somehow, golfkat seemed easier. But I started thinking about the samurai class back in Japan, and probably have as many questions as you do.

Here are some interesting facts about the samurai: Samurai are one of the most popular and recognizable types of warriors from history. Countless books, movies, and TV shows have been made around the hundreds of stories that revolve around the ancient warriors of Japan. While everyone knows about the samurai code, the swords, and the armor, there was a lot more going on within this warrior class that served as the protectors of Japan for more than 600 years.


In videos of modern-day swordsmen testing the effectiveness of a new sword, usually they are seen cutting down bamboo pillars or something of the sort. But that’s not how they did it during the age of the samurai.


Samurai would commonly test their new toys on cadavers, or sometimes even on imprisoned criminals. This practice was called tameshigiri, which translates to “cutting test.”


Samurai always carried around a pair of swords, known as the daisho. Samurai were the only class in Japan who were allowed to carry a daisho.


The smaller of the pair, called the wakizashi, had its use reserved for two things: beheading enemies bested in battle, and committing seppuku, the act of honorably taking one's own life.


While most people think of the samurai as a largely male-dominated group of fighters, there was also a group called the onna-bugeisha that consisted entirely of warrior women.


The onna-bugeisha were just as feared and respected as their male counterparts, and were around since at least 200 CE. But instead of carrying two swords like the samurai, the onna-bugeisha opted for the naginata, which was a shorter blade at the end of a pole arm.


A samurai was only a true samurai when he was under the employment of a master. If a samurai’s master died or was otherwise disconnected from the warrior, the samurai lost his social status and had the option of either rejoining the common people or wandering on his own.


Those who picked the latter path were known as ronin. While popular movies, novels, and comics have romanticized the term, the real ronin were much more akin to homeless vagrants than noble wanderers.


Apart from the samurai was another group of warriors known as the sohei. The sohei occupied a social class all their own, and answered to no one, not even the emperor.


The sohei were warrior monks tasked with acting as the moderators (violent or otherwise) between the two sects of Buddhism that were developing in the 10th century.


Tea ceremonies were a very serious matter in samurai circles. Known as chanoyu, tea ceremonies were commonly practiced after samurai returned from a long journey or a hard battle.


For the samurai, mental and spiritual fitness went hand in hand with physical prowess, and tea ceremonies were meant to create a headspace of rejuvenation for the weary warriors.


Widespread peace in Japan meant bad business for the samurai class. When the fighting had ceased during the Tokagawa period, some samurai expressed their pent-up energy in interesting ways. A group that became known as the kabukimono, which roughly translates to “crazy one,” took to the habit of presenting themselves in unconventional and sometimes controversial ways, even wearing geisha makeup, short kimonos, and nontraditional colors. Some of the kabukimono organized into street gangs as the samurai became more and more obsolete. It’s commonly thought that kabukimono gangs were the predecessors of the modern-day yakuza gangs.


Another ex-samurai street gang that developed during the same period were the kyokaku, or “street knights.” But they kept more of a moral code than the kabukimono, and generally protected the public from other gangs. They were easily recognized by the extra-long swords they carried.


One of the darker practices of ancient samurai was known as tsujigiri, which roughly translates to “roadside killing.” True to its name, tsujigiri consisted of samurai sneaking up on innocent civilians on the road and striking them dead. Historians believe this practice had ancient and honorable roots, but everything about the practice that’s been documented leads us to think this was usually done just for the fun of it.


While seppuku is a fairly common concept, the companion practice of honorably taking one's own life known as jigai is not as well known. Jigai was another form of honorable self-destruction, but was reserved only for the wives of samurais. Jigai called for a woman to cut her throat (rather than the belly as is the case with seppuku), and was usually only practiced in tandem with their samurai partner.


While there were some barbaric traditions practiced among the samurai, they were also uncharacteristically ahead of their time in other ways. One of these ways was their widespread acceptance of homosexuality. It was common for apprentices to share sexual relationships with their masters. A book from the Edo period called ‘The Great Mirror of Male Love’ documents many of these relationships.


It may come as a surprise to many that being Japanese wasn’t a requirement in order to become a samurai. In the late 1500s, there is evidence of an African samurai named Yasuke. Documents from the era tell us that Yasuke arrived in Japan in 1579. The documentation is spotty, but we know that Yasuke became a samurai and was employed by Oda Nabunaga (pictured), an influential feudal lord of the time, and served Nabunaga until his death.


The most common ideas of the samurai are of warriors wielding swords, spears, or maybe axes, but guns are rarely associated with these ancient fighters. However, ever since guns were introduced to Japan in the 16th century, rifles were a mainstay of any samurai’s arsenal.


Also contrary to the typical samurai archetype is the fact that most were short, stout individuals. While other warriors of the world around that time, like English knights, stood tall and averaged over six feet (182 cm) in height, the average samurai didn’t sit quite so high. Studies have shown that the average samurai stood at just over five feet (160 cm) tall. The 40 lbs (18 kg) of armor they wore surely compensated for their short stature.


That is more than I ever wanted to know about the samurai. But I love the artwork!

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