Knight vs Samurai Essay

The Significance of Sakamoto Ryoma Sakamoto Ryoma, born in 1835 and died in 1867, was an anti-tokugawa samurai who revolutionarily influenced not only the nation but, societal beliefs, values, cultural behaviours, political endeavours and Japan itself. The significance of his legacy continues to inspire and express the importance of equality and pride for the country he belonged to. His outspoken actions and decisions throughout his life go on to modify modern day Japanese society and make him…

Heiji Scroll The scene depicted in the first segment is surely about a battle that occurred in the ancient Japanese society. The people in the scroll are dressed up, ready for battle with thick armoury and weapons. However not everyone are riding on horses, this could be due to the ranking of the warriors. Therefore only the people of the highest ranks could receive a horse, and even so the colour of the horse is different among them, so perhaps it would be easier to distinguish who was the…

Start of A Revolution – Japan The end of violence and the start of a new beginning for Japan… 11th February 2016 – Keshna Jeyandrabalan Clearing up the fog in the atmosphere, Japan has found its new beginning after many years of war. The Sengoku period or also known as the Warring States period (1467-1573), involved violent wars in which certain daimyos wanted a whole empire. This was known as the ‘Onion War’, where the daimyos overpowered the shoguns and the shoguns had no control over the…

The definition given for chuushin gishi in the class materials was, “the loyal and righteous knight” who sacrifices all, including his life, for loyalty. According the slides, this sacrifice will make them worthy of being “worshipped posthumously”. This goal of the 47 retainers for their master, and themselves, drives them. While the Confucian ideology can be found throughout the Chushingura, and the samurai, culture, it is a picked over ideology. Important parts that put a “human touch” to…

in History at Boston University says, “The earliest Japanese writings about ninjas depict them as the opposite of the noble samurai.” (“Why Americans Became Obsessed With Ninjas” np) In the 12th century during early, feudal Japan, a higher class of Japanese people began to gain power. These people were samurai. This is when ninjas were most active as they were fighting samurai oppression. Ninjas remained a prominent part of life until the beginning of the Edo Period in Japan. This period began…

accomplish as many things, as the shuriken. As many don’t know yet, but the Shuriken has influenced many of the present day actions. This handheld weapon was unique and important at its time. In the past, samurais and ninjas had weapons that could be used in close combat only, such as swords. Samurais always carried katanas, wakizashi, and tachi. Ninjas carried a similar sword to the Katana known as the Ninjatō. The introduction of the Shuriken brought a unique way of fighting effectively with…

Akira Kurosawa was born in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan on March 23, 1910 and died September 6, 1998 at the age of 88 of a stroke. Kurosawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who to this day is regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa began his journey in the Japanese film industry in 1936, after a brief pursuit of painting. Kurosawa debut as a directer after many years of working on films as an assistant director and scriptwriter, with his…

Japan, 1963, the city of Sayama, Saitama prefecture; a gruesome murder is committed involving two sisters. Japan, 1988, the city of Tokorozawa, Saitama prefecture; the setting of a beloved children’s film starring two sisters. There have been several instances of speculation regarding the movie, many viewers wondering if there were any correlations between the murder case and the movie. Fan theories spread like wildfire through the internet, calling Totoro a ‘God of Death’ and a ‘grim reaper’.…

They were all treated with much respect, except for the Ronin (Articles, 2014). The Shogun had the most power, and just below the Shoguns, were the Daimyos, and then the Samurais, and below the Samurais were the Ronin. They all had different amounts of power, and different degrees of respect given to each (Feudal Japan, 2014). Shogun – The Shogun was a political and military leader, and the most powerful of the system throughout the…

Japan’s isolationist policy, and peace that were established by the Tokugawa shogunate eventually led to a highly prosperous merchant class. Regarded as the lowest rank in the social hierarchy, some of the townspeople were even more affluent than the samurai, who occupied the highest status. In addition to this, there was an increased literacy rate among all the classes. The merchants thus sought to learn about elegant pastimes, such as the tea ceremony, dance, and theater, with their increased…