The Art of War in Living Color: Forgotten Images of The Samurai
June 5, 2024
Samurai Ō-yoroi: The Gold Standard in Feudal Armor
Celebrated for millennia as the gold standard for living honorable and disciplined lives, the samurai of Japan have long captured the public's imagination. But is the popular narrative about the stoic warriors fact or fiction? What separated a samurai from others?
What did they wear when not in armor? What did they do in times of peace? Did they marry and have kids or live monastic lives?
Below, we explore fascinating details about samurai life. So, if you want to learn interesting facts about one of the world's most iconic warriors, join us as we take an illustrated journey through the samurai experience.
Classic samurai images, like the one above, often feature warriors in the caste’s iconic armor.
Samurai battle gear could be as intricate as personal tastes dictated. However, most armors featured five main parts: a kabuto, dou, kusazari, kote, and haro. A kabuto is a helmet; a dou is torso armor; a kusazuri is a leg guard; a kote is an arm and hand guard; and a haro is a back cloak that defends against arrows shot from behind. All components were made from leather and other fabrics in the earliest years. Over the years, however, metals took over.
Samurai: Life Off the Battlefield
Samurai are revered in the annals of military history. Their discipline and ingenuity were legendary, and the noble warriors still serve as a model for intelligent and honorable living. But people may not know that samurai had a lot of downtime. After all, wars came and went. So, what did samurai do when they weren’t on the battlefield? Like most of us, they worked and spent time with friends and families. Additionally, the average samurai took on tasks assigned by his lord or farmed the fields. Notably, most samurai weren’t monks, and they could get married.
This image depicts two samurai wearing everyday clothes of the Edo period. How can you differentiate the men in the image from common farmers of the time? For starters, the gentleman on the left is holding a jingasa, a type of hat favored by samurai.
Furthermore, both men have their hair in a chonmage, the preferred samurai hairstyle of the Edo era. Warriors shaved the top of their heads but kept enough side hair for a tied-up ponytail. Not only did it distinguish samurai from other people, but the chonmage had a practical purpose: It helped keep helmets steadier atop the head.
Celebrate the Samurai Way: Samurai Originated Many Traditional Japanese Ceremonies
Samurai loved rituals and invented the tea ceremony, or chanoyu, for which the Japanese remain famous today. A performance of samurai values, the service emphasizes harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility.
Another significant samurai ceremony was seppuku — also known as harakiri — a ritual suicide performed to maintain honor or avoid capture. Though gruesome, it was considered an act of courage and loyalty and preserved one’s integrity in the face of defeat or dishonor. Another formalized event, the “Musha Shugyō,” involved rigorous training to hone skills, gain experience, and seek enlightenment.
Overall, samurai ceremonies were not just rituals but reflections of the group’s stoic ethos and principles.
Beyond the Katana: Samurai Weaponry
If you have a passing knowledge of samurai life, you’re likely familiar with the katana — the sword most associated with the warrior caste. Though individual fighters favored katanas for decades before the samurai’s dawn, members officially began using them during the Kamakura era, which lasted from 1185 to 1333.
But samurai weaponry went far beyond the katana. Bows and arrows were a samurai staple, as were guns in the later years. Most samurai also had a coterie of bladed armaments, including small daggers known as tantos and tachis, which were more curved and slightly longer than katanas.
Other popular samurai sword styles were the ōdachi and nagamaki. The former featured a blade length of around 36 inches; the latter measured anywhere between 25 and 55 inches.
The Sartorial Samurai: A Warrior’s Guide to Dressing
Clothing played a big part in samurai life, and they donned different ensembles depending on the season and circumstances. Despite the diversity in fashion, nearly every samurai style featured a pair of hakama — a wide-legged trouser garment tied at the waist that fell to the ankles. There were two types of hakama for men: umanori hakama, which fit like pants, and andon hakama, which fit like a skirt.
