Speaker John Hopwood is going to give us a fascinating talk on the Samurai of Japan.  We have had Ying and Yang of Living in Japan in Travellers Tales, and will have a talk on Autumn Colours of Japan, so we are definitely going to know a lot about the land of the rising sun!

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early modern Japan from the late 12th century to their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the Diamyo (the great feudal landholders). They had high prestige and special privileges such as wearing two swords.

They cultivated the bushido codes of martial virtues which included indifference to pain, and unflinching loyalty, engaging in many local battles. The samurai truly emerged during the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from c.1185–1333. They became the ruling political class, with significant power but also significant responsibility. During the 13th century, the samurai proved themselves as adept warriors against two massive invasions by the enormous invading armies of Kublai Khan’s Mongol empire.

Many female samurai warriors distinguished themselves in fierce battles.

The samurai were eventually disbanded in 1876 when the ruling Shogun decided that he should cede his authority to the emperor.