1. Who were the samurai? Who did they serve?

2. Remember Feudalism?
To complete this graph we need to add the social class that sat at the bottom of Japanese society. Do you remember what class that was?

3. Respect the Samurai
Samurai warriors became a central part of Japanese society
They had special privileges and the common people had to treat them with respect
Anyone who disrespected a samurai could be killed!

4. Samurai no-no’s There were some things samurai weren’t supposed to do
For example
They couldn’t attend certain types of entertainment, such as theater because it was considered beneath them
They also couldn’t take part in trade or commerce

5. Samurai Law Code The samurai lived by a law code called Bushido
Bushido means “the way of the warrior”
Both men and women from samurai families had to follow the code

6. Seven Codes of Bushido Veracity Justice Honor Bravery Politeness
Benevolence
Loyalty

7. How Samurai Lived Samurai had to be brave and honorable fighters
Men and women learned to fight
Samurai were expected to live simple, disciplined lives
They believed that self-discipline made them better warriors
Which type of Buddhism stressed self-discipline?

8. Self-Discipline & Samurai
To improve self-discipline Samurai practiced activities that took great concentration like
Arranging flowers
Growing miniature Bonsai trees
Meditation and Zen Buddhism

9. Loyalty
More than anything else- Bushido required a samurai to be loyal to his lord
Each samurai had to obey his lord’s orders immediately, even if it meant the samurai or his family would suffer!

10. Honor Obeying his lord was important to the samurai’s sense of honor
Honor was the most important thing in a samurai’s life
If a samurai did anything to lose honor he was expected to commit suicide to avoid shame
Shame could be caused by disobeying an order, losing a fight or failing to protect the lord

11. Seppuku The suicide ritual that samurai followed is called seppuku
This is what happened:
Seppuku--or hara-kiri (belly slicing)--is when a samurai stabs a knife into his abdomen and disembowels himself by cutting out his guts. After the samurai disembowels himself another samurai, usually a kinsman or friend, slices his head off. Committing suicide in this way was considered an act of true honor.

12. Bushido Today
The way of the samurai continues to influence Japan today
For example
Dedication and discipline are still valued
Loyalty and honor are very important
Look at page 215 in your textbook