is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility," the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai. According to Wilson, an early reference to the word "samurai" appears in the Kokin Wakashū (905–914), the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the first part of the 10th century.

By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with ''bushi'' (武士), and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than 10% of Japan's population samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern martial arts such as Kendō, meaning ''the way of the sword''.

History

Following the Battle of Hakusukinoe against Tang China and Silla in 663 AD that led to a Japanese retreat from Korean affairs, Japan underwent widespread reform. One of the most important was that of the Taika Reform, issued by Prince Naka no Ōe (Emperor Tenji) in 646 AD. This edict allowed the Japanese aristocracy to adopt the Tang Dynasty political structure, bureaucracy, culture, religion, and philosophy. 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 was 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 modeled 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 most of the 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 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 failed in their task. Emperor Kammu introduced the title of ''Seiitaishogun'' () or shogun, and began to rely on the powerful regional clans to conquer the Emishi. Skilled in mounted combat and archery (kyūdō), these clan warriors became the emperor's preferred tool for putting down rebellions. Although this is the first time 'shogun' title is used, it was a temporal title and had not been accompanied with political power until 13th century, and at this time (7th to 9th century) the imperial court officials considered them to be merely military section under control of imperial court.

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

After the Genpei war of the late 12th century, a clan leader Minamoto no Yoritomo obtained right to appoint shugo and jito, and allowed to organize soldiers and police, and to collect certain amount of tax. Though the initial responsibility was restricted to arresting rebels and collecting needed army provisions, and forbidden to interfere kokushi governors, the responsibility expanded gradually and thus samurai-class appeared as political ruling power in Japan. Minamoto no Yoritomo opened Kamakura Bakufu shogunate in 1192.

Samurai warriors described themselves as followers of "The Way of the Warrior" or Bushido. Bushidō is defined by the Japanese dictionary Shogakukan Kokugo Daijiten as "a unique philosophy (ronri) that spread through the warrior class from the Muromachi (chusei) period. From the earliest times, the Samurai felt that the path of the warrior was one of honor, emphasizing duty to one's master, and loyalty unto death.

In the 13th century, Hojo Shigetoki (1198–1261 AD) wrote: "When one is serving officially or in the master's court, he should not think of a hundred or a thousand people, but should consider only the importance of the master."

In his 1979 Dissertation about the Hojo, Carl Steenstrup noted that 13th and 14th century warrior writings (gunki) "portrayed the bushi in their natural element, war, eulogizing such virtues as reckless bravery, fierce family pride, and selfless, at times senseless devotion of master and man."

Feudal lords such as Shiba Yoshimasa (1350–1410 AD) stated that a warrior looked forward to a glorious death in the service of a military leader or the emperor: "It is a matter of regret to let the moment when one should die pass by....First, a man whose profession is the use of arms should think and then act upon not only his own fame, but also that of his descendants. He should not scandalize his name forever by holding his one and only life too dear....One's main purpose in throwing away his life is to do so either for the sake of the Emperor or in some great undertaking of a military general. It is that exactly that will be the great fame of one's descendants."

In 1412 AD, Imagawa Sadayo wrote a letter of admonishment to his brother stressing the importance of duty to one's master. Imagawa was admired for his balance of military and administrative skills during his lifetime and his writings became widespread. The letters became central to Tokugawa-era laws and were a required study for traditional Japanese until World War II:

"First of all, a samurai who dislikes battle and has not put his heart in the right place even though he has been born in the house of the warrior, should not be reckoned among one's retainers....It is forbidden to forget the great debt of kindness one owes to his master and ancestors and thereby make light of the virtues of loyalty and filial piety....It is forbidden that one should...attach little importance to his duties to his master...There is a primary need to distinguish loyalty from disloyalty and to establish rewards and punishments."

Similarly. the feudal lord Takeda Nobushige (1525–1561 AD) stated: "In matters both great and small, one should not turn his back on his master's commands...One should not ask for gifts or enfiefments from the master...No matter how unreasonably the master may treat a man, he should not feel disgruntled...An underling does not pass judgments on a superior"

Nobushige's brother Takeda Shingen (1521–1573 AD) also made similar observations: "One who was born in the house of a warrior, regardless of his rank or class, first acquaints himself with a man of military feats and achievements in loyalty....Everyone knows that if a man doesn't hold filial piety toward his own parents he would also neglect his duties toward his lord. Such a neglect means a disloyalty toward humanity. Therefore such a man doesn't deserve to be called 'samurai'."

The feudal lord Asakura Yoshikage (1428–1481 AD) wrote: "In the fief of the Asakura, one should not determine hereditary chief retainers. A man should be assigned according to his ability and loyalty." Asakura also observed that the successes of his father were obtained by the kind treatment of the warriors and common people living in domain. By his civility, "all were willing to sacrifice their lives for him and become his allies."

Kato Kiyomasa was one of the most powerful and well-known lords of the Sengoku Era. He commanded most of Japan's major clans during the invasion of Korea (1592–1598). In a handbook he addressed to "all samurai, regardless of rank" he told his followers that a warrior's only duty in life was to "grasp the long and the short swords and to die". He also ordered his followers to put forth great effort in studying the military classics, especially those related to loyalty and filial piety. He is best known for his quote: "If a man does not investigate into the matter of Bushido daily, it will be difficult for him to die a brave and manly death. Thus it is essential to engrave this business of the warrior into one's mind well."

Nabeshima Naoshige (1538–1618 AD) was another Sengoku Daimyo who fought alongside Kato Kiyomasa in Korea. He stated that it was shameful for any man to have not risked his life at least once in the line of duty, regardless of his rank. Nabeshima's sayings would be passed down to his son and grandson and would become the basis for Tsunetomo Yamamoto's ''Hagakure''. He is best known for his saying "The way of the Samurai is in desperateness. Ten men or more cannot kill such a man." Torii Mototada (1539–1600) was a feudal lord in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu. On the eve of the battle of Sekigahara, he volunteered to remain behind in the doomed Fushimi Castle while his lord advanced to the east. Torii and Tokugawa both agreed that the castle was indefensible. In an act of loyalty to his lord, Torii chose to remain behind, pledging that he and his men would fight to the finish. As was custom, Torii vowed that he would not be taken alive. In a dramatic last stand, the garrison of 2,000 men held out against overwhelming odds for ten days against the massive army of Ishida Mitsunari's 40,000 warriors. In a moving last statement to his son Tadamasa, he wrote:

"It is not the Way of the Warrior [i.e., bushido] to be shamed and avoid death even under circumstances that are not particularly important. It goes without saying that to sacrifice one's life for the sake of his master is an unchanging principle. That I should be able to go ahead of all the other warriors of this country and lay down my life for the sake of my master's benevolence is an honor to my family and has been my most fervent desire for many years."

It is said that both men cried when they parted ways, because they knew they would never see each other again. Torii's father and grandfather had served the Tokugawa before him and his own brother had already been killed in battle. Torii's actions changed the course of Japanese history. Ieyasu Tokugawa would successfully raise an army and win at Sekigahara.

The translator of ''Hagakure'', William Scott Wilson observed examples of warrior emphasis on death in clans other than Yamamoto's: "he (Takeda Shingen) was a strict disciplinarian as a warrior, and there is an exemplary story in the ''Hagakure'' relating his execution of two brawlers, not because they had fought, but because they had not fought to the death."

The rival of Takeda Shingen (1521–1573) was Uesugi Kenshin (1530–1578), a legendary Sengoku warlord well-versed in the Chinese military classics and who advocated the "way of the warrior as death". Japanese historian Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki describes Uesugi's beliefs as: "Those who are reluctant to give up their lives and embrace death are not true warriors.... Go to the battlefield firmly confident of victory, and you will come home with no wounds whatever. Engage in combat fully determined to die and you will be alive; wish to survive in the battle and you will surely meet death. When you leave the house determined not to see it again you will come home safely; when you have any thought of returning you will not return. You may not be in the wrong to think that the world is always subject to change, but the warrior must not entertain this way of thinking, for his fate is always determined."

Families such as the Imagawa were influential in the development of warrior ethics and were widely quoted by other lords during their lifetime. The writings of Imagawa Sadayo were highly respected and sought out by Tokugawa Ieyasu as the source of Japanese Feudal Law. These writings were a required study among traditional Japanese until World War II. Historian H. Paul Varley notes the description of Japan given by Jesuit leader St. Francis Xavier (1506–1552): "There is no nation in the world which fears death less." Xavier further describes the honor and manners of the people: "I fancy that there are no people in the world more punctilious about their honour than the Japanese, for they will not put up with a single insult or even a word spoken in anger." Xavier spent the years 1549–1551 converting Japanese to Christianity. He also observed: "The Japanese are much braver and more warlike than the people of China, Korea, Ternate and all of the other nations around the Philippines."

In December 1547, Francis was in Malacca (Malaysia) waiting to return to Goa (India) when he met a low-ranked samurai named Anjiro (possibly spelled "Yajiro"). Anjiro was not a nobleman or an intellectual, but he impressed Xavier because he took careful notes of everything he said in church. Xavier made the decision to go to Japan in part because this low-ranking samurai convinced him in Portuguese that the Japanese people were highly educated and eager to learn. They were hard workers and respectful of authority. In their laws and customs they were led by reason, and, should the Christian faith convince them of its truth, they would accept it en masse. By the 12th century, upper-class samurai were highly literate due to the general introduction of Confucianism from China during the 7th to 9th centuries, and in response to their perceived need to deal with the imperial court, who had a monopoly on culture and literacy for most of the Heian period. As a result they aspired to the more cultured abilities of the nobility.

Examples such as Taira Tadanori (a samurai who appears in the Heike Monogatari) demonstrate that warriors idealized the arts and aspired to become skilled in them.

Tadanori was famous for his skill with the pen and the sword or the "bun and the bu", the harmony of fighting and learning. Samurai were expected to be cultured and literate, and admired 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." By the time of the Edo period, Japan had a higher literacy comparable to that in central Europe.

The number of men who actually achieved the ideal and lived their lives by it was high. 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:

In his book "Ideals of the Samurai" translator William Scott Wilson states: "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. Most warriors aspired to or followed this ideal otherwise there would have been no cohesion in the samurai armies.

Kamakura Bakufu and the rise of samurai

Originally the emperor and nobility employed these warriors. In time, they amassed enough manpower, resources and political backing in the form of alliances with one another, to establish the first samurai-dominated government.

As the power of these regional clans grew, their chief was typically a distant relative of the emperor, and a lesser member of either the Fujiwara, Minamoto, or Taira clans.

Though originally sent to provincial areas for a fixed four-year term as a magistrate, the ''toryo'' declined to return to the capital when their terms ended, and their sons inherited their positions and continued to lead the clans in putting down rebellions throughout Japan during the middle- and later-Heian period.

Samurai fought at the naval battle of Dan-no-Ura in 1185. Because of their rising military and economic power, the warriors ultimately became a new force in the politics of the court. Their involvement in the Hōgen in the late Heian period consolidated their power, and finally pitted the rival Minamoto and Taira clans against each other in the Heiji Rebellion of 1160.

The winner, Taira no Kiyomori, became an imperial advisor, and was the first warrior to attain such a position. He eventually seized control of the central government, establishing the first samurai-dominated government and relegating the emperor to figurehead status.

However, the Taira clan was still very conservative when compared to its eventual successor, the Minamoto, and instead of expanding or strengthening its military might, the Taira clan had its women marry emperors and exercise control through the emperor.

The Taira and the Minamoto clashed again in 1180, beginning the Gempei War which ended in 1185. The victorious Minamoto no Yoritomo established the superiority of the samurai over the aristocracy. In 1190 he visited Kyoto, and in 1192 became Seii Taishogun, establishing the Kamakura Shogunate, or ''Kamakura Bakufu''. Instead of ruling from Kyoto, he set up the Shogunate in Kamakura, near his base of power. "Bakufu" means "tent government", taken from the encampments the soldiers would live in, in accordance with the Bakufu's status as a military government.

Over time, powerful samurai clans became warrior nobility, or "''buke''", who were only nominally under the court aristocracy. When the samurai began to adopt aristocratic pastimes like calligraphy, poetry and music, some court aristocrats in turn began to adopt samurai customs. In spite of various machinations and brief periods of rule by various emperors, real power was now in the hands of the Shogun and the samurai.

Ashikaga Shogunate

Various samurai clans struggled for power during the Kamakura and Ashikaga Shogunates.

Zen Buddhism spread among the samurai in the 13th century and helped to shape their standards of conduct, particularly overcoming fear of death and killing, but among the general populace, Pure Land Buddhism was favored.

In 1274, the Mongol-founded Yuan Dynasty in China sent a force of some 40,000 men and 900 ships to invade Japan in northern Kyūshū. Japan mustered a mere 10,000 samurai to meet this threat. The invading army was harassed by major thunderstorms throughout the invasion, which aided the defenders by inflicting heavy casualties. The Yuan army was eventually recalled and the invasion was called off. The Mongol invaders used small bombs, which was likely the first appearance of bombs and gunpowder in Japan.

The Japanese defenders recognized the possibility of a renewed invasion, and began construction of a great, stone barrier around Hakata Bay in 1276. Completed in 1277, this wall stretched for 20 kilometers around the border of the bay. This would later serve as a strong defensive point against the Mongols. The Mongols attempted to settle matters in a diplomatic way from 1275 to 1279, but every envoy sent to Japan was executed. This set the stage for one of the most famous engagements in Japanese history.

