History of the Samurai
Welcome to the history of the samurai! Before we dive into the early provincial warriors of Japan, I'd love to know what aspects of their legacy you find most fascinating.
Their martial traditions and legendary battles
I'm thrilled to dive into this with you! Since you're fascinated by their combat history, we're going to start at the very beginning—long before they were the elite rulers of Japan.
To understand who the actually were, we have to look at their original name: the bushi class. In Japanese, bushi translates directly to "warrior," while samurai comes from the verb saburau, which means "to serve."
From the very beginning, their identity was defined by this dual nature: they were ultimate martial specialists, but their entire existence was rooted in service to a master.
bushi
noun
The historical Japanese term for a professional warrior or member of the military class, forming the root of martial arts philosophy.
Because we're in Student Mode, let's kick things off with a quick check to see how this opening concept lands. Which of these best captures the literal meaning of the word samurai?