The Samurai With its roots sinking in the dim legends, Japanese history dates back thousands of years. Since almost prehistorical era their islands were inhabited by hunters, fishermen and farmers. However, with the invention of rice cultivation and introducing the ownership of land, people used to live in clans which tended to struggle among themselves. During centuries this led to development of mystery class of feudal warriors – the samurai. ¨ History - central role of war in the history of Japan - not only did it concern warring clans inside Japan, but also foray on Korean peninsula - the campaigns led to the importation of Korean and Chinese culture, technology and martial arts F warriors of that era fought on foot with bows, stabbing swords and spears; armour was sparse - ~400 AD – the Japps learnt how to mount a horse during battle à boosted the dynamic development of battle skills – - (1) with the invention of stirrups it has become easy to shoot arrows fighting on horse - (2) another improvement was watched from Emishi – northern barbarians – their curved swords seemed much better suited to slicing cuts inflicted from horseback. Therefore the Japanese tachi, which had previously been modelled on the continental sword, was revised for the same effect. At that time (VIII cent.), the historical model of classical Jap warrior has been formed. The term ‘samurai’, meaning “those who serve” came into use. Vowing faithfulness to the shogun and serving the divine Emperor they became the most courageous and fiercest warriors known ever. The Samurai eventually became a class between 9th and 12th centuries AD.
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