The Samurai

Paper Summary:

The paper states that the Samurai were an aristocratic warrior class that emerged in Japan during the 12th-century wars between the Taira and Minamoto clans which were consolidated during the Tokugawa period. The paper notes that the impact of this warrior class on Japanese culture and society has been profound, and in some ways, it has even influenced the outcome of world history in the 20th century. This paper provides a review of the relevant literature to determine who the samurai were, and what influence they had on Japanese culture over the centuries. A summary of the research and salient findings are presented in the conclusion.

Outline;
Introduction
Review and Discussion

From the Paper:

"The samurai also influenced the very nature of Japanese society itself prior to national unification in ways that would persist to the present day. In this regard, Thomas reports that, "During the unsettled era before national unification, the arts created liminal arenas, or mu'en, where contacts made across class boundaries hinted at the possibility of a more equal society. Indeed, these medieval horizontal alliances would have had the potential to generate a more democratic tradition of self-government in Japan had their autonomy not been swept away at the end of the sixteenth century with the consolidation of the samurai class" (Thomas 491). In fact, the modern Japanese state can be said to have been the result of the spirit of nationalism that the samurai managed to engender in the Japanese people."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Lebra, Takie Sugiyama and William P. Lebra. - Japanese Culture and Behavior: Selected Readings. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986.
• Rodeghier, Kathy. (2001, February 4). "Day in Tokyo Offers Glimpse of Edo Culture." Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL):8.
• "Samurai." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
• Smith, Robert J. and Richard K. Beardsley. Japanese Culture: Its Development and Characteristics. Chicago: Aldine Publishing, 1962.
• Thomas, Julia Adeney. (2005). "Bonds of Civility: Aesthetic Networks and the Political Origins of Japanese Culture." Pacific Affairs 78(3):491.

More papers on The Samurai:

• Analytical Essay # 130824 : "The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan" and Social Order"
• Book Review # 100620 : "Yasushi Inoue's "The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan"
• Book Review # 145711 : "Christianity and Japan -Shusaku Endo's The Samurai"
• Book Review # 101255 : "The Samurai"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: