Uncover the truth of samurai
The samurai was a peculiarly Japanese and somewhat eccentric type of human-beings who played a military role in Japanese history for almost ten hundred years. They allegedly said, "You get any closer and my sword cuts off your head." Was it true? Were they simply a gang of bandits targeting defenseless villages in medieval times?
Or were they a fine set of men who served loyally to their lords even at the risk of their own lives and behaved nicely with the full understanding of "the spirit of noblesse oblige"?
This website, 47SAMURAI, intends to help you learn the truth of samurai, their ingenious creed of life, and their unique customs and manners.
It is not true that the samurai has its origin in armed farmers or local strong men in the Heian period (794~1185). The leaders of large samurai groups were descendants of the military court nobles who had played a major role in the war against local rebels and the pirates coming from overseas.
Each samurai group was composed of family members, hereditary servants, hired soldiers, allied groups, and other samurai groups of various sizes that they brought under control. While maintaining strong connections to the central government with the emperor at the top, the group leaders gathered strength gradually in every part of Japan as the lord.
Thus, the samurai were not liberators of the people at all, but a new breed of ruler. Their wars should be seen as power struggle within the ruling class in a large sense, and one man finally succeeded in establishing a firm military government in Edo (present-day Tokyo) by defeating military competitors and bringing the court nobles in Kyoto under his control. In the deadly history of armed struggle, the samurai fostered the spirit of self-reliance and fighting spirit, as well as moral values based on the preparedness for death.
The webmaster tries to cut to the heart of the samurai by exploring the samurai's way of life called bushido, the period of the warring states, covert agents called ninja, and others as showcased above.
The Phantom of Sengoku, a supernatural existence --dry and grumpy at times-- will help me for this project from time to time in the manner shown below.
Bushido? Hagakure? Forget it. It's nonsense spewed in the ages when they've run out of real samurai.
--The Phantom of Sengoku--
News Update
- June 11. 2014
- News
- Webmaster starts tweeting.
- June 10. 2014
- News
- Five monthy presents were uploaded. Try your luck and get rare samurai and Japanese goods!
- June 9. 2014
- News
- The website, 47Samurai.com, was born and made open to the samurai lovers in the world.
