What Is a Samurai?
Samurai, a member of the Japanese warrior caste. The term samurai was originally used to denote the aristocratic warriors (bushi), but it came to apply to all the members of the warrior class that rose to power in the 12th century and dominated the Japanese government until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The only way to become a samurai was to be born into the samurai family, adopted into a samurai family or to be accepted into a samurai family by marriage.
Samurai Weapons
During the samurai era they had many different weapons which varied form tanto, naginata, wakizashi but the main weapons that samurai used were katana long, katana were long single edged bladed.
The Final Samurai
The last known samurai was Saigo Takamori who was born in the 1820s he was a hero to many in Japan until the 1870 when the accounts of his subordinates claim that he stood up and committed seppuku after his injury or that he requested that his friend Beppu Shinsuke assisted his suicide by slicing his head off.
Tanto knife
The tanto was originally designed as a weapon, but over time it evolved into a versatile utility knife used for various cutting tasks. Naginata A Japanese blade with a long wooden handle that you hold the weapon with. Many samurai use this blade to batter, stab, or hook an opponent. Yari A japanese spear like weapon that samurai used as an effective and cheap means of arming the ever-expanding armies of foot soldiers.
Samurai Armour
Samurai used the armour for protection; the crescent on the top was so that allies could tell who you were. The reason for the oni mask was to intimidate the foe making it easier to strike them down.
How Samurai regain honor
Before samurai are killed they pull out their tanto blade and either stab their stomach or slice their neck. Samurai commit this act to regain honor they have lost from being badly injured. Some samurai cant come to do it themselves so they either get a fellow ally to do it or the enemy does it for them and they can’t regain their honor they lost.