American Samurai Chapter Summaries

“The way of a warrior does not include other ways, but if you know the way, you will see it in everything,” Miyamoto Musashi. Roughly a thousand years ago, two elite groups of warriors arose amongst those in the eastern hemisphere, the samurai and knights. Although on different continents, both factions showed infinite similarities. As demonstrated in history, the similarities between samurais and knights immensely outweigh the differences.

Samurai's, the most fiercely trained warrior known to man kind. This warrior is not only trained physically but, mentally and spiritually. The Spartans a vicious warrior are trained only physically and are known as one of the best warriors ever, so how is a samurai more skilled?In this I will be comparing the book "The Samurai's Tale"(by Erik Christian Haugaard) to TCI a website with all the facts about the true identity of the samurai. I will be comparing the hardships of the samurai's physical, mental, and spiritual training between these two references.

As pointed out in Chang’s book, Japan’s identity in the twentieth century was one that was “forged in a thousand-year-old system in which social hierarchy was established and sustained through martial competition.” (Chang, pg 19-20), this perfectly coincides with Machiavelli’s discussion on the three different types of armies (the state’s, the mercenaries, and the auxiliaries), in which he claims that a well-respected set of laws is rendered as meaningless unless it is being imposed by a strong, powerful army- one that is loyal first and foremost to its ruler. This is mainly because the soldiers participating in a state’s army would be willing to die for their country, without having to be incentivized constantly by the ruler (or Prince according to Machiavelli’s description). Moreover, this is evident in Chang’s statistics on the Japanese young soldiers that had fought in World War II, with reports in her book showing how the Japanese had only surrendered “at the rate of only 1 per 120 dead”, as opposed to their ‘Allied’ counterpart, which had a surrendering rate of “1 prisoner for every 3 dead” (Chang p. 20). It is worthy to note here that none of this should be viewed as coincidental; progressive trends throughout Japanese history have been evident, as Chang points out, and can be traced all the way back to medieval times. She explains this by drawing a parallel between the Japanese ‘Samurai’ and the teachings of the Roman poet ‘Horace’, whose famously known for his line “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.” (Chang p. 20), which demonstrated an entire culture built upon the younger men of a generation in owing their lives to the

Personal honor and behavior governed by a specific code are signature characteristics of Japan's storied warrior-scholars: the samurai. This code, known as Bushidō (literally "Way of the Warrior"), governed a way of life that separated the samurai from the rest of Japanese society. However, Bushidō would, ultimately, influence the entire nation. This paper examines the origins, functions, and impact of Bushidō in the context of samurai culture and contemporary Japanese thought.

All kinds of warriors have existed throughout history. Medieval Europe had warriors called Knights. Likewise, early Japan had warriors called Samurai. These warriors followed codes of honor that led their lives. These codes were named Bushido and Chivalry. Bushido for Samurai and Chivalry for Knights. They were both paid for their services by their Lords. Lords are vassals to a greater rank. At an early age, both Knights and Samurai received training. The Samurai of Japan and the Knights of Europe were more similar than they were different. This essay will prove that there are more similarities between Knights and Samurai than there are differences.

The book Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan by Karl Friday is a book about war in early medieval Japan. Karl Friday has written many different history books and has been a professor at seven universities. He has a bachelor of general studies degree in Japanese from University of Kansas, a master of arts degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures from University of Kansas, A masters degree in history from Stanford University and a PhD in history from Stanford

Joseph Conlans “State of War; The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan” is an depth look at Japans emerging warrior class during a time period of constant warfare in Medieval Japan. His work however doesn’t revolve around the re-fabrication and in-depth analysis of battles sieged like many contemporary examinations of wars and battles won and lost. Instead the author vies to navigate the reader on journey into the warrior class’s lives and how they evolved through a statistical analysis of records. This illustrates how warfare changed and transformed with the constant evolving of the Samurai, but it also includes how their actions affected their Political environment as well as the society in which they dwelled from the bottom up.

