The word samurai comes from a term meaning "one who serves" and refers to the loyalty to military groups that developed around the 10th century to protect and expand their provincial domains. They had a profound influence on the military and political state of the country, but also created their own noble courts and became major patrons of the arts.
In 1185, after years of civil war, the Minamoto Yoritomo warrior clan defeated their enemies, the Taira. In 1192, the emperor appointed Yoritomo as the supreme warlord - Shōgun (Seii Tai Shōgun - Barbarian Conquering General). The ruling military elite was expected not only to master the arts of war, but also to acquire literary and administrative skills. samurai armors Many older samurai were well versed in poetry, were patrons of painters and sculptors, and frequented literary salons hosted by imperial court nobles and monks.
However, rival daimyo (regional warlords) fought to expand their territories, and Japan was soon plunged into civil war. This lasted until 1615, when the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated the last of his enemies and Japan was finally united under one powerful family. A military capital was established in Edo, today's Tokyo. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, codes of conduct developed around the Japanese tradition of absolute loyalty and willingness to die for one's master. This led to the development of Bushidō – The Way of the Warrior – whereby samurai maintained their moral and military values through training with the sword.
Many samurai looked back on their military past, and illustrations of great heroes, both real and legendary, were popular subjects for the growing number of woodblock prints that were available to the public at the time.
By the 19th century, the samurai had completely lost their original function, and pressure was mounting to remove them from power and restore the emperor to full power. In 1868, fighting between Tokugawa forces and the Imperial Army took place around Kyoto; The Tokugawa were defeated and an imperial restoration was announced. The status of the samurai was abolished by a series of measures, culminating in the Haitōrei Edict of 1876, which ended the privilege of carrying swords, the weapons that were central to the samurai's authority.
Armor
In the 12th century, battles were mostly fought by cavalry with the bow and sword as the main weapons. The armor evolved into the flexible Ō-yoroi - "Great Harness" where protection from arrows was a priority. The cuirass was made up of lamellar plates joined together in a flexible manner with the upper part a solid plate providing increased protection. The front of the cuirass was covered with leather to prevent the bowstring from snagging on the plates. Two shoulder pieces fell into position when the arms were raised and protected the exposed underarm area; two smaller plates on the chest protected the armor attachment; the skirt was also made of joined elastic panels that protected the thighs and lower abdomen. The arms were protected by mail gloves with hard plates attached for added defense.
