The samurai's swords were normally thrust through an "obi," a belt wrapped around the waist, and were always worn on the left side. When indoors, the samurai would remove his long sword, but he was always armed with some form of weaponry. Outside the home, the samurai wore a two-piece costume called a "kamishimo" over the kimono. The upper piece was a sleeveless jacket with exaggerated shoulders. On the lower part of their body, samurai wore wide flowing trousers called "hakama. A samurai going to town for pleasure would often hide his face with a hat often one shaped like a basket to avoid being recognized just in case he was disobeying any rules.
The shoguns and daimyo lords were members of the shimin caste. Samurai warriors were at the top of the social order. The Gempei War pitted two of these great clans—the dominant Taira and the Minamoto—against each other in a struggle for control of the Japanese state.
The war ended when one of the most famous samurai heroes in Japanese history, Minamoto Yoshitsune, led his clan to victory against the Taira near the village of Dan-no-ura. The triumphant leader Minamoto Yoritomo—half-brother of Yoshitsune, whom he drove into exile—established the center of government at Kamakura.
The establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate, a hereditary military dictatorship, shifted all real political power in Japan to the samurai. Zen Buddhism , introduced into Japan from China around this time, held a great appeal for many samurai. Also during the Kamakura period, the sword came to have a great significance in samurai culture. The strain of defeating two Mongol invasions at the end of the 13th century weakened the Kamakura Shogunate, which fell to a rebellion led by Ashikaga Takauji.
The Ashikaga Shogunate, centered in Kyoto, began around For the next two centuries, Japan was in a near-constant state of conflict between its feuding territorial clans. After the particularly divisive Onin War of , the Ashikaga shoguns ceased to be effective, and feudal Japan lacked a strong central authority; local lords and their samurai stepped in to a greater extent to maintain law and order.
Despite the political unrest, this period—known as the Muromachi after the district of that name in Kyoto—saw considerable economic expansion in Japan. It was also a golden age for Japanese art, as the samurai culture came under the growing influence of Zen Buddhism. In addition to such now-famous Japanese art forms as the tea ceremony, rock gardens and flower arranging, theater and painting also flourished during the Muromachi period.
This period ushered in a year-long stretch of peace and prosperity in Japan, and for the first time the samurai took on the responsibility of governing through civil means rather than through military force. This relatively conservative faith, with its emphasis on loyalty and duty, eclipsed Buddhism during the Tokugawa period as the dominant religion of the samurai.
It was during this period that the principles of bushido emerged as a general code of conduct for Japanese people in general. Though bushido varied under the influences of Buddhist and Confucian thought, its warrior spirit remained constant, including an emphasis on military skills and fearlessness in the face of an enemy. Samurai heritage Japan is proud of its warriors of the past and the way of the warrior can be found all over this beautiful country, be it visiting one the great castles that bore witness to many a bloody battle, experiencing a festival with its origins in samurai culture; visiting the grounds of great samurai battles in history or a pilgrimage to the small cave where Musashi wrote The Book of Five Rings.
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One final thing to ask! It is a beautiful example of a high-ranked samurai mansion. The two-storied Seisonkaku Villa adjacent to Kenrokuen Garden was built by the local lord for his mother towards the end of the feudal era. It is one of the most elegant preserved samurai villas in Japan. The Aizu Bukeyashiki is the large former mansion complex of a high ranked local samurai family.
Mannequins displayed in typical scenes of daily life make this mansion a particularly good place to get an idea about samurai lifestyle. Noto Peninsula. This residence on the rural Noto Peninsula served as the home of the Kita family who administered local villages on behalf of the feudal lord.
It includes a spacious main residence, a unique entrance gate and a museum. See the Nikko Edomura page for admission details. Located in Kinugawa , Nikko Edomura is the best among Japan's history theme parks. The park consists of a recreated Edo Period town populated by townspeople, samurai and ninja in period costumes. The park offers a variety of traditional stage performance, comedy and ninja shows, as well as museums, shops and restaurants.
Shima Peninsula. See the Ninja Kingdom Ise page for admission details. This history theme park in Ise is set during the Azuchi-Momoyama Period and consists of a castle town at the base of a replica of Azuchi Castle. It features a small ninja museum, trick maze, various shops and restaurants, as well as traditional entertainment and live ninja shows.
Hours: to until November to March Closed: A few days in winter for maintenance Admission: yen. Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura is another history theme park that features town life during the Edo Period. It is located in Noboribetsu , Hokkaido. Like the theme parks listed above, it offers several attractions, shows, shops and restaurants amid a town populated by townspeople in period costume, but it is smaller in size than the other two.
See the Toei Uzumasa Eigamura page for admission details. Toei Uzumasa Eigamura is a film set and historical theme park in Kyoto.
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