What Did A Samurai Wear?

Although samurai and knights are very similar, they are two very different types of warriors. Samurai protected and served the shogun, while knights protected the peasants and served their monarch. In this essay I will be comparing the code of Bushido and the code of Chivalry, the purpose of Samurai and Knights, and their views of women.

From approximately 1000 - 1600 CE, knights in Europe and samurai in Japan were the professional warrior class. In Europe, the knight wore obscenely heavy armor and used large swords. In Japan, they wore a little bit lighter armor and used the famed samurai sword. To start off, The similarities outweigh the differences between the samurai and the knights.

Samurai were the warriors of japan who were known for their skills as warriors . The samurai date all the way back to the heian period.The samurai were the protectors of the emperors in japan and the land around it.

The medieval period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century, which was a time of war, destruction and death. Knights and Samurai were two highly ranked warriors during the Medieval period. Knights were highly skilled warriors, who were brave and noble who fought to protect their kingdom. The life of a Medieval Knight was a preferable life than a Samurai because Knights had no punishment for not following the code of Chivalry and were more protected in battle. A Knights protective armour, experienced training, well-paid finances and code of conduct are what made a Knight so successful.

In school, they learned of the Kendo, which is fencing with bamboo sticks, the moral code of the samurai, and their religion, Zen Buddhism. Their code of conduct, the Bushido, demanded that a samurai must hold his loyalty, courage, honesty, compassion, and honor. According to The Way of the Samurai by Yamaga Soko, “Within his [samurai] heart he keeps to the ways of peace, but without he keeps his weapons ready for use.” As stated before, samurais have a much lighter armor. This is mainly due to They have an opening on their right arm in order for them to draw their bows faster and

The samurai were a powerful warrior class in Japan, and were very skilled with a sword. Samurai used swords and were trained very well to do many things such as fire a bow while on horseback. The samurai practiced Buddhism, which is a religion that taught people to respect the world to reach enlightenment. When the samurai disobeyed The Bushido Code, they committed Seppuku, which is ritual suicide for the samurai. Japanese culture was influenced by the samurai warrior class.

The major periods that shaped Japan’s history and future were the Heian-era of Aristocracy and the Kamakura period of Samurai. The Heian-era and the Kamakura period are interesting because of their differences in social structure, tradition, and culture. In the Heian era, the aristocrat’s social class was sought by many because of their social and cultural status. When the warrior rise in the Kamakura age the social classes change dramatically between aristocrat and warrior. The Heian-era (794-1191) was an age of self development in Japan’s culture and tradition. Before the Heian-era, Japan

“In modern movies and comic books, ninjas are portrayed in all-black clothing, with only their eyes showing. Actual ninjas wore navy blue for night operations. Usually, however, they dressed to blend in with their targets”(History). Clothing was important to the ninja, but something even more important to the ninja was his/her weapons. They had a few main

First of all, the armor of the knights and samurai were pretty similar but still had differences. In the 1200’s, knights wore chainmail but that came to a stop because of crossbows and longbows. Knights began to wear complete suits of plate armor made of metal and weighing 40 to 60 pounds. Even their horses wore armor. Now for the samurai’s armor. Samurai armor had small iron scales that were tied together, lacquered, and then bound into armor plates with silk or leather cords(Doc.D.) The body armor had four parts. Also they didn’t wear armor on their right arm so they could

Yuzan Daidoji, Oscar Ratti, and Thomas Cleary. The Code of the Samurai. Boston: Tuttle, 1999. 10-44.

Imagine seeing a man in Japan fighting with a katana. This man was a samurai. A samurai was a professionally trained warrior in feudal Japan.These samurais worked for their daimyo or the Shogun. They were hired to protect them, their family, and land. Samurais were hardworking and respectful to everyone. When samurais are in battle they win and do not lose.

The first way samurais would have an advantage is their armor. In document D written by the DBQ Project it states “The helmet bowl was made of 8-12 iron plates. This gives them the upper hand because they had more head protection, this allows them to take more blows to the head. Another piece of evidence that supports my claim is in document D written by the DBQ Project it says “Below it was a 5 piece neck guard”. Their neck protection is probably one of the most important place to protect because one hit to the neck can paralyze them or kill them. Although armor is important, there are more subjects that could lead them to victory.

The first way that samurais have an advantage is armor. In document d written by Terry Bennett it says “A Knight’s armor could weigh 40 to 60 pounds.” This would give knights a disadvantage because they would not be able to move fast or dodge, so samurai could beat them. Another piece of evidence that supports the claim is also in document d it says “Samurai did not wear armor on their right arm so they could easily draw their bow.” Most

The samurai, or bushi (warrior), are well-trained cavalrymen that serve a particular lord. The first recorded history of the samurai was about the 9th century A.D. At that time the capitol of Japan was Kamakura, a military installation. Japan was ruled by an emperor who controlled his empire through the use of shoguns. Shoguns were generals that ruled over

Have you ever seen a TV show or a movie about Samurai? Have you ever seen someone dressed up as a Samurai, or read a book with one in it? Maybe you just have a vague idea in the back of your head. Well, guess what? That definition or example, you may think is a Samurai is probably only a small taste of what the calm yet strong warriors were like. Samurai were not only the fearless fighters that we may think of at first, in fact, they were educated, controlled, loyal, and well prepared people. To create a broader picture and to ensure that we don’t create stereotypes about samurai and the people of Japan in general, this PSA was created. The purpose of the different gradation of the various illustrations was to emphasize the middle illustration