Who were the samurai? Who did they serve?

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?

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!

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

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

Seven Codes of Bushido Veracity Justice Honor Bravery Politeness Benevolence Loyalty

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?

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

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!

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

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.

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