In 1281, a Yuan army of 140,000 men with 5,000 ships was mustered for another invasion of Japan. Northern Kyūshū was defended by a Japanese army of 40,000 men. The Mongol army was still on its ships preparing for the landing operation when a typhoon hit north Kyūshū island. The casualties and damage inflicted by the typhoon, followed by the Japanese defense of the Hakata Bay barrier, resulted in the Mongols again recalling their armies.

The thunderstorms of 1274 and the typhoon of 1281 helped the samurai defenders of Japan repel the Mongol invaders despite being vastly outnumbered. These winds became known as ''kami-no-kaze'', which literally translates as "wind of the gods." This is often given a simplified translation as "divine wind." The ''kami-no-kaze'' lent credence to the Japanese belief that their lands were indeed divine and under supernatural protection.

In the 14th century, a blacksmith called Masamune developed a two-layer structure of soft and hard steel for use in swords. This structure gave much improved cutting power and endurance, and the production technique led to Japanese swords (katana) being recognized as some of the most potent hand weapons of pre-industrial East Asia. Many swords made using this technique were exported across the East China Sea, a few making their way as far as India.

Issues of inheritance caused family strife as primogeniture became common, in contrast to the division of succession designated by law before the 14th century. To avoid infighting, invasions of neighboring samurai territories became common and bickering among samurai was a constant problem for the Kamakura and Ashikaga Shogunates.

The ''Sengoku jidai'' ("warring-states period") was marked by the loosening of samurai culture with people born into other social strata sometimes making names for themselves as warriors and thus becoming de facto samurai. In this turbulent period, bushido ethics became important factors in controlling and maintaining public order.

Japanese war tactics and technologies improved rapidly in the 15th and 16th century. Use of large numbers of infantry called ashigaru ("light-foot," due to their light armour), formed of humble warriors or ordinary people with ''Nagayari'' (a long lance) or (Naginata), was introduced and combined with cavalry in maneuvers. The number of people mobilized in warfare ranged from thousands to hundreds of thousands.

The arquebus, a matchlock gun, was introduced by the Portuguese via a Chinese pirate ship in 1543 and the Japanese succeeded in assimilating it within a decade. Groups of mercenaries with mass-produced arquebuses began playing a critical role.

By the end of the Sengoku Period, several hundred thousand firearms existed in Japan and massive armies numbering over 100,000 clashed in battles.

In 1592, and again in 1597, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to invade China () through Korea and mobilized an army of 160,000 peasants and samurai.(See Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea, .) Taking advantage of its mastery of the arquebus, Japanese samurai made major gains in most of Korea (Kato Kiyomasa did in fact enter Manchuria, but withdrew when it was clear he had outpaced the rest of the Japanese invasion force), but were unable to advance all the way through Korea into China due to the Japanese navy's defeats at sea at the hands of the Korean navy (resulting in the Japanese supply lines being severed) and the entry of Ming Chinese troops into Korea. A few of the more famous samurai generals of this war were Katō Kiyomasa, Konishi Yukinaga, and Shimazu Yoshihiro.

Social mobility was high, as the ancient regime collapsed and emerging samurai needed to maintain large military and administrative organizations in their areas of influence. Most of the samurai families that survived to the 19th century originated in this era, declaring themselves to be the blood of one of the four ancient noble clans, Minamoto, Taira, Fujiwara and Tachibana. In most cases, however, it is hard to prove these claims.

Oda, Toyotomi and Tokugawa

Oda Nobunaga was the well-known lord of the Nagoya area (once called Owari Province) and an exceptional example of a samurai of the Sengoku Period. He came within a few years of, and laid down the path for his successors to follow, the reunification of Japan under a new Bakufu (Shogunate).

Oda Nobunaga made innovations in the fields of organization and war tactics, heavily used arquebuses, developed commerce and industry and treasured innovation. Consecutive victories enabled him to realize the termination of the Ashikaga Bakufu and the disarmament of the military powers of the Buddhist monks, which had inflamed futile struggles among the populace for centuries. Attacking from the "sanctuary" of Buddhist temples, they were constant headaches to any warlord and even the emperor who tried to control their actions. He died in 1582 when one of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, turned upon him with his army.

Importantly, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (see below) and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, were loyal followers of Nobunaga. Hideyoshi was brought up from a nameless peasant to be one of Nobunaga's top generals and Ieyasu had shared his childhood with Nobunaga. Hideyoshi defeated Mitsuhide within a month and was regarded as the rightful successor of Nobunaga by avenging the treachery of Mitsuhide.

These two were gifted with Nobunaga's previous achievements on which build a unified Japan and there was a saying: "The reunification is a rice cake; Oda made it. Hashiba shaped it. At last, only Ieyasu tastes it." (Hashiba is the family name that Toyotomi Hideyoshi used while he was a follower of Nobunaga.)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who became a grand minister in 1586, himself the son of a poor peasant family, created a law that the samurai caste became codified as permanent and hereditary, and that non-samurai were forbidden to carry weapons, thereby ending the social mobility of Japan up until that point, which lasted until the dissolution of the Edo Shogunate by the Meiji revolutionaries.

It is important to note that the distinction between samurai and non-samurai was so obscure that during the 16th century, most male adults in any social class (even small farmers) belonged to at least one military organization of their own and served in wars before and during Hideyoshi's rule. It can be said that an "all against all" situation continued for a century.

The authorized samurai families after the 17th century were those that chose to follow Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. Large battles occurred during the change between regimes, and a number of defeated samurai were destroyed, went ronin or were absorbed into the general populace.

Tokugawa Shogunate

During the Tokugawa shogunate, samurai increasingly became courtiers, bureaucrats, and administrators rather than warriors. With no warfare since the early 17th century, samurai gradually lost their military function during the Tokugawa era (also called the Edo period).

By the end of the Tokugawa era, samurai were aristocratic bureaucrats for the daimyo, with their ''daisho'', the paired long and short swords of the samurai (cf. katana and wakizashi) becoming more of a symbolic emblem of power rather than a weapon used in daily life.

They still had the legal right to cut down any commoner who did not show proper respect (''kiri sute gomen'' ()), but to what extent this right was used is unknown. When the central government forced daimyos to cut the size of their armies, unemployed ronin became a social problem.

Theoretical obligations between a samurai and his lord (usually a daimyo) increased from the Genpei era to the Edo era. They were strongly emphasized by the teachings of Confucius and Mencius (ca 550 BC) which were required reading for the educated samurai class. Bushido was formalized by several influential leaders and families before the Edo Period. Bushido was an ideal, and it remained fairly uniform from the 13th century to the 19th century — the ideals of Bushido transcended social class, time and geographic location of the warrior class.

Bushido was formalized by samurai such as Imagawa Ryoshun as early as the 13th century. The conduct of samurai served as role model behavior for the other social classes. With time on their hands, samurai spent more time in pursuit of other interests such as becoming scholars.

Bushido itself is no longer particularly prominent in modern Japan, though some of its ideals and precepts live on.

Modernization

The relative peace of the Tokugawa era was shattered with the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry's massive U.S. Navy steamships in 1853. Perry used his superior firepower to force Japan to open its borders to trade. Prior to that only a few harbor towns, under strict control from the Shogunate, were allowed to participate in Western trade, and even then, it was based largely on the idea of playing the Franciscans and Dominicans off against one another (in exchange for the crucial arquebus technology, which in turn was a major contributor to the downfall of the classical samurai).

From 1854, the samurai army and the navy were modernized. A Naval training school was established in Nagasaki in 1855. Naval students were sent to study in Western naval schools for several years, starting a tradition of foreign-educated future leaders, such as Admiral Enomoto.

French naval engineers were hired to build naval arsenals, such as Yokosuka and Nagasaki. By the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, the Japanese navy of the shogun already possessed eight western-style steam warships around the flagship ''Kaiyō Maru'', which were used against pro-imperial forces during the Boshin war, under the command of Admiral Enomoto. A French Military Mission to Japan (1867) was established to help modernize the armies of the Bakufu.

The last showing of the original samurai was in 1867 when samurai from Chōshū and Satsuma provinces defeated the Shogunate forces in favor of the rule of the emperor in the Boshin War (1868–1869). The two provinces were the lands of the daimyo that submitted to Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara (1600).

The Tokugawa Shogunate also isolated Japan until 1868 of when the Meiji restoration shifted power from the shogunate to the Imperial family.

Decline

Emperor Meiji abolished the samurai's right to be the only armed force in favor of a more modern, western-style, conscripted army in 1873. Samurai became ''Shizoku'' () who retained some of their salaries, but the right to wear a katana in public was eventually abolished along with the right to execute commoners who paid them disrespect.

The samurai finally came to an end after hundreds of years of enjoyment of their status, their powers, and their ability to shape the government of Japan. However, the rule of the state by the military class was not yet over.

In defining how a modern Japan should be, members of the Meiji government decided to follow the footsteps of the United Kingdom and Germany, basing the country on the concept of "noblesse oblige". Samurai were not to be a political force under the new order.

With the Meiji reforms in the late 19th century, the samurai class was abolished, and a western-style national army was established. The Imperial Japanese Armies were conscripted, but many samurai volunteered to be soldiers and many advanced to be trained as officers. Much of the Imperial Army officer class was of samurai origin and they were highly motivated, disciplined and exceptionally trained.

The last samurai conflict was arguably in 1877, during the Satsuma Rebellion in the Battle of Shiroyama. This conflict had its genesis in the previous uprising to defeat the Tokugawa Shogunate, leading to the Meiji Restoration.

The newly formed government instituted radical changes, aimed at reducing the power of the feudal domains, including Satsuma, and the dissolution of samurai status. This led to the ultimately premature uprising, led by Saigō Takamori.

Samurai were many of the early exchange students, not directly because they were samurai, but because many samurai were literate and well-educated scholars. Some of these exchange students started private schools for higher educations, while many samurai took pens instead of guns and became reporters and writers, setting up newspaper companies, and others entered governmental service.

Only the name Shizoku existed after that. After Japan lost World War II, the name Shizoku disappeared under the law on January 1, 1947.

Western samurai

The English sailor and adventurer William Adams (1564–1620) seems to have been the first caucasian to receive the dignity of samurai. The Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu presented him with two swords representing the authority of a samurai, and decreed that William Adams the sailor was dead and that Miura Anjin (), a samurai, was born. Adams also received the title of ''hatamoto'' (bannerman), a high-prestige position as a direct retainer in the Shogun's court. He was provided with generous revenues: "For the services that I have done and do daily, being employed in the Emperor's service, the emperor has given me a living" (Letters). He was granted a fief in Hemi () within the boundaries of present-day Yokosuka City, "with eighty or ninety husbandmen, that be my slaves or servants" (Letters). His estate was valued at 250 koku (measure of the income of the land in rice equal to about five bushels). He finally wrote "God hath provided for me after my great misery" (Letters) by which he meant the disaster-ridden voyage that had initially brought him to Japan.

Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn (1556?–1623?), a Dutch colleague of Adams' on their ill-fated voyage to Japan in the ship De Liefde, was also given similar privileges by Tokugawa Ieyasu. It appears Joosten became a samurai and was given a residence within Ieyasu's castle at Edo. Today, this area at the east exit of Tokyo Station is known as Yaesu (八重洲). Yaesu is a corruption of the Dutchman's Japanese name, Yayousu (耶楊子). Also in common with Adam's, Joostens was given a Red Seal Ship (朱印船) allowing him to trade between Japan and Indo-China. On a return journey from Batavia Joosten drowned after his ship ran aground.

Also, during the Boshin War (1868–1869), French soldiers joined the forces of the Shogun against the Southern Daimyos favorable to the restoration of the Meiji emperor. It is recorded that the French Navy officer Eugène Collache fought in samurai attire with his Japanese brothers-in-arms. At the same time, the Prussian Edward Schnell served the Aizu domain as a military instructor and procurer of weapons. He was granted the Japanese name Hiramatsu Buhei (平松武兵衛), which inverted the characters of the daimyo's name Matsudaira. Hiramatsu (Schnell) was given the right to wear swords, as well as a residence in the castle town of Wakamatsu, a Japanese wife, and retainers. In many contemporary references, he is portrayed as wearing a Japanese kimono, overcoat, and swords, with Western riding trousers and boots.

Culture

As ''de facto'' aristocrats for centuries, samurai developed their own cultures that influenced Japanese culture as a whole. The culture associated with the samurai such as the tea ceremony, monochrome ink painting, rock gardens and poetry were adopted by warrior patrons throughout the centuries 1200–1600. These practices were adapted from the Chinese arts. Zen monks introduced them to Japan and they were allowed to flourish due to the interest of powerful warrior elites. Muso Soseki (1275–1351) was a Zen monk who was advisor to both Emperor Go-Daigo and General Ashikaga Takauji (1304–58). Muso as well as other monks acted as political and cultural diplomats between Japan and China. Muso was particularly well known for his garden design. Another Ashikaga patron of the arts was Yoshimasa. His cultural advisor, the Zen monk Zeami, introduced tea ceremony to him. Previously, tea had been used primarily for Buddhist monks to stay awake during meditation.

Education

In general, samurai, aristocrats, and priests had a very high literacy rate in Kanji. Recent studies have shown that literacy in Kanji among other groups in society was somewhat higher than previously understood. For example, court documents, birth and death records and marriage records from the Kamakura period, submitted by farmers, were prepared in Kanji. Both the Kanji literacy rate and skills in math improved toward the end of Kamakura period.

Literacy was generally high among the warriors and the common classes as well. The feudal lord Asakura Norikage (1474–1555 AD) noted the great loyalty given to his father, due to his polite letters, not just to fellow samurai, but also to the farmers and townspeople:

There were to Lord Eirin's character many high points difficult to measure, but according to the elders the foremost of these was the way he governed the province by his civility. It goes without saying that he acted this way toward those in the samurai class, but he was also polite in writing letters to the farmers and townspeople, and even in addressing these letters he was gracious beyond normal practice. In this way, all were willing to sacrifice their lives for him and become his allies.