Japan in the 10th century was experiencing change and disorder as its relatively new central government sought techniques for a strong and enduring legacy. In this period lived a man named Taira no Masakado. In events which are swirled with mystery and legend, Masakado found himself in direct opposition with the government, even proclaiming the title of the “New Emperor”. His legacy endures to this day and is a fundamental component in contemporary Japanese folklore. Was Masakado a product of his environment or a self-motivated rebel, examining this question is important in the discussions of the motivations behind his actions. Whether he should be viewed as a villain or a hero is to be considered by the reader.

Samurai were some of the greatest warriors of their time they restored justice to the people of japan during the time of the shogunate dictatorship. Samurai were, “members of a powerful military caste in feudal Japan, began as provincial warriors before rising to power in the 12th century

Back in 1,100 Medieval Europe, people would hire others to protect them. In Europe these protectors were known as Knights, while in Japan The people called them Samurai. Despite being on other sides of the world, in a time when communication was very limited. The two fighters Samurai and Knights were very similar. The similarities range from the way people paid them, to the ways of they had live their life. The Samurai and Knights were more similar than they were different. This essay will explain how the Knights and Samurai were similar.

Takamori Saigo is known as the Last Samurai. He’s remembered to this day and mythologized as the epitome of bushido (samurai code). It’s quite difficult to find the actual man behind the myth. A recent scholarship provides us with some clues to the true nature of the Last Samurai. Saigo was known as the last samurai because

Warriors of the Japan, masters in the way of the sword and honor bound to follow their lords command to the end. These are some ideas that come to mind when thinking of the samurai. A grand military figure in the first millennium of Japan’s history, a very interesting story is told when you search for their origin. With a court that began to care more about looks than their country to a society that both feared and needed them, the story of the samurai truly is one to behold. Follow along as we trace their beginning in the birth of a new form of government, to their way of life and the ethics and codes they followed. We will discuss some prominent figures in the history of these warriors and finally we shall compare them to warriors found in two different cultures one from a shared time on the other side of the world. While the other is from a much older culture and we shall see how they would have fared against each other and how different their way of life was.

Feared throughout all of eastern Asia for many decades, the legendary samurai warriors had both deadly skills on the battlefield as well as a mindful and intellectual way of living which made them an empire to be reckoned with. This revered group of people first made an appearance in 794, and from there they slowly began to gain power and rose to dominance.

Being a samurai takes much courage and loyalty, something that many of us may not have today. Courage was an important trait to the samurai because they had to be able to keep their promise of fighting for their lord no matter what it might cost them. This had gained them respect from others. A way courage is shown today can be by someone standing up for themselves or others, whether it is a family member, friend, peer, or even a stranger. Another big way courage is contributed now by people facing their fears and not letting the negativity ruin their chances at success. We should follow the way the samurai acted on this characteristic. However, instead of us making a promise to fight for our lord we should make a promise to ourselves to fight

Space Battleship Yamato (1977) and The Silent Services (1988-1996) are both films that ‘rehabilitate’ Japan’s experience of World War II as they re-tell or imagine alternative histories or fictional stories that rehabilitate past trauma (namely their humiliating defeat of WWII and a sense of loss of masculinity to the U.S.-Japan alliance and what came corollary with it). Such narratives can be interpreted as expressing what contemporary Japan desires. The narrative of each film is reflected by the context of the time of its production (cold-war vs. post-cold war) and whilst the narratives of SBY and SS share similarities they differ in their depth of political discussions, conveyed messages and explicitness due to the constraints of post-war democracy, pacifism and U.S. relation. Relevant concepts are militarism, nationalism, anti-war messages, anti-US messages, pacifism, masculinity and patriotism and many of these co-exist in each respective film – the films try to reconcile them by ending with a lasting impression that justifies the aggression for the sake of world peace.