irectly on the battlefield, but instead defended homes and villagers against invaders.
The manner in which a samurai died was important, suicide being preferred rather than humiliation at the hands of the enemy, if they could not fall in battle or there was a danger of being captured, the samurai warrior chose ritual suicide called seppuku.
After the unification of Japan under one emperor over the feudal warlord system, the samurai was required less frequently; but they continued to train daily. As townspeople gained wealth, the samurai was barred from commerce activities and so without being paid for services in war, peace became despairing. Some samurai became rogues, called Ronan, which meant they served no master and were for hire.
Samurai distinguished themselves in society by their hair styling with long hair pulled back and tied in a knot called a chomage. Often samurai would shave the top of their heads, which reduced the heat from their heavy helmets with their hair hanging straight on the sides. When not wearing helmets, their hair was tied into the chomage.
Samaria’s clothing was important and indicated their status in society. Colorful patterns or outlandish styling was considered immodest and a sign of conceit. Daily clothing consisted of the kimono, usually of an inner and outer layer normally made of silk and heavier material in winter weather. Beneath the kimono, the samurai wore a loincloth called a fundoshi. Sandals (waraji) or wooden clogs (geta) were the preferred footwear. Samurai sometimes wore socks, especially in the cold season.
Samurai swords were kept in a belt wrapped around the waist and always worn on the left side. Samurai always had two swords, a long sword called katana and a short sword (wakizashi) that were made by legendary Japanese sword smiths who developed sword making into an art. They wanted sharp edges but unbreakable, steel being the metallurgical element, it was difficult to achieve. The sword smith had to solve the problem of hard steel that has a sharp edge is brittle and steel that doesn’t break is soft steel but does not hold a sharp edge. So they took four metal bars, two hard and two soft steel, heating them together at a high temperature, hammering together into a long rectangular bar becoming the sword blade. The sword smith then ground and honed a razor-sharp edge, the soft layer of steel ensuring it wouldn’t break.
During the golden age of the samurai between the 13th and 17th centuries, the Samurai sword was valued as art and master craftsman Muramasa was said to have forged a sword so sharp that when held upright in a flowing stream the edge cut a dead leaf in two as the current pushed it against the blade. The wakizashi was the samurai’s soul sword, which a bushi (warrior) would take the head of an honored opponent after killing him or use it to disembowel his self in the act of seppuku (hara-kiri) and his second (kaishaku) would cut off the samurai’s head to end the pain quickly.
Sometimes the katana was carried slung on the samurai’s back and the short sword belted on the left side.
One of the most renowned swordsmen, famous for fighting with two swords at once, Miyamoto Musashi, wrote in his book The Book of Five Rings:
The science of martial arts for warriors requires construction of various weapons and understanding the properties of the weapons. A member of a warrior family who does not learn to use weapons and understand the specific advantages of each weapon would seem to be somewhat uncultivated.
Samurai in training would learn the correct method of drawing and using the sword, as written in Hagakure by Tsunetomo Yamamoto in 1716:
If you cut by standing firm and not missing the chance, you will do well.
The five basic blows used in Kenjutsu, used today in kendo are from top to bottom; left to right; right to left; side to side; and a straight thrust aimed at the throat. As Musashi wrote:
If we know the path of the sword well, we can wield it easily.
Zen Buddhism was deeply embedded in the education of a samurai, imported from China. Applied to the mastery 