In a letter dated January 29, 1552, St Francis Xavier observed the ease of which the Japanese understood prayers due to the high level of literacy in Japan at that time:

There are two kinds of writing in Japan, one used by men and the other by women; and for the most part both men and women, especially of the nobility and the commercial class, have a literary education. The bonzes, or bonzesses, in their monasteries teach letters to the girls and boys, though rich and noble persons entrust the education of their children to private tutors. Most of them can read, and this is a great help to them for the easy understanding of our usual prayers and the chief points of our holy religion.

In a letter to Father Ignatius Loyola at Rome, Xavier further noted the education of the upper classes:

The Nobles send their sons to monasteries to be educated as soon as they are 8 years old, and they remain there until they are 19 or 20, learning reading, writing and religion; as soon as they come out, they marry and apply themselves to politics.

They are discreet, magnanimous and lovers of virtue and letters, honouring learned men very much.

In a letter dated November 11, 1549, Xavier described a multi-tiered educational system in Japan consisting of "universities", "colleges", "academies" and hundreds of monasteries which served as a principle center for learning by the populace:

But now we must give you an account of our stay at Cagoxima. We put into that port because the wind was adverse to our sailing to Meaco, which is the largest city in Japan, and most famous as the residence of the King and the Princes. It is said that after four months are passed the favourable season for a voyage to Meaco will return, and then with the good help of God we shall sail thither. The distance from Cagoxima is three hundred leagues. We hear wonderful stories about the size of Meaco : they say that it consists of more than ninety thousand dwellings. There is a very famous University there, as well as five chief colleges of students, and more than two hundred monasteries of bonzes, and of others who are like coenobites, called Legioxi, as well as of women of the same kind, who are called Hamacutis. Besides this of Meaco, there are in Japan five other principal academies, at Coya, at Negu, at Fisso, and at Homia. These are situated round Meaco, with short distances between them, and each is frequented by about three thousand five hundred scholars. Besides these there is the Academy at Bandou, much the largest and most famous in all Japan, and at a great distance from Meaco. Bandou is a large territory, ruled by six minor princes, one of whom is more powerful than the others and is obeyed by them, being himself subject to the King of Japan, who is called the Great King of Meaco. The things that are given out as to the greatness and celebrity of these universities and cities are so wonderful as to make us think of seeing them first with our own eyes and ascertaining the truth, and then when we have discovered and know how things really are, of writing an account of them to you. 10 They say that there are several lesser academies besides those which we have mentioned.

Names

A samurai was usually named by combining one kanji from his father or grandfather and one new kanji. Samurai normally used only a small part of their total name.

For example, the full name of Oda Nobunaga would be "Oda Kazusanosuke Saburo Nobunaga" (), in which "Oda" is a clan or family name, "Kazusanosuke" is a title of vice-governor of Kazusa province, "Saburo" is a name before genpuku, a coming of age ceremony, and "Nobunaga" is an adult name. Samurai were able to choose their own first names.

Marriage

The marriage of samurai was done by having a marriage arranged by someone with the same or higher rank than those being married. While for those samurai in the upper ranks this was a necessity (as most had few opportunities to meet a female), this was a formality for lower ranked samurai. Most samurai married women from a samurai family, but for a lower ranked samurai, marriages with commoners were permitted. In these marriages a dowry was brought by the woman and was used to start their new lives.

A samurai could have a mistress but her background was strictly checked by higher ranked samurai. In many cases, this was treated like a marriage. "Kidnapping" a mistress, although common in fiction, would have been shameful, if not a crime. When she was a commoner, a messenger would be sent with betrothal money or a note for exemption of tax to ask for her parent's acceptance and many parents gladly accepted. If a samurai's wife gave birth to a son he could be a samurai.

A samurai could divorce his wife for a variety of reasons with approval from a superior, but divorce was, while not entirely nonexistent, a rare event. A reason for divorce would be if she could not produce a son, but then adoption could be arranged as an alternative to divorce. A samurai could divorce for personal reasons, even if he simply did not like his wife, but this was generally avoided as it would embarrass the samurai who had arranged the marriage. A woman could also arrange a divorce, although it would generally take the form of the samurai divorcing her. After a divorce samurai had to return the betrothal money, which often prevented divorces. Some rich merchants had their daughters marry samurai to erase a samurai's debt and advance their positions.

A samurai's wife would be dishonored and allowed to commit jigai (a female's seppuku) if she were cast off.

Philosophy

The philosophies of Buddhism and Zen, and to a lesser extent Confucianism and Shinto, influenced the samurai culture. Zen meditation became an important teaching due to it offering a process to calm one's mind. The Buddhist concept of reincarnation and rebirth led samurai to abandon torture and needless killing, while some samurai even gave up violence altogether and became Buddhist monks after realizing how fruitless their killings were. Some were killed as they came to terms with these realizations in the battlefield. The most defining role that Confucianism played in samurai philosophy was to stress the importance of the lord-retainer relationship; this is, the loyalty that a samurai was required to show his lord. Bushidō ("way of the warrior") was a term that began to appear in intellectual and nationalist discourse after the Japanese defeat of China in 1885 and of Russia in 1905 . ''Hagakure'' or "Hidden in Leaves" by Yamamoto Tsunetomo and '' Gorin no Sho'' or "Book of the Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi both written in the Tokugawa period (1603–1868) are theories often associated with Bushido and Zen philosophy.

The philosophies of Buddhism and Zen, and to a lesser extent Confucianism and Shinto, are attributed to the development of the samurai culture. "The notion that Zen is somehow related to Japanese culture in general,and bushido in particular, is familiar to Western students of Zen through the writings of D. T. Suzuki, no doubt the single most important figure in the spread of Zen in the West."

In an account of Japan sent to Father Ignatius Loyola at Rome, drawn from the statements of Anger (Han-Siro's western name), Xavier describes the importance of honor to the Japanese (Letter preserved at College of Coimbra.):

In the first place, the nation with which we have had to do here surpasses in goodness any of the nations lately discovered. I really think that among barbarous nations there can be none that has more natural goodness than the Japanese. They are of a kindly disposition, not at all given to cheating, wonderfully desirous of honour and rank. Honour with them is placed above everything else. There are a great many poor among them, but poverty is not a disgrace to any one. There is one thing among them of which I hardly know whether it is practised anywhere among Christians. The nobles, however poor they may be, receive the same honour from the rest as if they were rich.

Women

Maintaining the household was the main duty of samurai women. This was especially crucial during early feudal Japan, when warrior husbands were often traveling abroad or engaged in clan battles. The wife, or ''okugatasama'' (meaning: one who remains in the home), was left to manage all household affairs, care for the children, and perhaps even defend the home forcibly. For this reason, many women of the samurai class were trained in wielding a polearm called a naginata or a special knife called the ''kaiken'' in an art called ''tantojutsu'' (lit. the skill of the knife), which they could use to protect their household, family, and honor if the need arose.

Traits valued in women of the samurai class were humility, obedience, self-control, strength, and loyalty. Ideally, a samurai wife would be skilled at managing property, keeping records, dealing with financial matters, educating the children (and perhaps servants, too), and caring for elderly parents or in-laws that may be living under her roof. Confucian law, which helped define personal relationships and the code of ethics of the warrior class required that a woman show subservience to her husband, filial piety to her parents, and care to the children. Too much love and affection was also said to indulge and spoil the youngsters. Thus, a woman was also to exercise discipline.

Though women of wealthier samurai families enjoyed perks of their elevated position in society, such as avoiding the physical labor that those of lower classes often engaged in, they were still viewed as far beneath men. Women were prohibited from engaging in any political affairs and were usually not the heads of their household.

This does not mean that samurai women were always powerless. Powerful women both wisely and unwisely wielded power at various occasions. After Ashikaga Yoshimasa, 8th shogun of the Muromachi shogunate lost interest in politics, his wife Hino Tomiko largely ruled in his place. Nene, wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was known to overrule her husband's decisions at times and Yodo, his mistress, became the de facto master of Osaka castle and the Toyotomi clan after Hideyoshi's death. Chiyo, wife of Yamauchi Kazutoyo, has long been considered the ideal samurai wife. According to legend, she made her kimono out of a quilted patchwork of bits of old cloth and saved pennies to buy her husband a magnificent horse on which he rode to many victories. The fact that Chiyo (though she is better known as "Wife of Yamauchi Kazutoyo") is held to such high esteem for her economic sense is illuminating in the light of the fact that she never produced an heir and the Yamauchi clan was succeeded by Kazutoyo's younger brother. The source of power for women may have been that samurai looked down upon matters concerning money and left their finances to their wives.

As the Tokugawa period progressed more value became placed on education, and the education of females beginning at a young age became important to families and society as a whole. Marriage criteria began to weigh intelligence and education as desirable attributes in a wife, right along with physical attractiveness. Though many of the texts written for women during the Tokugawa period only pertained to how a woman could become a successful wife and household manager, there were those that undertook the challenge of learning to read, and also tackled philosophical and literary classics. Nearly all women of the samurai class were literate by the end of the Tokugawa period.

Weapons

Swords are the weapons that have come to be synonymous with the samurai. Japanese swords from the Nara period swords are called Chokutō and featured a straight blade, by the late 900s curved tachi appeared, followed by the uchigatana and ultimately the katana. Smaller commonly known companion swords are the wakizashi and the tanto. A ''katana'' and a ''Wakizashi'' or ''tantō'' together are called a ''daishō'' (literally "big and small"), the wearing of a ''daisho'' became the symbol of the samurai as only a samurai was allowed to wear the ''daisho''.

The yumi (longbow), reflected in the art of ''kyūjutsu'' (lit. the skill of the bow) was a major weapon of the Japanese military. Its usage declined with the introduction of firearms during the Sengoku period, but the skill was still practiced at least for sport. The ''yumi'', an asymmetric composite bow made from bamboo, wood, rattan and leather, was not as powerful as the Eurasian reflex composite bow, having an effective range of 50 meters (about 164 feet) or 100 meters (328 feet) if accuracy was not an issue. On foot, it was usually used behind a ''tedate'' (), a large and mobile bamboo wall, but could also be used from horseback because of its asymmetric shape. The practice of shooting from horseback became a Shinto ceremony known as ''yabusame'' ().

Pole weapons including the ''yari'' and ''naginata'' also became a popular weapon. The ''yari'' displaced the ''naginata'' from the battlefield as personal bravery became less of a factor and battles became more organized around massed, inexpensive foot troops (''ashigaru''). A charge, mounted or dismounted, was also more effective when using a spear rather than a sword, as it offered better than even odds against a samurai using a sword. In the Battle of Shizugatake where Shibata Katsuie was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, then known as Hashiba Hideyoshi, seven samurai who came to be known as the "Seven Spears of Shizugatake" () played a crucial role in the victory.

Tanegashima a form of matchlock which was introduced to Japan in the 1540s through Portuguese trade, enabling warlords to raise effective armies from masses of peasants. The new weapons were highly controversial. Their ease of use and deadly effectiveness was perceived by many samurai as a dishonorable affront to tradition. Oda Nobunaga made deadly use of the ''tanegashima'' at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, leading to the end of the Takeda clan.''Tanegashima'' were produced on a large scale by Japanese gunsmiths. By the end of the 16th century, there were more firearms in Japan than in any European nation. ''Tanegashima'', employed ''en masse'', largely by ''ashigaru'' peasant foot troops, were in many ways the antithesis of samurai valor. With the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate and an end to civil war, production of tanegashima declined sharply with prohibitions on ownership. By the Tokugawa period most spear-based weapons had been phased out partly because they were suboptimal for the close-quarter combat common at the time; this combined with the aforementioned restrictions on firearms resulted in the ''daishō'' being the only weapons typically carried by samurai.

Cannons became a common part of the samurai's armoury in the 1570s. They often were mounted in castles or on ships, being used more as anti-personnel weapons than against castle walls or the like, though in the siege of Nagashino castle (1575) a cannon was used to good effect against an enemy siegetower. The first popular cannon in Japan were swivel-breech loaders nicknamed ''kunikuzushi'' or "province destroyers". ''Kunikuzushi'' weighed . and used . chambers, firing a small shot of . The Arima clan of Kyushu used guns like this at the ''Battle of Okinawate'' against the Ryūzōji clan. By the time of the Osaka campaign (1614–1615), ''cannon'' technology had improved in Japan to the point where at Osaka, Ii Naotaka managed to fire an . shot into the castle's keep.

Staff weapons of many shapes and sizes made from oak and other hard woods were also used by the samurai, commonly known ones include the ''bō'', the ''jō'', the ''hanbo'', and the ''tanbo.

Clubs and truncheons made of iron and/or wood, of all shapes and sizes were used by the samurai. Some like the ''jutte'' were one handed weapons and others like the ''kanabo'' were large two handed weapons.

Chain weapons, various weapons using chains ''kusari'' were used during the samurai era, the ''kusarigama'' and ''manriki'' are examples.

Armour

As far back as the seventh century Japanese warriors wore a form of ''lamellar armour'', this armour eventually evolved into the armour worn by the samurai. The first types of Japanese armours identified as samurai armour were known as ''yoroi''. These early samurai armours were made from small individual scales ''kozane''. The kozane were made from either iron or leather and were bound together into small strips, the strips were coated with lacquer to protect the kozane from water. A series of strips of kozane were then laced together with silk or leather lace and formed into a complete chest armour (''dou or dō'').

