Author Topic: History of the Samurai  (Read 2536 times)

hubag bohol

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History of the Samurai
« on: August 08, 2013, 08:42:11 PM »
History of the Samurai
By Kallie Szczepanski, About.com Guide
http://asianhistory.about.com/





The Origin of the Samurai:

The samurai, a class of highly skilled warriors, gradually developed in Japan after the Taika reforms of 646 A.D. The reforms included land redistribution and heavy new taxes, meant to support an elaborate Chinese-style empire. As a result, many small farmers had to sell their land and work as tenant farmers.

Meanwhile, a few large landholders amassed power and wealth, creating a feudal system similar to medieval Europe's. This top-heavy system proved unwieldy, and crumbled within a few centuries.

As in Europe, the new feudal lords needed warriors to defend their riches. Thus, the samurai warrior (or "bushi") was born.

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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2013, 08:43:23 PM »
Early Feudal Era Samurai:

Some samurai were relatives of the landowners, while others were simply hired swords. The samurai code emphasized loyalty to one's master, even over family loyalty. History shows that the most loyal samurai were usually family members or financial dependents of their lords.

In the 900s, the weak emperors of the Heian Dynasty (794-1185) lost control of rural Japan. The country was riven by revolt; the emperor soon wielded power only within the capital. Across the country, the warrior class moved in to fill the power vacuum.

By 1100, the samurai effectively held both military and political power over much of Japan.

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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2013, 08:44:12 PM »
End of the Heian Era / Rise of Samurai Rule:

The weak imperial line received a fatal blow to its power in 1156, when Emperor Toba died without a clear successor. His sons, Sutoku and Go-Shirakawa, fought for control in a civil war called the Hogen Rebellion.

In the end, both would-be emperors lost; the imperial office lost all its remaining power.

During this civil war, the Minamoto and Taira samurai clans rose to prominence. They fought one another in the Heiji Rebellion of 1160. After their victory, the Taira established the first samurai-led government, or shogunate, with the emperor as a figurehead.

The defeated Minamoto were banished from the capital at Kyoto.

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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2013, 08:46:56 PM »


Yoritomo Minamoto (1147 - 1199) , after he defeated the ruling Taira Clan and ushered in the Kamakura period and the rule of the Minamoto Shogunate.
http://www.historyoffighting.com/

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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2013, 08:48:53 PM »
Kamakura Period:

The two clans fought once more in the Genpei War (1180-1185), which ended in victory for the Minamoto.

Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura Shogunate, which ruled much of Japan until 1333. While the Kamakura were powerful, they never conquered northern and western areas of the country. The shoguns also faced periodic resistance from other samurai clans.

In 1268, an external threat appeared. Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler of Yuan China, demanded tribute from Japan. Kyoto refused. The Mongols invaded in 1274 with 600 ships, but a typhoon destroyed their armada. A second invasion fleet in 1281 met the same fate.

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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2013, 08:51:05 PM »
Fall of the Kamakura / Early Muromachi (Ashikaga) Period:

Despite such incredible help from nature, the Mongol attacks cost the Kamakura dearly.

Unable to offer land or riches to the samurai leaders who rallied to Japan's defense, the weakened shogun faced a challenge from Emperor Go-Daigo in 1318. The emperor was exiled in 1331, but returned and overthrew the Shogunate in 1333.

This Kemmu Restoration of imperial power lasted only three years.

In 1336, the Ashikaga Shogunate under Ashikaga Takauji reasserted samurai rule, but it was weaker than the Kamakura had been. Regional constables called "daimyo" developed considerable power, meddling in the shogunate's succession.

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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #6 on: August 08, 2013, 08:54:18 PM »
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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #7 on: August 08, 2013, 08:56:32 PM »
Later Muromachi Period:

By 1460, the daimyo were ignoring orders from the shogun, and backing different successors to the imperial throne. When the shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, resigned in 1464, a dispute between backers of his younger brother and his son ignited even more intense bickering among the daimyo.

In 1467, this squabbling erupted into the decade-long Onin War. Thousands died, and Kyoto was burned to the ground.

The Onin War led directly to Japan's "Warring States Period," or Sengoku. Between 1467 and 1573, various daimyo led their clans in a fight for national dominance. Nearly all of the provinces were engulfed in the fighting.

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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #8 on: August 08, 2013, 08:58:06 PM »
Azuchi-Momoyama Period / Restoration of Order:

The Warring States Period began to draw to a close in 1568, when the warlord Oda Nobunaga defeated three other powerful daimyo, marched into Kyoto, and had his favorite, Yoshiaki, installed as shogun.

Nobunaga spent the next 14 years subduing other rival daimyo, and quelling rebellions by fractious Buddhist monks.

His grand Azuchi Castle, constructed between 1576 and 1579, became of symbol of Japanese reunification.

In 1582, Nobunaga was assassinated by one of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide. Hideyoshi, another general, finished the unification and ruled as kampaku (regent).

Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592 and 1597.

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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #10 on: August 08, 2013, 09:07:15 PM »
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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #11 on: August 08, 2013, 09:08:22 PM »
Tokugawa Shogunate (Edo Period):

Hideyoshi had exiled the large Tokugawa clan from the area around Kyoto to the Kanto region in western Japan. The Taiko died in 1598, and by 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu had conquered the other western daimyo from his castle stronghold at Edo (the future Tokyo).

Ieyasu's son, Hidetada, became shogun of the unified country in 1605, ushering in about 250 years of relative peace and stability for Japan.

The strong Tokugawa shoguns domesticated the samurai, forcing them to either serve their lords in the cities, or give up their swords and farm. This transformed the warriors into a hereditary class of cultured bureaucrats.

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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #12 on: August 08, 2013, 09:13:51 PM »
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Re: History of the Samurai
« Reply #13 on: August 08, 2013, 09:18:22 PM »
Meiji Restoration and the Decline of the Samurai:

In 1868, the Meiji Restoration signaled the beginning of the end for the samurai.

The Meiji system of constitutional monarchy included such democratic reforms as term limits for public office and popular balloting. With public support, the Meiji Emperor did away with the samurai, reduced the power of the daimyo, and moved the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo.

The new government created a conscripted army in 1873; many of the officers were drawn from the ranks of former samurai.

In 1877, angry ex-samurai revolted against the Meiji in the Satsuma Rebellion; they lost the Battle of Shiroyama, and the era of the samurai was over.

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