Samurai Research Papers

Samurai and knights are not identical, they do have a good amount of differences. For instance, after going through training, samurai were awarded their title and responsibilities at the age of fourteen while knights took on their full responsibilities at twenty-one. Document B points out that although loyalty was important to both Japanese and European warriors, “loyalty towards the feudal lord in Japan was hereditary” but it was not in Europe. This means that in Japan “service of a feudal lord went from father to son” so the relationship between the lord and his warrior lasted for generations. Along with that, although both groups wore full body armor, Document D states that “a knight’s armor could weigh forty

My second reason is that the knights had very strong and effective armour, whereas the samurai’s armour was always changing and was never as good as the knight’s armour, as samurai depended more on their fighting skills instead of the armour. The samurai armour was made up of several sections. The main body is called a do or cuirass, and is made from plates or lamellae (small oblong-shaped pieces of steel linked by strips of leather and covered with layers of lacquer). The helmet has a crest and a hair pommel. There is also a face mask, which would have been decorated with ugly features intended to scare the enemy. Extra protection is provided by a coverage of the neck (made of jointed metal) and shoulder guards (made from small plates laced together, with silk allowing movement). Thigh and calf guards are made from a combination of chain mail and plates. Underneath the samurai’s armour, the samurai would wear a one-piece baggy garment with a special kimono (the kimono looks a bit like a dressing gown). This did mean that the samurai would be more likely to get injured, as the armour would only offer very little protection. Samurai armour was designed to help the Samurai move comfortably and efficiently when fighting, so if a knight stabbed the samurai then the samurai would get injured and this would affect the samurai while he is fighting (the samurai would be fighting worse), and possible depending on how bad the wound is, it could kill the

Both the medieval European knights and the Japanese samurai used horses as means of transport into battle. They also both wore armour and used swords. European armour was typically all-metal and was made or either chain mail or plate metal. Whilst this made them more protected, it also restricted their movement. In contrast, the Japanese samurais donned armour which comprised of lacquered leather or metal plates with silk or metal bindings. This light weight armour was advantageous in that it allowed the samurai to be quick and more agile. The drawback to this armour though was that it provided much less protection.

The armor that the samurai wore was light because was mostly made from bamboo with small parts made of cloth and metal. Because it was so light it made movement easy unlike the knight’s armor. They were good for hand to hand combat, particularly for samurai's precise and quick movements. samurai's could fight both on horse and on foot fairly easily. They were extremely skilled in hand to hand combat and a range of other fighting skills.

Likewise, knights wore “complete suits of plate armor, constructed from metal...wore helmets, gloves, and shoes of steel...a knight’s armor could weigh 40 to 60 pounds.” (Document D) Both samurais and European knights were protected by a heavy armor out of metal in battle; it can be inferred that both Japan and Europe found importance in protecting their warriors looking from the stringency of armor and protection. The reason for protecting their warriors would be due to the myriad of battles feudal Japan and Europe would have had to carry out. To ensure success in battle, they would’ve made further technological advances such as protective armor, ensuring better performance when battling. By protecting the warriors using this effective armor, both Japan and Europe would’ve been able to attain more as a whole and advance as a civilization - a common achievement carried out as well. Despite the many differences between Japanese samurais and European knights, the similarities outweighed these differences due to the homologous elements in their position in hierarchy and the use of protective armor in battle, leading to the success in both Japan and

In medieval Japan Samurais armor (According to Doc D by Terry Bennett) had an arm with no armor or very light armor, the reason for this was Samurai specialized in projectile warfare, and Samurai armor stayed the same for the rest of the Samurai area. In Europe the Knights used chainmail armor for quite some time, that is until crossbows and longbows became common, they had to change to metal armor that could be 60 pounds making it hard to get up if they were knocked down. Also the Knight's armor was made for shock warfare (According to Doc D from Art

In document D, written by the DBQ Project, it states “Not only was their entire body covered… even horses wore armor.” This shows that a knight could win in a battle because they were completely covered in protection. They wore helmets, gloves, and shoes made from steel. This was helpful because they wouldn’t get hurt as easily. Also, their swords were shorter, much easier to move in the air, and they had amazingly sharp sides that can do some serious damage. Another piece of evidence is from the same document, which says “Samurai did not wear armor on their right arm… One disadvantage of samurai armor is that when it became wet, the silk cords absorbed water and became very heavy.” This makes it beyond difficult for the samurai to get around because most of the Earth is water, and Japan is an island. Since they didn’t wear armor on one part of their body, it is much easier for them to get hurt, especially since the knights’ swords were so advanced. The knights’ armor was better than the samurais’ for fighting in a lot of ways, but there are still other advantages that the knights might have

Lastly, by looking at these soldiers armors, the differences are noticable. Samurai wore small iron scales woven together with silk or leather, while knights completely covered themselves in metal armor. However, it is evident that despite the differences, both of these armors would cover most of their bodies, and offered great protection (Document “D”). All in all, training and armor made warriors who they are, and it wasn’t quite different for samurai and

The first way that knights have an advantage is because they had better support in their armor. In a document written by Terry bennett, the document states “In response knights started to wear more complete suits of plate armor constructed of metal.”. This is explaining that the suits of metal would be more protective and more difficult to penetrate into the knight’s skin. As well as making the knight feel more confident going into battle while knowing he/she is safer. In the same document, another piece of evidence was found to support my claim, the text in the document states “Samurai did not wear any armor on their right arm”. This creates a greater advantage for knight. The samurai can get their arm dismembered. Which would lead to fatal bleeding or making the samurai too weak to fight back against a knight, leading a samurai to lose.

Although armor was a big advantage, samurai have more advantages.

The samurai have been known to be very agile if compared to the knights, A quote that proves this is from Source 3 and it states that “A knight's armor could weigh approximately 100 pounds. ”(Yue 1) The armor weighing this much can prove to be a great disadvantage when the times comes for the fight on foot to occur. Source 3 also states that “Samurai did not wear armor on their right arm…”(Yue 1 )

The knights wore tiny metal rings linked together (Doc. D). The samurai wore iron plates connected by silk or leather cords (Doc. D). One small difference was the weight of the armour. The samurai armour was light but heavier when wet and the knights armour was heavier and protected more (Doc. D). This eventually progressed overtime and became not as heavy and more durable (OI).

First of all the knights and samurai both wore armor. It states in document D that in samurai armor they were put together with tiny iron scales. The knights had one big body suit of armor in one piece. This means that the armor they

Samurai and knights similarities were greater than the differences because they started doing things like protecting the lord and training to become a samurai or knight around the same age and social order in the pyramids were about the same. When it came to how their armour was like they were very similar they. Samurai armor had small iron scales that were tied together,lacquered,and then they were pounded into armor plates with silk or they could also have leather cords on them there helmet blows were usually made out of 8 to 12 iron plates and then 5-piece neck guards the armor they wore had four parts, but samurai never wore armor on their right arm so that they could draw their weapons faster the only thing about the samurai armor was

Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today