In the 1500s a new type of armor started to become popular due to the advent of fire arms, new fighting tactics and the need for additional protection. The ''kozane dou'' made from individual scales was replaced by ''plate armour''. This new armor which utilized iron plated ''dou (dō)'' was referred to as ''Tosei-gusoku'' or modern armour. Various other components of armor protected the samurai's body. The helmet ''kabuto'' was an important part of the samurai's armor. Samurai armour changed and developed as the methods of samurai warfare changed over the centuries.The known last use of samurai armour occurring in 1877 during the satsuma rebellion.. As the last samurai rebellion was crushed Japan modernized its defenses and turned to a national conscription army which used uniforms.

==Etymology of samurai and related words==

The Term ''samurai'' originally meant "those who serve in close attendance to nobility", and was written in the Chinese character (or ''kanji'') that had the same meaning. In Japanese, it was originally pronounced in the pre-Heian period as ''saburau'' and later as ''saburai'', then ''samurai'' in the Edo period. In Japanese literature, there is an early reference to samurai in the Kokinshū (, early 10th century):

The word ''bushi'' (, lit. "warrior or armsman") first appears in an early history of Japan called ''Shoku Nihongi'' (, AD 797). In a portion of the book covering the year AD 721, ''Shoku Nihongi'' states: "Literary men and Warriors are they whom the nation values". The term ''bushi'' is of Chinese origin and adds to the indigenous Japanese words for ''warrior'': ''tsuwamono'' and ''mononofu''.

''Bushi'' was the name given to the ancient Japanese soldiers from traditional warrior families. The ''bushi'' class was developed mainly in the north of Japan. They formed powerful clans, which in the 12th Century were against the noble families who were grouping themselves to support the imperial family who lived in Kyoto. Samurai was a word used by the Kuge aristocratic class with warriors themselves preferring the word ''bushi''. The term ''Bushidō'', the "way of the warrior," is derived from this term and the mansion of a warrior was called ''bukeyashiki''.

The terms ''bushi'' and ''samurai'' became synonymous near the end of the 12th century, according to William Scott Wilson in his book ''Ideals of the Samurai—Writings of Japanese Warriors''. Wilson's book thoroughly explores the origins of the word ''warrior'' in Japanese history as well as the ''kanji'' used to represent the word.

"Breaking down the character bu (武) reveals the radical (止), meaning "to stop," and an abbreviation of the radical (戈 ) "spear." The Shuo Wen, an early Chinese dictionary, gives this definition: "Bu consists of subduing the weapon and therefore stopping the spear." The Tso Chuan, another early Chinese source, goes further:

Bu consists of bun (文), literature or letters (and generally the arts of peace), stopping the spear. Bu prohibits violence and subdues weapons ... it puts the people at peace, and harmonizes the masses.

The radical shi (士) on the other hand seems to have originally meant a person who performs some function or who has the ability in some field. Early in Chinese history it came to define the upper class of society, and in the Book of Han this definition is given :

The shi, the farmer, the craftsman, and the tradesman are the four professions of the people. He who occupies his rank by means of learning is called a shi.

Wilson states that the shi, as the highest of the four classes, brandished the weapons as well as the books. ''bushi'' therefore translates as "a man who has the ability to keep the peace, either by literary or military means, but predominantly by the latter".

It was not until the early modern period, namely the Azuchi-Momoyama period and early Edo period of the late 16th and early 17th centuries that the word ''saburai'' was replaced with ''samurai''. However, the meaning had changed long before that.

During the era of the rule of the samurai, the term ''yumitori'' (, "bowman") was also used as an honorary title of an accomplished warrior even though swordsmanship had become more important. (Japanese archery (''kyujutsu'') is still strongly associated with the war god Hachiman.)

A samurai with no attachment to a clan or ''daimyo'' () was called a ''ronin'' (). In Japanese, the word ''ronin'' means "wave man", a person destined to wander aimlessly forever, like the waves in the sea. The word came to mean a samurai who was no longer in the service of a lord because his lord had died, because the samurai had been banished or simply because the samurai chose to become a ronin.

The pay of samurai was measured in ''koku'' of rice (180 liters; enough to feed a man for one year). Samurai in the service of the ''han'' are called ''hanshi''. The following terms are related to samurai or the samurai tradition: ''Uruwashii''a cultured warrior symbolized by the kanji for "bun" (literary study) and "bu" (military study or arts) ''Buke'' ()A martial house or a member of such a house ''Mononofu'' (もののふ)An ancient term meaning a warrior. ''Musha'' ()A shortened form of ''bugeisha'' (), lit. martial art man. ''Shi'' ()A word roughly meaning "gentleman," it is sometimes used for samurai, in particular in words such as ''bushi'' (, meaning warrior or samurai). ''Tsuwamono'' ()An old term for a soldier popularized by Matsuo Bashō in his famous haiku. Literally meaning a strong person.

Myth and reality

Most samurai were bound by a code of honor and were expected to set an example for those below them. A notable part of their code is or ''hara kiri'', which allowed a disgraced samurai to regain his honor by passing into death, where samurai were still beholden to social rules. Whilst there are many romanticised characterisations of samurai behaviour such as the writing of in 1905, studies of Kobudo and traditional Budō indicate that the samurai were as practical on the battlefield as were any other warrior.

Despite the rampant romanticism of the 20th century, samurai could be disloyal and treacherous (e.g., Akechi Mitsuhide), cowardly, brave, or overly loyal (e.g., Kusunoki Masashige). Samurai were usually loyal to their immediate superiors, who in turn allied themselves with higher lords. These loyalties to the higher lords often shifted; for example, the high lords allied under Toyotomi Hideyoshi () were served by loyal samurai, but the feudal lords under them could shift their support to Tokugawa, taking their samurai with them. There were, however, also notable instances where samurai would be disloyal to their lord or daimyo, when loyalty to the emperor was seen to have supremacy.

In popular culture

Jidaigeki (lit. historical drama) has always been a staple program on Japanese movies and TV. The programs typically feature a samurai. Samurai films and westerns share a number of similarities and the two have influenced each other over the years. Kurosawa was inspired by the works of director John Ford and in turn Kurosawa's works have been remade into westerns such as ''The Seven Samurai'' into ''The Magnificent Seven'' and ''Yojimbo'' into ''A Fistful of Dollars''. There is also an anime adaptation (Samurai 7) of "The Seven Samurai" which spans 26 episodes. Eiji Yoshikawa is one of the most famous Japanese historical novelists. His retellings of popular works, including ''Taiko'', ''Musashi'' and ''Heike Tale'' are popular among readers for their epic naratives and rich realism in depicting samurai and warrior culture.

The samurai have also appeared frequently in Japanese comics (manga) and animation (anime). Most common are historical works where the protagonist is either a samurai or former samurai (or another rank/position) who possesses considerable martial skill. Samurai-like characters are not just restricted to historical settings and a number of works set in the modern age, and even the future, include characters who live, train and fight like samurai. American comic books have adopted the character type for stories of their own.

Hollywood released in 2003 a movie titled, "The Last Samurai", starring Tom Cruise, inspired by the Samurai way of life.

Famous samurai

{| |- |valign="top"|

Akechi Mitsuhide

Date Masamune

Hattori Hanzō

Hōjō Ujimasa

Kusunoki Masashige

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

Minamoto no Yoshiie

Miyamoto Musashi

|width="50"|  |valign="top"|

Oda Nobunaga

Saigō Takamori

Saitō Hajime

Sakamoto Ryōma

Sanada Yukimura

Sasaki Kojirō

Shimazu Takahisa

Shimazu Yoshihiro

|width="50"|  |valign=/tvcselect/harvest.search"top"|

Takeda Shingen

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Uesugi Kenshin

Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi

Yagyū Munenori

Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Yamaoka Tesshū

Eugène Collache

|}

See also

Bushido

Japanese clans

Kendo

Kiri sute gomen

List of Japanese battles

List of samurai

Lone Wolf and Cub

Ninja

Onna bugei-sha

Pechin

Samurai cinema

Seiwa Genji

Japanese armour

References

Bibliography

External links

The Samurai Archives Japanese History page

Samurai Swords and Samurai Culture

History of the Samurai

Category:Japanese warriors Category:Japanese words and phrases Category:Combat occupations

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Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Miyamoto Musashi
native name	宮本 武蔵
native lang	jp
residence	Japan
other names	Shinmen Takezō; Miyamoto Bennosuke; Niten Dōraku; Shinmen Musashi no Kami Fujiwara no Genshin
birth name	Shinmen Musashi No Kami Fujiwara No Genshin
birth date	c. June 13, 1584
birth place	Harima Province, Japan
death date	c. June 13, 1645
death place	Higo Province, Japan
death cause	from natural causes (probably stomach cancer)
martial art	''Kenjutsu''
teacher	none verified
students	Terao Magonojo; Terao Motomenosuke; Furuhashi Sozaemon
footnotes	}}

, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke, or by his Buddhist name Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age. He was the founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū or Niten-ryū style of swordsmanship and the author of , a book on strategy, tactics, and philosophy that is still studied today. Miyamoto Musashi is widely considered as a Kensei, and one of the greatest warriors of all time .

Biography

Birth

The details of Miyamoto Musashi's early life are difficult to verify. Musashi himself simply states in ''Gorin no Sho'' that he was born in Harima Province. ''Niten Ki'' (an early biography of Musashi) supports the theory that Musashi was born in 1584: "[He] was born in Banshū, in Tenshō 12 [1584], the Year of the Monkey." The historian Kamiko Tadashi, commenting on Musashi's text, notes: ''"[...]Munisai was Musashi's father...he lived in Miyamoto village, in the Yoshino district [of Mimasaka Province]. Musashi was most probably born here."'' His childhood name was Bennosuke 弁之助.

Musashi gives his full name and title in ''Gorin no Sho'' as Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara no Genshin." (新免武蔵守藤原玄信) His father, Shinmen Munisai 新免無二斎, was an accomplished martial artist and master of the sword and jutte (also jitte). Munisai, in turn, was the son of Hirata Shōgen 平田将監, a vassal of Shinmen ''Iga no Kami'', the lord of Takayama Castle in the Yoshino district of Mimasaka Province. Hirata was relied upon by Lord Shinmen, and so was allowed to use the Shinmen name. As for "Musashi," ''Musashi no Kami'' was a court title, making him the nominal governor of Musashi province. "Fujiwara" was the lineage from which Musashi claimed nominal descent.

Munisai and Musashi's birth date

Mysteriously, Munisai's tomb says he died in 1580, which obviously conflicts with the accepted birth date of 1584 for Musashi. Further muddying the waters, according to the genealogy of the extant Miyamoto family, Musashi was born in 1582. Kenji Tokitsu has suggested that the accepted birth date of 1584 for Musashi is wrong, as it is primarily based on a literal reading of the introduction to the ''Go Rin No Sho'' where Musashi states that the years of his life "add up to 60" (yielding the twelfth year of the Tensho era, or 1584, when working backwards from the well-documented date of composition), when it should be taken in a more literary and imprecise sense, indicating not a specific age but merely that Musashi was in his sixties when he wrote it.

Because of the uncertainty centering on Munisai (when he died, whether he was truly Musashi's father, etc.), Musashi's mother is known with even less confidence. Here are a few possibilities: # Munisai's tomb was correct. He died in 1580, leaving two daughters; his wife adopted a recently born child, from the Akamatsu clan, intended to succeed Munisai at his jitte school. Omasa, Munisai's widow, was not truly Musashi's mother. # The tomb was wrong. Munisai lived a good deal longer, later than 1590 possibly. Musashi, then, was born to Munisai's first wife, Yoshiko (daughter to Bessho Shigeharu, who formerly controlled Hirafuku village until he lost a battle in 1578 to Yamanaka Shikanosuke). Munisai divorced her after Musashi's birth, whereupon she decamped for her father's house, leaving Musashi with Munisai. Musashi grew up treating Munisai's second wife, Omasa (daughter to Lord Shinmen) as his mother. This second scenario is laid out in an entry to the Tasumi family's genealogy. The daughter of Bessho Shigeharu first married Hirata Muni and was divorced from him a few years later. After that she married Tasumi Masahisa. The second wife of Tasumi Masahisa was the mother of Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi's childhood name was Hirata Den. During his childhood, he went to Hirafuku to find his real mother. He moved in with the Tasumi family. # A variant of this second theory is based on the fact that the tombstone states that Omasa gave birth to Musashi on 4 March 1584, and died of it. Munisai then remarried to Yoshiko. They divorced, as in the second theory, but Yoshiko took Musashi, who was 7 at the time, with her, and married Tasumi Masahisa. # Kenji Tokitsu prefers to assume a birth date of 1581, which avoids the necessity of assuming the tombstone to be erroneous (although this poses the problem of from whom then Musashi received the transmission of the family martial art).

Upbringing

Regardless of the truth about Musashi's ancestry, when Musashi was seven years old, the boy was raised by his uncle, Dorinbo (or Dorin), in Shoreian temple, three kilometers (~1.8 mi.) from Hirafuku. Both Dorin and Musashi's uncle by marriage — Tasumi — educated him in Buddhism and basic skills such as writing and reading. This education is possibly the basis for Yoshikawa Eiji's fictional education of Musashi by the historical Zen monk Takuan. He was apparently trained by Munisai in the sword, and in the family art of the jitte. This training did not last for a very long time, as in 1589, Munisai was ordered by Shinmen Sokan to kill Munisai's student, Honiden Gekinosuke. The Honiden family was displeased, and so Munisai was forced to move four kilometers (~2.5 mi.) away to the village of Kawakami.

In 1592, Munisai died, although Tokitsu believes that the person who died at this time was r eally Hirata Takehito.