The gentleman in the above picture is sporting a kamishimo — an everyday Samurai outfit during the Edo period that consisted of a kimono, hakama, and a sleeveless jacket with big shoulders called a kataginu. Another notable samurai garment is the nagabakama. They looked similar to kamishimos but featured long trains — sometimes up to 2 feet in both directions. Since nagabakamas were so cumbersome, walking in them was extremely difficult.
Why did they wear clothing that was nearly impossible to navigate? Ultimately, it was a practical and profound sign of respect. Samurai wore them when visiting shoguns or high lords to signal they weren’t there to attack or assassinate.
Samurai Headgear: Helmets and Hats of Honor
The Japanese kabuto — or helmet — gets a lot of attention, but it wasn’t the only headgear in a samurai’s sartorial arsenal. Like the gentleman in this picture, off-duty warriors often wrapped their heads.
It’s also believed that the famed Japanese headband known as a hachimaki has its roots in samurai life. Today, they’re worn as symbols of courage or effort. Historians contend that feudal warriors started the headband tradition for practical reasons. They wrapped their heads with cloth before putting on metal helmets. Not only did it add a layer of protection to avoid cuts, but it soaked up sweat before reaching the eyes.
Spanning the Centuries: Samurai Longevity and Technological Revolution
Samurais held sway in Japanese society for nearly 700 years. In the early days of the samurai, Japan was essentially an isolated region, Europe was knee-deep in the Dark Ages, and Marco Polo hadn’t even thought about exploring the Orient.
But by the end of the samurai era, firearms, incandescent light bulbs, telephones, and automobiles had all appeared on the global stage. Remarkably, the Wright Brothers took flight only 20 years after the last samurai.
The Samurai Way: Understanding Bushido
A large part of the samurai mystique is the unwavering behavioral rules they adhered to, which served as the structural scaffolding for their lives. Though samurai never committed their conduct principles to paper, in 1900, renowned Japanese scholar Nitobe Inazo published a book entitled “Bushido: The Soul of Japan.”
Inazo’s literary work was the first to describe samurai culture to a Western audience. It explained the eight tenets of the warrior caste’s code: rectitude and justice, courage, benevolence and mercy, politeness, honesty and sincerity, honor, loyalty, and self-control.
Samurai War Fans: More Than Just Temperature Control
This picture evokes the soul of the samurai caste. Not only were they formidable fighters, but they also valued the idea of grace. As such, it makes sense that samurai war accouterment featured fans. The two main types of fans used in warfare were the sensu and gunbai.
Sensu fans are folded and typically made of paper. Commanders used them as directional devices that helped orchestrate troop formations. Gunbai fans are larger than sensu ones and were only carried by high-ranking officers as authoritative symbols. They were usually made of metal or wood, and warlords customized their designs. These days, sumo wrestling referees use gunbai fans.
Also, note the pictured samurai’s footwear. He’s wearing tabis, traditional thonged socks, and zaris, the accompanying thonged sandals. But don’t associate these old-world flip-flops with casual attire. In feudal Japan, this footwear was considered the height of formality.
The Stages of the Samurai: The Evolution and Demise of a Class
The term samurai was originally only used for aristocratic warriors. Over time, however, the definition grew to encompass the entire class. Membership rules followed a similar arch: Only higher-born men could join the ranks at the dawn of the samurai age. But in short order, merit became the ultimate measure; rich or poor, all one had to do to qualify was prove themselves exceptional in battle.
Historically, samurai in Japan evolved from a legion of mounted warriors who served as provincial guards during the Heian period from 794 to 1185. From 1185 to 1333, samurais gained prominence as the ruling military class under the shogunate system during the Kamakura period. At this time, their role expanded beyond military service to include administrative responsibilities and cultural patronage.
The years between 1336 and 1573, known as the Muromachi period, were marked by inter-samurai conflicts, leading to the rise of powerful warlords and the establishment of a decentralized feudal system. Things settled down in the Edo period, from 1603 to 1868, under the Tokugawa shogunate when samurais became bureaucrats and guardians of social order. However, the Meiji Restoration of 1868 ultimately demolished the samurai class as Japan moved toward modernization.
