The Samurai and the Bushido Code Essay -- Japan, Elite Warriors, Bushi

The samurai were à ©lite warriors in Japan during the 1200’s to the early 1700’s. Fifth century Japan saw conflicts with Korea and China, but Japan had a very untrained army, with a clumsy Calvary, and poor infantry men (Blumberg 1). The reason was that horses were seen as a burden and were never bred to be strong, fast, and large for war purposes (Blumberg 2). In the 6th and 9th centuries, a series of rebellions in Japan began from the Emishi people of the northern home islands; these country people were very well-trained in mounted archery. The nimble Emishi would defeat the Japanese riders with ease (Blumberg 2). But during the war against the Emishi, Japan learned to breed horses for fighting, adapted new fighting methods, and developed new weapons. They replaced the slow, straight-sword with two curved blades that were faster and lighter. For the next 350 years, infantry was replaced with mounted archers, and we start to see the 13th century samurai form (Blumber g 3). The Bushido Code, the code that all samurai follow, helped form medieval Japan. The warrior class and ruling class in the 13th century to the 17th century were known as the samurai (Clark 1). The samurai were skilled in archery, swordsmanship, horseback riding, and martial arts: the ability to kill with their bare hands (Clark 2). The two swords that the samurai used were the katana, a curved, medium-sized blade used for two-handed combat, and the wakizashi, a dagger or small-bladed weapon for thrusting (Blumberg 7). The samurai specialized in mounted archery as well. They had a medium sized, very flexible bow that made firing arrows from a horse easier. With Japan's newly trained and bred horses, along with the discipline of the samurai, it made for an uns... ... the enemy's foot soldiers were close, the samurai would dismount and use their swords (Blumberg 9). That would change in the 15th century when the Chinese started to use an early version of the musket. The Japanese then had to change their fighting techniques to use spears so as not to have to dismount their horses. This was useful, since they could charge without stop, allowing them more time in between the Chinese gunfire (Blumberg 12). The Bushido Code has been around since the 13th century and is the way of the samurai. The samurai was a powerful ruling class and warrior class in medieval Japan. The samurai were powerful warriors with great respect and ethics for their country. They impacted modern Japan by passing on the high ethical and moral standards still recognized today, and it is the reason why Japan is one of the friendliest countries in the world.