Musashi contracted eczema in his infancy, and this adversely affected his appearance. Another story claims that he never took a bath because he did not want to be surprised unarmed. While the former claim may or may not have some basis in reality, the latter seems improbable. An unwashed member of the warrior caste would not have been received as a guest by such houses as Honda, Ogasawara and Hosokawa. These and many other details are likely embellishments that were added to his legend, or misinterpretations of literature describing him.

His father's fate is uncertain, but it is thought that he died at the hands of one of Musashi's later adversaries, who was punished or even killed for treating Musashi's father badly. However, there are no exact details of Musashi's life, since Musashi's only writings are those related to strategy and technique.

Training in swordsmanship

The name "Musashi" was thought to be taken from the name of a warrior monk named Musashibō Benkei who served under Minamoto no Yoshitsune, but this is unconfirmed.

It's said that he may have studied at the Yoshioka ryu school, which was also said to be a school Musashi defeated single-handedly during his later years, although this is very uncertain. He did have formal training either by his father until he was 7 years old or from his uncle beginning at the age of 7. Ultimately the name was taken from his own original kanji, 武蔵, which can be read as Takezō or as Musashi, as stated in Eiji Yoshikawa's book ''Musashi''.

First duel

According to the introduction of ''The Book of Five Rings'', Musashi states that his first successful duel was at the age of thirteen, against a samurai named Arima Kihei who fought using the Kashima Shintō-ryū style, founded by Tsukahara Bokuden (b. 1489, d. 1571). The main source of the duel is the ''Hyoho senshi denki'' ("Anecdotes about the Deceased Master"). Summarized, its account goes as follows:

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Travels and duels

In 1599, three years later, Musashi left his village, apparently at the age of 15 (according to the ''Tosakushi'', "The Registry of the Sakushu Region", although the ''Tanji Hokin Hikki'' says he was 16 years old in 1599, which agrees time-wise with the age reported in Musashi's first duel). His family possessions such as furniture, weapons, genealogy, and other records were left with his sister and her husband, Hirao Yoemon.

He spent his time traveling and engaging in duels, such as with an adept called Akiyama from the Tajima Province.

In 1600, a war began between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans. Musashi apparently fought on the side of the Toyotomi's "Army of the West", as the Shinmen clan (to whom his family owed allegiance) had allied with them. Specifically, he participated in the attempt to take Fushimi castle by assault in July 1600, in the defense of the besieged Gifu Castle in August of the same year, and finally in the Battle of Sekigahara. Some doubt has been cast on this final battle, as the ''Hyoho senshi denki'' has Musashi saying he is "no lord's vassal" and refusing to fight with his father (in Lord Ukita's battalion) in the battle. Omitting the Battle of Sekigahara from the list of Musashi's battles would seem to contradict the ''Go Rin No Sho'''s statement that Musashi fought in six battles, however. Regardless, as the Toyotomi side lost, it has been suggested that Musashi fled as well and spent some time training on Mount Hiko.

After the battle, Musashi disappears from the records for a while. The next mention of him has him arriving in Kyoto at the age of 20 (or 21), where he began a series of duels against the Yoshioka School. Musashi's father, Munisai, also fought against a master of the Yoshioka school and won 2 out of 3 bouts in front of the shogun at the time, Ashikaga Yoshiaki who granted him the title of "Unrivaled Under The Sun". The Yoshioka School (descended from either the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū or the Kyo-hachi-ryū) was the foremost of the eight major schools of martial arts in Kyoto, the "Kyo-ryū" / "Schools of Kyoto". Legend has it that these eight schools were founded by eight monks taught by a legendary martial artist resident on the sacred Mount Kurama. At some point, the Yoshioka family also began to make a name for itself not merely in the art of the sword but also in the textile business and for a dye unique to them. They gave up teaching swordsmanship in 1614 when they fought in the Army of the West against Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle of Osaka, which they lost. But in 1604, when Musashi began duelling them, they were still preeminent. There are various accounts of the duels — the Yoshioka family documents claim that there was only one, against Yoshioka Kenpō, which Musashi lost.

Musashi challenged Yoshioka Seijūrō, master of the Yoshioka School, to a duel. Seijūrō accepted, and they agreed to a duel outside Rendaiji in Rakuhoku, in the northern part of Kyoto on 8 March 1604. Musashi arrived late, greatly irritating Seijūrō. They faced off, and Musashi struck a single blow, per their agreement. This blow struck Seijūrō on the left shoulder, knocking him out, and crippling his left arm. He apparently passed on the headship of the school to his equally accomplished brother, Yoshioka Denshichirō, who promptly challenged Musashi for revenge. The duel took place in Kyoto outside a temple, Sanjūsangen-dō. Denshichirō wielded a staff reinforced with steel rings (or possibly with a ball-and-chain attached), while Musashi arrived late a second time. Musashi disarmed Denshichirō and defeated him. This second victory outraged the Yoshioka family, whose head was now the 12-year old Yoshioka Matashichiro. They assembled a force of archers, musketeers and swordsmen, and challenged Musashi to a duel outside Kyoto, near Ichijoji Temple. Musashi broke his previous habit of arriving late, and came to the temple hours early. Hidden, Musashi assaulted the force, killing Matashichiro, and escaping while being attacked by dozens of his victim's supporters. To escape and fight off his opponents he was forced to draw his second sword and defend himself with a sword in each hand. This was the beginning of his niten'ichi sword style. With the death of Matashichiro, this branch of the Yoshioka School was destroyed.

After Musashi left Kyoto, some sources recount that he travelled to Hōzōin in Nara, to duel with and learn from the monks there, widely known as experts with lance weapons. There he settled down at Enkoji Temple in Banshu, where he taught the head monk's (one Tada Hanzaburo's) brother. Hanzaburo's grandson would found the Ensu-ryū based on the Enmei-ryū teachings and iaijutsu.

From 1605 to 1612, he travelled extensively all over Japan in ''Musha Shugyo,'' a warrior pilgrimage during which he honed his skills with duels. He was said to have used bokken or bokuto in actual duels. Most of the engagements from these times did not try to take the opponent's life unless both agreed, but in most duels, it is known that Musashi did not care which weapon his foe used — such was his mastery.

A document dated 5 September 1607, purporting to be a transmission by Miyamoto Munisai of his teachings, suggests Munisai lived at least to this date. In this year, Musashi departed Nara for Edo, during which he fought (and killed) a kusarigama practitioner named Shishido Baiken. In Edo, Musashi defeated Muso Gonnosuke, who would found an influential staff-wielding school known as Shinto Muso Ryu. Records of this first duel can be found in both the Shinto Muso-ryu tradition and the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū (Miyamoto Musashi's school). The Shinto Muso Ryu tradition states that, after being defeated by Musashi, Muso Gonnusuke beat Musashi in a rematch. There are no current reliable sources outside the Shinto Muso Ryu tradition to confirm that this second duel took place.

Musashi is said to have fought over 60 duels and was never defeated, although this is a conservative estimate, most likely not accounting for deaths by his hand in major battles. In 1611, Musashi began practicing zazen at the Myoshinji Temple, where he met Nagaoka Sado, vassal to Hosokawa Tadaoki; Tadaoki was a powerful lord who had received the Kumamoto Domain in west-central Kyūshū after the Battle of Sekigahara. Munisai had moved to northern Kyūshū and became Tadaoki's teacher, leading to the possibility that Munisai introduced the two. Nagaoka proposed a duel with a certain adept named Sasaki Kojirō. Tokitsu believes that the duel was politically motivated, a matter of consolidating Tadaoki's control over his fief.

Duel with Sasaki Kojirō

On April 13, 1612, Musashi (about age 30) fought his duel with Sasaki Kojirō, who was known as "The Demon of the Western Provinces" and who wielded a ''nodachi''. Musashi came late and unkempt to the appointed place — the island of Funajima, in the Kanmon Straits separating Honshū and Kyūshū. The duel was short. Musashi killed his opponent with a bokken that legend says he had carved from an oar used on the boat that carried him to the island. Musashi's late arrival is controversial. Sasaki's outraged supporters thought it was dishonorable and disrespectful, while Musashi's supporters thought it was a fair way to unnerve his opponent. Another theory is that Musashi timed the hour of his arrival to match the turning of the tide. The tide carried him to the island. After his victory, Musashi immediately jumped back in his boat and his flight from Sasaki's vengeful allies was helped by the turning of the tide. Another theory states he waited for the sun to get in the right position. After he dodged a blow, Sasaki was blinded by the sun.

Musashi briefly established a fencing school that same year.

Service

In 1614–1615, Musashi participated in the war between the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa. The war had broken out because Tokugawa Ieyasu saw the Toyotomi family as a threat to his rule of Japan; most scholars believe that, as in the previous war, Musashi fought on the Toyotomi side. Osaka Castle was the central place of battle. The first battle (the Winter Battle of Osaka; Musashi's fourth battle) ended in a truce. The second (the Summer Battle of Osaka; Musashi's fifth battle) resulted in the total defeat of Toyotomi Hideyori's Army of the West by Ieyasu's Army of the East in May 1615. Some reports go so far as to say that Musashi entered a duel with Ieyasu, but was recruited after Ieyasu sensed his defeat was at hand. This may seem unlikely since Ieyasu was in his 70s and was in poor health already, but it remains unknown how Musashi came into Ieyasu's good graces.

Other accounts claim he actually served on the Tokugawa side, but such a claim is unproven, although Musashi had a close relationship with some Tokugawa vassals through his duel with Sasaki Kojirō, and in the succeeding years, he did not drop out of sight as might be expected if he were being persecuted for being on the losing side. In his later years, Ogasawara and Hosokawa supported Musashi greatly — an atypical course of action for these Tokugawa loyalists, if Musashi had indeed fought on behalf of the Toyotomi.

In 1615 he entered the service of Ogasawara Tadanao (小笠原忠直) of Harima Province, at Ogasawara's invitation, as a "Construction Supervisor," after previously gaining skills in craft. He helped construct Akashi Castle and in 1621 to lay out the organization of the town of Himeji. He also taught martial arts during his stay, specializing in instruction in the art of shuriken-throwing. During this period of service, he adopted a son.

In 1621, Musashi defeated Miyake Gunbei and three other adepts of the Togun-ryu in front of the lord of Himeji; it was after this victory that he helped plan Himeji. Around this time, Musashi developed a number of disciples for his ''Enmei-ryū'' although he had developed the school considerably earlier; at the age of 22, Musashi had already written a scroll of Enmei-ryū teachings called "Writings on the Sword Technique of the Enmei-ryū" (''Enmei-ryū kenpo sho''). 円/"En" meant "circle" or "perfection"; 明/"mei" meant "light"/"clarity", and 流/"ryū" meant "school"; the name seems to have been derived from the idea of holding the two swords up in the light so as to form a circle. The school's central idea is given as training to use the twin swords of the samurai as effectively as a pair of sword and jutte.

In 1622, Musashi's adoptive son, Miyamoto Mikinosuke, became a vassal to the Himeji Domain. Possibly this prompted Musashi to leave, embarking on a new series of travels, winding up in Edo in 1623, where he became friends with the Confucian scholar Hayashi Razan, who was one of the Shogun's advisors. Musashi applied to become a swordmaster to the Shogun, but as he already had two swordmasters (Ono Jiroemon Tadaaki and Yagyū Munenori — the latter also a political advisor, in addition to his position as the head of the Shogunate's secret police), Musashi's application was denied. He left Edo in the direction of Ōshū, ending up in Yamagata, where he adopted a second son, Miyamoto Iori. The two then traveled, eventually stopping in Osaka.

In 1626, Miyamoto Mikinosuke, following the custom of junshi, committed seppuku because of the death of his lord. In this year, Miyamoto Iori entered Lord Ogasawara's service. Musashi's attempt to become a vassal to the lord of Owari, like other such attempts, failed.

In 1627, Musashi began to travel again. In 1634 he settled in Kokura with Iori, and later entered the service of the daimyo Ogasawara Tadazane, taking a major role in the Shimabara Rebellion. Iori served with distinction in putting down the rebellion and gradually rose to the rank of karō — a position equal to a minister. Musashi, however was reputedly injured by a thrown rock while scouting in the front line, and was thus unnoticed.

Later life and death

Six years later, in 1633, Musashi began staying with Hosokawa Tadatoshi, daimyo of Kumamoto Castle, who had moved to the Kumamoto fief and Kokura, to train and paint. Ironically, it was at this time that the Hosokawa lords were also the patrons of Musashi's chief rival, Sasaki Kojirō. While there he engaged in very few duels; one would occur in 1634 at the arrangement of Lord Ogasawara, in which Musashi defeated a lance specialist by the name of Takada Matabei. Musashi would officially become the retainer of the Hosokowa lords of Kumamoto in 1640. The ''Niten Ki'' records "[he] received from Lord Tadatoshi: 17 retainers, a stipend of 300 koku, the rank of ''ōkumigashira'' 大組頭, and Chiba Castle in Kumamoto as his residence."

In the second month of 1641, Musashi wrote a work called the ''Hyoho Sanju Go'' ("Thirty-five Instructions on Strategy") for Hosokawa Tadatoshi; this work overlapped and formed the basis for the later ''Go Rin No Sho''. This was the year that his third son, Hirao Yoemon, became Master of Arms for the Owari fief. In 1642, Musashi suffered attacks of neuralgia, foreshadowing his future ill-health. In 1643 he retired to a cave named ''Reigandō'' as a hermit to write ''The Book of Five Rings''. He finished it in the second month of 1645. On the twelfth of the fifth month, sensing his impending death, Musashi bequeathed his worldly possessions, after giving his manuscript copy of the ''Go Rin No Sho'' to the younger brother of Terao Magonojo, his closest disciple. He died in Reigandō cave around June 13, 1645 (''Shōhō 3, 30th day of the 4th month''). The ''Hyoho senshi denki'' described his passing:

Musashi died of what is believed to be thoracic cancer, and was not killed in combat. He died peacefully after finishing the ''Dokkodo'' ("The Way of Walking Alone", or "The Way of Self-Reliance"), 21 precepts on self-discipline to guide future generations.

