Turnbull - The Samurai

In spite of all the emphasis in Heike Monogatari (The Tale of the Heike) on individual heroics and single combat, many of the battles of the Gempei War were won by setting fire to a building and then attacking the defenders as they ran out.

The samurai were the legendary warriors of old Japan who led noble and violent lives governed by the demands of honour, personal integrity and loyalty. They are defined in the modern imagination by the deadly swords that they carried and their famous code: bushido, the way of the warrior. But their martial prowess was just one facet of the lives of these iconic fighters. This book goes beyond the battlefield to explore all aspects of samurai life, throwing light on their home lives, religious and social background as well as cultural accomplishments. It provides a romp through samurai history, from the origins of the warrior class to its abolition in the 19th century. In other words, it presents a brief history of the samurai from swords to suits, from top-knots to top hats.

ANCESTORS OF THE SAMURAI

Ancient Japan was dominated by several rival clans, but by AD 400 one had emerged triumphant in the struggle. The name by which the victors are known to history is Yamato, and they are key figures because the Yamato rulers are the ancestors of the Japanese imperial line.

We know very little about the historical processes that took place to give power to the Yamato state, although many pointers have been gleaned from archaeology. Instead the origins of the imperial line are contained in some very colourful legends written down as a series of creation myths when the emperor system had become well established. They are preserved as the Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Events) of AD 712 and the Nihongi (The Chronicles of Japan) of AD 720. These legends of gods and heroes tell us nothing of wars between tribesmen or of one clan dominating the others. Such activities have to be inferred from tales of gods slaying serpents in distant lands. The best-known myth, and the one that is fundamental to understanding the cult of the emperor which retained its power through the ages even to the 20th century, tells how Amaterasu the sun goddess founded the Japanese imperial line when she sent her grandson down from heaven to rule the land of luxuriant rice fields.

Many challenges were made by rival uji (the ancient clans) against the dominance assumed by the Yamato rulers. All were ultimately unsuccessful and, by the 7th century, the imperial line felt sufficiently secure to introduce far-reaching legislative changes for Japan. The Taika reforms of 646 were an ambitious set of edicts that sought to curtail any remaining power possessed by the surviving clans by making all of Japan subject to the emperor. One of the first tasks of the reforms was to establish Japans first permanent capital city. This was achieved after a couple of false starts at Nara in 710. Buddhism, introduced to Japan two centuries earlier, flourished in the settled conditions of Nara. The government of Japan, like the design of the capital itself, was modelled on Tang China, and for some time the combination of the two provided a stable society.