All That You Wanted to Know About Japanese Samurai Art
Samurai stories are world-renowned and there are an overwhelming number of movies, plays and books that illustrate Samurai and related fictions. Really Samurai is the name of a strong military caste that existed in feudal Japan. Same as the stories about them, their real history is also enchanting for everyone irrespective of age.
To understand the development of Samurai art we must first realize how this warrior class came into being. It was in the 12th century when Japan was stifled in conflicts between two powerful local clans known as the Taira and the Minamato. It was during this time that the Japanese system of governance known as Shogunate with the Shogun on top was formed.
The second powerful position in the Shogunate was Daimyo, which was much the same as the rank of Dukes in Europe. Samurai were the warriors of Daimyo. Usually each Samurai had a master and if he misses one because of the compelled martyrdom of his master, he was named Ronin.
The Samurai class had many special rights. Unlike the common people who were not allowed to carry any weapons with them the Samurai was allowed to carry two swords with them. They even had the right to behead any commoner who happened to offend them.
The Samurai caste included three classes, housemen, mounted Samurai and foot soldiers. The first class was of administrators and the mounted Samurai had the permission to mount horses when fighting with enemies.
Over the years the role of the Samurai changed as they now became independent farmers who were restricted to the castles. They were also entitled to a certain percentage of the rice tax depending on their ranks. The code of ethics followed by the Samurai class was known as Bushido which meant the way of the warrior. It was based around loyalty towards their leader called the daimyo.
A strange practice of committing suicide known as Suppuku existed among them. They considered it as a noble way of death and was performed at the battle field or outside the battle as a formal function. Gradually, the age of battles came to an end and the Samurai class dissolved in the mainstream of the Japanese life.
The Samurai chronicles have become world-renowned because of their bravery and the influences they made in the Japanese history in addition to the fame they received through various types of media. The fact that this type of a caste existed in the earth and the code of life they followed still remain unbelievable for the modern world.
The Samurai life had a great influence on the Japanese art of those times because of the power and position they possessed in the society. Their life, history and culture had been illustrated in the Japanese art works with all the fascination. These arts catch the attention of everyone including those who are not at all acquainted with the Japanese way of life.
Japanese Samurai artwork is an important part of the warrior creed in Japan. To learn more about ancient Japanese tattoo art please click on the links.