His body was interred in armor within the village of Yuge, near the main road near Mount Iwato, facing the direction the Hosokawas would travel to Edo; his hair was buried on Mount Iwato itself.

Nine years later, a major source about his life — a monument with a funereal eulogy to Musashi — was erected in Kokura by Miyamoto Iori; this monument was called the Kokura ''hibun''. An account of Musashi's life, the ''Niten-ki'' 二天記, was published in Kumamoto in 1776, by Toyota Kagehide, based on the recollections of his grandfather Toyota Masataka, who was a second generation pupil of Musashi.

Teachings

Musashi created and perfected a two-sword kenjutsu technique called ''niten'ichi'' (二天一, "two heavens as one") or ''nitōichi'' (二刀一, "two swords as one") or "Ni-Ten Ichi Ryu" (A Kongen Buddhist Sutra refers to the two heavens as the two guardians of Buddha). In this technique, the swordsman uses ''both'' a large sword, and a "companion sword" at the same time, such as a katana with a wakizashi.

The two-handed movements of temple drummers may have inspired him, although it could be that the technique was forged through Musashi's combat experience. Jutte techniques were taught to him by his father — the jutte was often used in battle paired with a sword; the jutte would parry and neutralize the weapon of the enemy while the sword struck or the practitioner grappled with the enemy. In his time a long sword in the left hand was referred to as ''gyaku nito''. Today Musashi's style of swordsmanship is known as Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū.

Musashi was also an expert in throwing weapons. He frequently threw his short sword, and Kenji Tokitsu believes that shuriken methods for the wakizashi were the Niten Ichi Ryu's secret techniques (see Hayakutake-Watkin).

Musashi spent many years studying Buddhism and swordsmanship. He was an accomplished artist, sculptor, and calligrapher. Records also show that he had architectural skills. Also, he seems to have had a rather straightforward approach to combat, with no additional frills or aesthetic considerations. This was probably due to his real-life combat experience; although in his later life, Musashi followed the more artistic side of bushidō. He made various Zen brush paintings, calligraphy, and sculpted wood and metal. Even in ''The Book of Five Rings'' he emphasizes that samurai should understand other professions as well. It should be understood that Musashi's writings were very ambiguous, and translating them into English makes them even more so; that is why so many different translations of the ''Go Rin No Sho'' can be found. To gain further insight into Musashi's principles and personality, one could read his other works, such as ''Dokkodo'' and ''Hyoho Shiji ni Kajo''.

Timeline

The following timeline follows, in chronological order (of which is based on the most accurate and most widely accepted information), the life of Miyamoto Musashi as of yet.

! Date	! Age	! Occurrence
1578		Musashi’s brother, Shirota, is born.
1584	0	Miyamoto Musashi is born.
1591	7	Musashi is taken and raised by his uncle as a Buddhist.
1596	13	Musashi duels with Arima Kihei in Hirafuku, Hyōgo Prefecture.
1599	15
1600	16	Believed to have fought in the Battle of Sekigahara in Sekigahara, Gifu Prefecture on the losing side. Whether he actually participated in the battle is currently in doubt.
1604	20	Musashi has 3 matches with the Yoshioka clan in Kyoto. {1} Match with Yoshioka Seijuro in Yamashiro Province, outside the city at Rendai Moor (west of Mt. Funaoka, Kita-ku, Kyoto). {2} Match with Yoshioka Denshichiro outside the city. {3} Match with Yoshioka Matashichiro outside the city at the pine of Ichijoji.
1604	20
1605–1612	21–28	Begins to travel again.
1607	23	Munisai (Musashi's father) passes his teachings onto Musashi.
1607	23	Duels with the kusarigama expert Shishido Baiken in the western part of Mie Prefecture.
1608	24	Duels Muso Gonnosuke, master of the five-foot staff in Edo, modern-day Tokyo.
1610	26	Fights Hayashi Osedo and Tsujikaze Tenma in Edo.
1611	27	Begins practicing zazen meditation.
1612	28	Musashi's match with Sasaki Kojirō takes place on Ganryujima (Ganryu or Funa Island) off the coast of present-day Shimonoseki.
		Opens a fencing school for a brief time.
1614–1615	30–31
1615–1621	31–37	Musashi comes into the service of Ogasawara Tadanao in Harima province as a construction supervisor.
1621	37	Duels Miyake Gunbei in Tatsuno, Hyōgo Prefecture.
1622	38
1623	39	Travels to Edo.
1626	42	Adopted son Mikinosuke commits seppuku following in the tradition of Junshi.
1627	43	Travels again.
1628	44	Meets with Yagyū Hyōgonosuke in Nagoya, Owari Province.
1630	46	Enters the service of Lord Hosokawa Tadatoshi.
1633	49
1634	50	Settles in Kokura, Fukuoka Prefecture for a short time with son Iori as a guest of Ogasawara Tadazane.
1637	53	Serves a major role in the Shimabara Rebellion and is the only documented evidence that Musashi served in battle. Was knocked off his horse by a rock thrown by one of the peasants.
1641	57	Writes ''Hyoho Sanju-go''.
1642	58	Suffers severe attacks from neuralgia.
1643	59	Migrates into Reigando where he lives as a hermit.
1645	61

Philosophy

Throughout Musashi's last book, , Musashi seems to take a very philosophical approach to looking at the "craft of war"; "''There are five ways in which men pass through life: as gentlemen, warriors, farmers, artisans and merchants.''" These falling into one of the few profession groups that could be observed in Musashi's time.

Throughout the book, Musashi implies that the way of the Warrior, as well as the meaning of a "True strategist" is that of somebody who has made mastery of many art forms away from that of the sword, such as tea drinking (sado), laboring, writing, and painting as Musashi practiced throughout his life. Musashi was hailed as an extraordinary sumi-e artist in the use of ink monochrome as depicted in two such paintings: "Shrike Perched in a Dead Tree" (''Koboku Meigekizu'', 枯木鳴鵙図) and "Wild Geese Among Reeds" (''Rozanzu'', 魯山図). Going back to the ''Book of Five Rings'', Musashi talks deeply about the ways of Buddhism.

He makes particular note of artisans and foremen. In the time in which he writes the book, the majority of houses in Japan were made of wood. In the use of building a house, foremen have to employ strategy based upon the skill and ability of their workers.

In comparison to warriors and soldiers, Musashi notes the ways in which the artisans thrive through events; the ruin of houses, the splendor of houses, the style of the house, the tradition and name or origins of a house. These too, are similar to the events which are seen to have warriors and soldiers thrive; the rise and fall of prefectures, countries and other such events are what make uses for warriors, as well as the literal comparisons of the: "''The carpenter uses a master plan of the building, and the way of strategy is similar in that there is a plan of campaign''".

Way of strategy

Throughout the book, ''Go Rin No Sho'', the idea which Musashi pushes is that the "way of the strategist" (''Heihō'' 兵法) is similar to how a carpenter and his tools are mutually inclusive, e.g. — a carpenter can do nothing without his tools, and ''vice versa''. This too, he compares to skill, and tactical ability in the field of battle.

Initially, Musashi notes that throughout China and Japan, there are many "sword fencers" who walk around claiming they are strategists, but are, in fact, not — this may be because Musashi had defeated some such strategists, such as Arima Kihei.

The idea is that by reading his writings, one can become a true strategist from ability and tactical skill that Musashi had learned in his lifetime. He argues that strategy and virtue are something which can be earned by knowing the ways of life, the professions that are around, to perhaps learn the skills and knowledge of people and the skills of their particular professions.

However, Musashi seems to state that the value of strategy seems to be homogeneous. He notes that:

As well as noting that strategy is destined to die;

As a form, strategy was said to be one of "Ten Abilities and Seven Arts" that a warrior should have, but Musashi disagrees that one person can gain strategy by being confined to one particular style, which seems particularly fitting as he admits "I practice many arts and abilities — all things with no teacher" — this perhaps being one of the reasons he was so highly regarded a swordsman.

Musashi's metaphor for strategy is that of the bulb and the flower, similar to western philosophy of "the chicken or the egg", the "bulb" being the student, the "flower" being the technique. He also notes that most places seem to be mostly concerned with their technique and its beauty. Musashi writes, "In this kind of way of strategy, both those teaching and those learning the way are concerned with coloring and showing off their technique, trying to hasten the bloom of the flower" (as opposed to the actual harmony between strategy and skill.)

With those who are concerned with becoming masters of strategy, Musashi points out that as a carpenter becomes better with his tools and is able to craft things with more expert measure, so too can a warrior, or strategist become more skilled in his technique. However, just as a carpenter needs to be able to use his tools according to plans, so too must a strategist be able to adapt his style or technique to the required strategy of the battle he is currently engaged in.

This description also draws parallels between the weapons of a trooper (or soldier) and the tools of a carpenter; the idea of "the right tool for the right job" seems to be implied a lot throughout the book, Go Rin No Sho. Musashi also puts into motion the idea that when a carpenter is skilled enough in aspects of his job, and creates them with expert measure, then he can become a foreman.

Although it is not expressly mentioned, it may be seen that Musashi indicated that when you have learned the areas in which your craft requires, be it carpentry, farming, fine art or battle, and are able to apply them to any given situation, then you will be experienced enough to show others the wisdom of your ways, be it as a foreman of craftsmen, or as a general of an army.

From further reading into the book, the idea of "weapons within strategy," as well as Musashi referring to the power of the writer, may seem that the strategy which Musashi refers to does not exclusively reside within the domain of weaponry and duels, but within the realm of war and battles with many men:

Ni-Ten Ichi Ryu

Within the book, Musashi mentions that the use of two swords within strategy is mutually beneficial between those who utilize this skill. The idea of using two hands for a sword is an idea which Musashi disagrees with, in that there is not fluidity in movement when using two hands — "''If you hold a sword with both hands, it is difficult to wield it freely to left and right, so my method is to carry the sword in one hand''"; he as well disagrees with the idea of using a sword with two hands on a horse, and/or riding on unstable terrain, such as muddy swamps, rice fields, or within crowds of people.

In order to learn the strategy of Ni-Ten Ichi Ryu, Musashi employs that by training with two long swords, one in each hand, you will be able to overcome the cumbersome nature of using a sword in both hands. Although difficult, Musashi agrees that there are times in which the long sword must be used with two hands, but if your skill is good enough, you should not need it. The idea of using two long swords is that you are starting with something to which you are unaccustomed, and that you will find difficult, but will adapt to after much use.

After using two long swords proficiently enough, Musashi then states that your mastery of a long sword, and a "companion sword", most likely a wakizashi, will be much increased — "''When you become used to wielding the long sword, you will gain the power of the Way and wield the sword well.''".

In short, it could be seen that from the excerpts from ''Go Rin No Sho'', the real strategy behind Ni-Ten No Ichi Ryu, is that there is no real iron-clad method, path, or type of weaponry that is specific to the style of Ni-Ten No Ichi Ryu:

Long sword

The strategy of the long sword is different than other strategies, in that it is much more straightforward. In the strategy of the longsword, it seems that Musashi's ideal was, that by mastering gripping the sword with two fingers, it could become a platform used for moving onto the mastery of Ni-Ten Ichi Ryu, as well as being able to use two broadswords, or more masterfully use a companion sword.

However, just because the grip is to be light, it does not mean that the attack or slash from the sword will be weak. Like with any other technique in the Ni-Ten Ichi Ryu, he notes:

Like with most disciplines in martial arts, Musashi notes that the movement of the sword after the cut is made must not be superfluous; instead of quickly returning to a stance or position, one should allow the sword to come to the end of its path from the force used. In this manner, the technique will become freely flowing, as opposed to abrupt.

Musashi also discouraged the use of only one sword for fighting, and the use of over-large swords like nodachi because they were cumbersome and unwieldy.

Religion

Even from a late age, Musashi separated his religion from his involvement in swordsmanship. Excerpts such as the one below, from ''The Book of Five Rings'', demonstrate a philosophy that is thought to have stayed with him throughout his life:

However, the belief that Musashi disliked Shinto is inaccurate, as he criticises the Shintō-ryū style of swordsmanship, and not Shinto, the religion. In Musashi's ''Dokkodo'', his stance on religion is further elucidated: ''"Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help."''

Musashi as an artist

In his later years, Musashi claimed in his ''Go Rin No Sho'' that "When I apply the principle of strategy to the ways of different arts and crafts, I no longer have need for a teacher in any domain." He proved this by creating recognized masterpieces of calligraphy and classic ink painting. His paintings are characterized by skilled use of ink washes and an economy of brush stroke. He especially mastered the "broken ink" school of landscapes, applying it to other subjects, such as his ''Kobokumeikakuzu'' ("Kingfisher Perched on a Withered Branch"; part of a triptych whose other two members were "Hotei Walking" and "Sparrow on Bamboo"), his ''Hotei Watching a Cockfight'', and his ''Rozanzu'' ("Wild Geese Among Reeds").

Popular culture

Even in Musashi's time there were fictional texts resembling comic books. It is therefore quite difficult to separate fact from fiction when discussing his life. There have been numerous works of fiction made about or featuring Musashi, among them several dozen films, including several with the title of ''Miyamoto Musashi.'' One of these, released in the English-speaking world as ''Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto'', is the Academy Award–winning film by Hiroshi Inagaki starring Toshirô Mifune. Eiji Yoshikawa's novelization has greatly influenced successive fictional depictions (including the ongoing manga ''Vagabond'' by Takehiko Inoue) and is often mistaken for a factual account of Musashi's life.

