I recently watched a movie on dvd called The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise and Watanabe Ken.  It wasn’t too bad, and it rekindled my admiration for the samurai (さむらい) code.  First off, what is a samurai (さむらい)?  A samurai (さむらい) is a swordsman of noble rank.  The samurai (さむらい) class was actually created to serve and protect the lords.  If the lord was pleased with the samurai’s (さむらい) loyalty, the samurai (さむらい) could receive his own castle!

In many old lores, samurais (さむらい) are heroes who fight to protect the weak.  The idea of an honor code in which a samurai (さむらい) must abide by is Bushido (ぶしどう).  The honor code is what makes up a great part of the lore around samurai (さむらい) tales.  The general rules of Bushido (ぶしどう) stress loyalty to one’s lord, dedication to swordsmanship, and maintaining one’s honor until death.

The samurai (さむらい) class were really big on swords. (Sorry for stating the obvious!).  Many of the samurais (さむらい) had two swords.  The bigger sword was called the katana (かたな) and used to slaughter other people.  The smaller sword is the wakizashi (わきざし) and used upon oneself to commit seppuku (せつぷく).  (What an organized way of killing!)  Seppuku (せつぷく) is a form of ritual suicide where the samurai plunges a wakizashi (わきざし) into his stomach.  Sometimes after a defeat in battle, a samurai (さむらい) would be able to keep his dignity by committing seppuku (せつぷく).  You might ask, why not take some poison and die that way?  Well back in those days dying a tortuous death was considered brave and honorable of a samurai (さむらい).

Not all samurais (さむらい) were men of honor.  Some had violent tempers and were feared for their use of the sword as a means to solve problems.  Sure, we all have someone we dislike at work, but most people wouldn’t go and lop their co-worker’s head off for an off-hand remark.  The unpredictability of a samurai (さむらい) wielding a sword and the desire for peace led to the downfall of the samurai (さむらい).  In the Meji (めじ) era, carrying a sword was forbidden and the class of samurai (さむらい) slowly died out.

Whatever you think of the samurai (さむらい) past, the samurai (さむらい) are here to stay.  There are more movies, books, anime (アニメ) on samurai (さむらい) now than there ever have been, and it will probably continue to be so forever.