See also

Gosho Motoharu

Miyamoto Musashi Station

Bibliography

# ''Hyodokyo'' (The Mirror of the Way of Strategy) # ''Hyoho Sanjugo Kajo'' (Thirty-five Instructions on Strategy) # ''Hyoho Shijuni Kajo'' (Forty-two Instructions on Strategy) # ''Dokkodo'' (The Way to be Followed Alone) # ''Go Rin No Sho'' (The Book of Five Rings; a reference to the Five Rings of Zen Buddhism)

References

Further reading

Fiction

(Manga/historical fiction) (Historical fiction)

Essays

Testimony

Iwami Toshio Harukatsu soke (11th successor to Miyamoto Musashi), Musashi’s teachings – philosophy first: translation in English, ''Dragon'' n°7, January 2005, ed. Mathis ; French original text: ''L’enseignement de Musashi est d’abord une philosophie''

Iwami Toshio Harukatsu soke (11th successor to Miyamoto Musashi), Musashi's principles, ''Dragon'' n°13, January 2006, ed. Mathis ; French original text: ''Les principes de Musashi''

External links

Miyamoto Musashi, One of the Greatest Warriors in History

The Complete English Translation of A Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho)

Tracking Musashi's Final Years

Musashi & "The Book of Five Rings"

"The Way Of Walking Alone by Miyamoto Mushashi"

Some artwork by Miyamoto Musashi (archive link)

Miyamoto Musashi and ''The Book of Five Rings'' and

Tribute page "Dedicated to the greatest Samurai of all time"

The samurai warrior and Zen Buddhism (website of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco)

Category:1580s births Category:1645 deaths Category:Artist authors Category:Duellists Category:Japanese painters Category:Japanese philosophers Category:Japanese swordsmen Category:Japanese non-fiction writers Category:Martial arts school founders Category:Military writers Category:Japanese Shintoists Category:Samurai

ar:مياموتو موساشي be:Міямото Мусасі be-x-old:Міямота Мусасі br:Musashi Miyamoto bg:Миямото Мусаши ca:Miyamoto Musashi cs:Mijamoto Musaši da:Miyamoto Musashi de:Miyamoto Musashi es:Miyamoto Musashi eo:Mijamoto Musaŝi fr:Musashi Miyamoto ko:미야모토 무사시 id:Miyamoto Musashi it:Miyamoto Musashi he:מיאמוטו מוסאשי la:Miyamotus Musashi lt:Miyamoto Musashi hu:Mijamoto Muszasi nl:Miyamoto Musashi ja:宮本武蔵 pl:Musashi Miyamoto pt:Miyamoto Musashi ro:Miyamoto Musashi ru:Миямото Мусаси sk:Mijamoto Musaši sl:Mijamoto Musaši sr:Мијамото Мусаши fi:Miyamoto Musashi sv:Miyamoto Musashi th:มิยะโมะโตะ มุซะชิ tr:Miyamoto Musaşi uk:Міямото Мусасі vi:Miyamoto Musashi zh:宮本武藏

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Mark Dacascos
birth name	Mark Alan Dacascos
birth date	February 26, 1964
birth place	Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
other names	Marc DacascosThe ChairmanLo Fat
occupation	Actor, martial artist, television personality
years active	1985 - present
spouse	Julie Condra (1998-present)
influences	Al DacascosJackie ChanBruce Lee
website	http://www.dacascos.com
awards	}}

Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18.

Beginning in January 2005, Dacascos has portrayed "the Chairman" on Food Network's television series ''Iron Chef America''. This role was previously played by Takeshi Kaga in the original Japanese ''Iron Chef'', and Dacascos' character is presented as Kaga's nephew, though the actors are not related. Dacascos went on to continue the role in Iron Chef Australia. His other roles include: Eric Draven in ''The Crow: Stairway to Heaven'', Eubulon, the Advent Master, on Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, the lead role of "Mani" in the French film ''Brotherhood of the Wolf'' and the lead role of "Crying Freeman" in the film of the same name.

Dacascos competed in season 9 of ''Dancing with the Stars''. His partner was ''Dancing with the Stars'' finalist Lacey Schwimmer. The pair was eliminated in the 7th episode.

On November 2, 2010, CBS announced Dacascos was cast to reprise the role of Steve McGarrett's arch-nemesis, Wo Fat, in the modern remake of ''Hawaii Five-0''.

Biography

Dacascos' father, Al Dacascos, is from Hawaii, and is a martial arts instructor of Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese ancestry. His mother, Moriko McVey-Murray, is of Irish and Japanese ancestry. In the recent History Channel presentation, "Samurai", he revealed that the Japanese side of his mother's family was killed in the bombing of Hiroshima. His stepmothers are award winning martial artist Malia Bernal and Hawaiian singer Melveen Leed. Dacascos attended Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where he majored in Chinese and drama. Mark Dacascos is proficient in Wun Hop Kuen Do, Capoeira, Wushu and Muay Thai.

Personal life

He is married to actress Julie Condra, who starred with him in ''Crying Freeman''. They have three children, two older boys and one younger girl. Their names are Makoa, Kapono and Noelani.

Career

Dacascos became an actor after being discovered walking down the street in San Francisco's Chinatown by Chris Lee (at that time, assistant director) and Rexall Chin (hairstylist) for director Wayne Wang. Though his first scenes ended up on the cutting room floor, he has gone on to establish a film and television career primarily playing martial artists. His breakout role was in the 1993 film ''Only the Strong'', in which he played Louis, a Capoeira master who takes a high school's potential failures and turns their lives around by teaching them the venerable Brazilian martial art. In the following year, Dacascos co-starred with ''Party of Five'''s Scott Wolf as Jimmy and Billy Lee, respectively, in the video game based movie ''Double Dragon''.

He plays the role of the Chairman of ''Iron Chef America'' and ''Iron Chef Australia''. In the series' backstory he is the nephew of the original Iron Chef Chairman, Takeshi Kaga; the actors hold no relation in real life.

He has been featured in many action films such as ''Brotherhood of the Wolf'', ''Crying Freeman'' and ''Cradle 2 the Grave'', in which he squared off against Jet Li. He also performed in three video games: voice acting in ''Stranglehold'', live acting in ''Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom'' and digitally recreating The Chairman in the new ''Iron Chef'' video game for Wii.

Dacascos was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2002 for his role in ''Brotherhood of the Wolf'', which was a box office success in the United States. He also appeared in the short-lived but critically acclaimed television series ''The Crow: Stairway to Heaven'', which was a follow-up to the 1994 film ''The Crow''. One of his more recent roles is in the children's television show, ''Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight'', where he portrays Advent Master Eubulon, mentor of the Kamen Riders and creator of the Advent Decks.

Filmography

Title ''Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart'' ''Angel Town (film) ''Dead On The Money'' ''American Samurai (film) ''Only The Strong'' ''Roosters (film) ''Dragstrip Girl'' ''Double Dragon (film) ''Deadly Past'' ''Kickboxer 5: The Redemption'' ''Crying Freeman (film) ''The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996 film) ''Sabotage (1996 film) ''Sanctuary (1997 film) ''DNA (film) ''Deathline (AKA Redline)'' ''Drive (1998 film) ''Boogie Boy'' ''No Code of Conduct'' ''The Base (film) ''China Strike Force (Lei ting zhan jing) '' ''Le Pacte des loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf)'' ''Instinct To Kill (AKA The Perfect Husband) '' ''Scorcher (film) ''Cradle 2 the Grave'' ''Solar Strike (AKA Solar Attack) (USA)'' ''Junior Pilot'' (aka ''Final Approach'') ''Only the Brave'' ''The Hunt for Eagle One'' ''The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash Point'' ''Nomad (2006 film) ''Code Name: The Cleaner'' ''Alien Agent'' ''I Am Omega'' ''Gideon Falls'' ''Serbian Scars'' ''Shadows in Paradise (2010 film) ''Action Hero (film) ''Secret of the Sultan'' ''The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone''

Year	|	Role	Other Notes
1985	|	n/a	Film (scenes deleted)
1990	Angel Town'' ||	Stoner Driver	Film
1991	|	Martial arts master	TV movie
1992	American Samurai'' ||	Kenjiro Sanga	Film
1993	|	Louis Stevens	Film
1993	Roosters'' ||	Filipino's Son	Film (Cameo)
1994	|	Johnny Ramirez	TV movie
1994	Double Dragon'' ||	Jimmy Lee	Film
1995	|	Leo	Film
1995	|	Matt Reeves	Film
1995	Crying Freeman'' ||	Yo Hinomura/Freeman	Film
1996	The Island of Dr. Moreau'' ||	Lo-Mai	Film
1996	Sabotage'' ||	Michael Bishop	Film
1997	Sanctuary'' ||	Luke Kovak	Film
1997	DNA'' ||	Dr. Ash Mattley	Film
1997	|	Merrick	Film
1998	Drive'' ||	Toby Wong	Film
1998	|	Jesse Page	Film
1998	|	Paul DeLucca	Film
1999	The Base'' ||	Maj. John Murphy/Cpl. John Dalton	Film
2000	|	Tony Lau	Film
2001	|	Mani	Film
2001	|	J.T. Dillon	Film
2002	Scorcher'' ||	Ryan Beckett	Film
2003	|	Yao Ling	Film
2005	|	Lucas Foster	TV movie
2005	|	Kato	Film
2006	|	Steve "Zaki" Senzaki	Film
2006	|	Lt. Matt Daniels	Video
2006	|	Lt. Matt Daniels	Video
2006	Nomad'' ||	Sharish	Film
2007	|	Eric Hauck	Film
2007	|	Rykker	Film
2007	|	Renchard	Film
2008	|	Set	Film
2009	|	Peter Olsen Obilich	Film
2010	Shadows in Paradise'' ||	Lt. Max Forrester	Film
2010	Action Hero'' ||	Writer	Film
2010	|		Film
2011	|	Cobra	Film

Television

Title ''General Hospital'' ''Dragnet (series) ''Doogie Howser, MD'' ''The Flash'' ''Tales from the Crypt (TV series) ''One West Waikiki'' ''The Crow: Stairway to Heaven'' ''Martial Law (TV series) ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' ''Iron Chef America: The Series'' ''Stargate Atlantis'' ''The Legend of Bruce Lee'' ''The Middleman (TV series) ''Stargate Atlantis'' ''Kamen Rider Dragon Knight'' ''Dancing with the Stars (U.S. TV series) ''Wolvesbayne'' ''The Next Iron Chef'' ''Samurai (2010 film) ''Hawaii Five-0'' ''Iron Chef Australia''

Year	|	Role	Episode/Notes
1987	|	Police cadet	TV series
1990	New Dragnet'' ||	Kevin Chow	TV series
1990	|	Julian	Episode: "The Grass Ain't Always Greener"
1991	|	Osaku	Episode: "Child's Play"
1994	Tales from the Crypt'' ||	Felix Johnson	Episode: "The Pit"
1995	|	Moku	Episode: "Rest in Peace"
1998-99	|	Eric Draven	TV series
1999	Martial Law'' ||	Steven Garth	Episode: "Ninety Million Reasons to Die"
2002	|	Ananda the Monk	Episode: "Felonious Monk"
2005 - Present	|	The Chairman	TV series
2007	|	Tyre	Reunion (Stargate Atlantis)>Reunion"
2008	|	Muay Thai boxer King Charles	TV series
2008	The Middleman''||	Sensei Ping	Episode: "The Sino-Mexican Revelation"
2008	|	Tyre	Broken Ties (Stargate Atlantis)>Broken Ties"
2009	|	Eubulon	Episodes: 32–40
2009	Dancing with the Stars'' ||	Himself/guest dancer	Episodes" 1-7
2009	|	Von Griem	TV movie
2008-10	|	The Chairman	TV series
2010	Samurai'' ||	Himself	TV documentary
2010 - Present	|	Wo Fat	TV series
2010	|	The Chairman	TV series

Awards

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films

Year !! Result !! Award !! Category/Recipient
2002	Nominated	Saturn Award

References

External links

Official web site of Mark Dacascos

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Filipino descent Category:American actors of Chinese descent Category:American film actors Category:American martial artists Category:American capoeira practitioners Category:American Muay Thai practitioners Category:American wushu practitioners Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American actors of Japanese descent Category:American people of Spanish descent Category:Participants in American reality television series

de:Mark Dacascos es:Mark Dacascos fr:Mark Dacascos it:Mark Dacascos he:מארק דקסקוס lv:Marks Dakaskoss hu:Mark Dacascos nl:Mark Dacascos ja:マーク・ダカスコス no:Mark Dacascos pl:Mark Dacascos pt:Mark Dacascos ru:Дакаскос, Марк sr:Марк Дакаскос sv:Mark Dacascos tr:Mark Dacascos zh:馬克·德可斯可

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Michael Courtemanche
birth date	December 11, 1964
birth place	Laval, Quebec, Canada
occupation	Actor, comedian
spouse	}}

Michel Courtemanche (born December 11, 1964 in Laval, Quebec, Canada) is a Québécois comedian and actor. He has drawn hundreds of thousands to his one-man shows in Quebec, France, Belgium and Switzerland.

His debut one-man show, ''A New Comic is Born'', ran for more than five hundred performances and earned him two Felix nominations. It was first performed in Montreal in 1989. His second, ''The New Adventures of Michel Courtemanche'', first performed in 1992, filled theatres in both North America and Europe and spawned his second international hit video (1993).

Courtemanche has internationally sold out enormous houses usually reserved for rock stars (although such shows are quite commonplace for comedians in Quebec). He has even inspired a popular one-of-a-kind hardcover comic book. He has starred in ''Québécois'' films ''La Nuit de Noces'' and ''Karmina 2'', and on the ''Secret Adventures of Jules Verne'' television series, on the Sci Fi Channel (United States).

His style of comedy can be best summed up as mime combined with sound effects, as he is most often seen interacting with invisible objects or even people and using his voice to complete the scene. He is also particularly good at making remarkable grimaces.

Since 2002, he moved behind the camera; his production company, Encore Télévision, produces the French-Canadian edition of a sitcom called Caméra café, which was adapted from French television.

See also

List of Quebec comedians

Humour of Quebec

Culture of Quebec

External links

YouTube - Michel Courtemanche: Golfer

Category:Canadian comedians Category:Quebec comedians Category:People from Laval, Quebec Category:1964 births Category:Living people

de:Michel Courtemanche fr:Michel Courtemanche it:Michel Courtemanche pl:Michel Courtemanche

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
birth name	John Adam Belushi
birth date	January 24, 1949
birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
ethnicity	Albanian
religion	Eastern Orthodox
nationality	American
death date	March 05, 1982
death place	West Hollywood, California, U.S.
notable work	''Saturday Night Live''
occupation	Actor/Comedian/Singer
years active	1973–1982
spouse	Judy Belushi (1976–1982) }}

John Adam Belushi (; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an Albanian American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live''. He was the older brother of James "Jim" Belushi.

Early life

Belushi was born in Wheaton, Illinois, the son of Agnes Belushi (née Samaras), a first generation Albanian-American, and Adam Belushi (1918–1996), an Albanian immigrant and restaurant operator who left his native village, Qytezë, in 1934 at the age of sixteen. The family's name at the time of immigration was Bellios, or Belliors. Belushi was raised in the Albanian Orthodox church and grew up outside Chicago in Wheaton with his sister Marian, and two brothers, Jim, five-and-a-half years his junior, and Billy. He attended Wheaton Central High School, where he met his future wife, Judy Jacklin.

Career

Belushi's first big break as a comedian occurred in 1971, when he joined The Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. He was cast in ''National Lampoon's Lemmings'', a parody of Woodstock, which played Off-Broadway in 1972 and showcased future ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') performers Chevy Chase and Christopher Guest.

In 1973, Belushi and Jacklin moved together to New York. From 1973 to 1975, National Lampoon Inc. aired ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'', a half-hour comedy program syndicated across the country on approximately 600 stations. Belushi was a regular player on the show. Other players included future ''SNL'' regulars Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray and Chevy Chase. Jacklin became an associate producer for the show, and she and Belushi were married on December 31, 1976. A number of comic segments first performed on ''The Radio Hour'' would be translated into ''SNL'' sketches in the show's early seasons.

1975–1979

Belushi achieved national fame for his work on ''Saturday Night Live'', which he joined as an original cast member in 1975. Between seasons of the show, he made one of his best-known movies, ''Animal House''. As several Belushi biographies have noted, on John's 30th birthday (in 1979), he had the number one film in the U.S. (''Animal House''), the number one album in the U.S. (''The Blues Brothers: Briefcase Full of Blues'') and ''Saturday Night Live'' was the highest-rated late night television program.

When interviewed for retrospectives on John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd told stories of John often finishing ''SNL'' rehearsals, shows or film shoots and John being exhausted, simply walking unannounced into nearby homes of friends or strangers, scrounging around for food and often falling asleep, unable to be located for the following day's work. This was the impetus for the ''SNL'' horror-spoof sketch "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave", in which Belushi torments a couple (played by Jane Curtin and Bill Murray) in their home looking for snacks, newspapers and magazines to read, and taking control of their television. In an unfortunate foreshadowing, during the opening of the ''SNL'' episode that aired on December 17, 1977, Belushi, while in character as himself, quipped, "I plan to be dead by the time I'm 30." ''SNL'' also featured a short film by writer Tom Schiller called "Don't Look Back In Anger", where Belushi, playing himself as an old man and the last-surviving ''SNL'' cast member, visits the graves of his now-former cast members. The irony of the sketch is not only that Belushi was the first ''SNL'' cast member to die in real life, but also at the time was regarded as having the least viable lifestyle of all the cast members.

Belushi left ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1979 to pursue a film career. Belushi would make four more movies; three of them, ''1941'', ''Neighbors'', and most notably ''The Blues Brothers'' were made with fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd.

Other movie projects

Dan Aykroyd wrote the roles of Dr. Peter Venkman in ''Ghostbusters'' and Emmett Fitz-Hume in ''Spies Like Us'' with Belushi in mind, and the roles were actually played by Belushi's former ''SNL'' castmates Bill Murray and Chevy Chase.

Released in September 1981, the romantic comedy ''Continental Divide'' starred Belushi as Chicago home town hero writer Ernie Souchack, who gets put on assignment researching a scientist studying birds of prey in the remote Rocky Mountains.

At the time of his death, Belushi was pursuing several movie projects, including ''Noble Rot'', an adaptation of a script by former ''Mary Tyler Moore Show'' writer and producer Jay Sandrich entitled ''Sweet Deception''.

Belushi recruited the band Fear and brought them to Cherokee Studios to record songs for the soundtrack of ''Neighbors'', a film he and Aykroyd were starring in. Cherokee Studios was a regular haunt for the original Blues Brothers back in the early days of the band. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd became fixtures at the recording studio, while fellow Blues Brother and guitar player Steve Cropper called Cherokee his producing home. "John was a crazy guy, but a heavy drinker. At times, he would drink an entire fifth of Jack Daniel's in less than five minutes," Aykroyd commented. Whenever they needed a bass player, they were joined by another Blues Brother, Donald "Duck" Dunn. During this time, Cropper along with producing partner and Cherokee owner Bruce Robb, worked on a number of music projects with the two comedian/musicians, the band Fear and later Aykroyd's movie ''Dragnet.'' "What can I say? John was excessively talented, and I guess you could say he sort of lived life 'excessively.' I think what happened to John had a sobering effect on a lot of people, me included," said music producer Bruce Robb.

Death

On March 5, 1982, Belushi was found dead in his room at Bungalow number 3 of the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. The cause of death was a speedball; the combined injection of cocaine and heroin. On the night of his death, he was visited separately by friends Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, each of whom left the premises, leaving Belushi in the company of assorted others, including Catherine Evelyn Smith. His death was investigated by forensic pathologist Dr. Ryan Norris among others, and while the findings were disputed, it was officially ruled a drug-related accident.

Two months later, Smith admitted in an interview with the ''National Enquirer'' that she had been with Belushi the night of his death and had given him the fatal speedball shot. After the appearance of the article "I Killed Belushi" in the Enquirer edition of June 29, 1982, the case was reopened. Smith was extradited from Toronto, arrested and charged with first-degree murder. A plea bargain reduced the charge to involuntary manslaughter, and she served 15 months in prison.

Shortly before his death, he filmed a cameo for the comedy series ''Police Squad!'' At the suggestion of the show's producer, Robert K. Weiss, Belushi was filmed, face down in a swimming pool, dead. The footage was part of a running gag where the episode's "special guest star" would not survive past the opening credits without meeting some gruesome end. The scene was cut after his death and the footage is believed to have been lost.

Belushi and his friend Dan Aykroyd were slated to present the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 54th Academy Awards, an event held less than four weeks after his death.

Belushi was slated to appear on the well-known Canadian comedy show ''SCTV,'' which was by then being syndicated to the United States, but according to Dave Thomas, one of whose best-known characters on ''SCTV'' was Doug Mackenzie in the "Great White North" sketches, they were "planning him into their set, when suddenly, they received a phone call that Belushi had died in his hotel room. We stopped our work and just stared at each other, not being able to believe what had happened. John Candy began to cry, for Belushi as a friend, but also because it, to him, signaled the end of that era of comedy TV, now that one of their greats was dead." The segments he was to be in were scrapped, and the show continued without him. An earlier ''SCTV'' sketch had starred Tony Rosato as Belushi.

Belushi's wife arranged for a traditional Orthodox Christian funeral which was conducted by an Albanian Orthodox priest and he is interred in Abel's Hill Cemetery on Martha's Vineyard Chilmark, Massachusetts. His tombstone, a New England classic slate design, complete with skull and crossbones, reads, "I may be gone but Rock and Roll lives on." Rumor has it that his gravestone is not above his body because it was moved after operators of the cemetery had found many signs of vandalism and rowdiness where his body lies. He also is remembered on the Belushi family stone marking his mother's grave at Elmwood Cemetery in River Grove, Illinois. This stone says, "He Gave Us Laughter."

Tributes

John Belushi's life is detailed in the 1985 biography ''Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi'' by Bob Woodward. Many friends and relatives of Belushi, including his wife Judy, Dan Aykroyd and James Belushi, agreed to be interviewed at length for the book, but later felt the final product was exploitative and not representative of the John Belushi they knew. The book was later adapted into a feature film in which Belushi was played by Michael Chiklis. Belushi's friends and family boycotted the film, the publicity from which helped cause the movie to be a box-office flop.

The Grateful Dead performed the song "West L.A. Fadeaway" beginning in late 1982. The song, penned by long time lyricist Robert Hunter and sung by Jerry Garcia, contains fairly explicit references to Belushi's death, especially the line "Looking for a chateau, 21 rooms but one will do.

Belushi was portrayed by actors Eric Siegel in ''Gilda Radner: It's Always Something'', Tyler Labine in ''Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy'' (which also features his friendship with Robin Williams), and Michael Chiklis in ''Wired''.

His widow later remarried and is now Judith Belushi Pisano. Her biography (with co-biographer Tanner Colby) of John, ''Belushi: A Biography'' is a collection of first-person interviews and photographs, and was published in 2005.

On April 1, 2004, 22 years after his death, Belushi was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, after a ten-year lobbying effort by James Belushi and Judith Belushi Pisano. Among those present at the ceremony were Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and Tom Arnold.

In 2006, Biography Channel aired the "John Belushi" episode of ''Final 24'', a documentary following Belushi in the last 24 hours leading to his death. In 2010, Biography aired a full biography documentation of the life of "John Belushi".

The 1987 song "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L)", by the American thrash metal band Anthrax was dedicated to John Belushi.

Several characters in Neil Gaiman's short story "The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories" reference Belushi's death with varying (and incorrect) details.

Belushi's alma mater, the College of DuPage, has established an annual performing arts scholarship in his honor.

Credits

''National Lampoon's Lemmings'' (1973) (Stage)

''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) (Radio) (also Creative Director)

''The National Lampoon Show'' (1975) (Stage)

''The Beach Boys: It's OK'' (1976) (TV)

''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979) (TV)

''Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle'' (1975) (voice) (1979 American dubbed version)

''National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978)

''The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash'' (1978) (TV)

''Goin' South'' (1978)

''Old Boyfriends'' (1979)

''1941'' (1979)

''The Blues Brothers'' (1980)

''Continental Divide'' (1981)

''Neighbors'' (1981)

''SNL'' characters and impersonations

;Recurring characters

Samurai Futaba

Captain Ned, one of Miles Cowperthwaite's cronies

Jacob Papageorge alias 'Joliet' Jake Blues, from the Blues Brothers

Jeff Widette, from the Widettes

Kevin (from ''The Mall'' sketches)

Kuldorth (from ''The Coneheads'')

Larry Farber (one half of the Farber couple [the wife, Bobbi, was played by Gilda Radner])

Lowell Brock, from the H&L; Brock commercials

Matt Cooper, from the Land Shark sketches

Pete, from the Olympia Cafe

Steve Beshekas (who was in real life a good friend of Belushi's since community college)

Frank Leary, one of St. Mickey's Knights of Columbus

;Celebrity impersonations

Al Hirt

Babe Ruth

Bert Lance

Cesar Romero

Dino De Laurentiis

Ed Ames

Ed Asner

Elizabeth Taylor

Elvis Presley

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Fred Silverman

George Wallace

Grigori Rasputin

Henry Kissinger

Hermann Göring

Jack Kerouac

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jimmy Hoffa

Joe Cocker

John Lennon

Julia Child

Leonid Brezhnev

Ludwig van Beethoven

Marlon Brando

Menachim Begin

Richard Daley

Robert Blake

Roy Orbison

Sam Peckinpah

Sanjay Gandhi

Steve Rubell

Sun Myung Moon

Tip O'Neill

Truman Capote

Vasiliy Alekseyev

William Shatner

Woody Hayes

Yasser Arafat

References

External links

Grave Family marker

Interview (MP3) with biographer Tanner Colby and Judith Belushi Pisano on the public radio program ''The Sound of Young America'' regarding their book, ''Belushi''. Includes clips from Belushi's work on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour''.

Belushi: A Biography, official website for the book

John Belushi Cult Turns 25 from The Conservative Voice

Top SNL performer from ''Maxim''

Belushi.com, John Belushi Tribute Page

Bartcop Entertainment: The Life and Death of Captain Preemo from suprmchaos.com, featuring an alternative theory of Belushi's death

Noble Rot the "lost" screenplay of Novello and Belushi, from subcin.com

Category:1949 births Category:1982 deaths Category:Accidental deaths in California Category:Actors from Chicago, Illinois Category:Albanian Orthodox Christians Category:American Christians Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American people of Albanian descent Category:American television actors Category:American television writers Category:American voice actors Category:Cocaine-related deaths in California Category:Deaths by heroin overdose in California Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States Category:Emmy Award winners Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from Wheaton, Illinois Category:Second City alumni Category:The Blues Brothers members Category:University of Wisconsin–Whitewater alumni

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