About the Book
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 165. Chapters: Miyamoto Musashi, Bushido, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese armour, It Hirobumi, Saig -no-Tsubone, tani Yoshitsugu, Chiba Takusabur, Yagy Munetoshi, T g Heihachir, Matsudaira Katamori, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, Sait Hajime, Seki Takakazu, Itagaki Taisuke, Okita S ji, Saig Takamori, Yamagata Aritomo, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, Sakamoto Ry ma, kuma Shigenobu, Tomb of Minamoto no Yoritomo, Serizawa Kamo, Hayashi Narinaga, Hattori Hanz, ta D kan, Tachibana Muneshige, Sanada Yukimura, Enomoto Takeaki, Yamamoto Gonnohy e, Sasaki Kojir, Matsukata Masayoshi, Takasugi Shinsaku, Kuroda Kiyotaka, R nin, Ashikaga Tadayoshi, Kat Kiyomasa, Saig Tsugumichi, kubo Toshimichi, Egawa Hidetatsu, Kido Takayoshi, Watanabe no Tsuna, Inaba Masanari, Sakai Tadatsugu, Yamakawa Hiroshi, Takamine Hideo, Shibusawa Eiichi, Abe clan, Honda Tadakatsu, Inoue Kaoru, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, Yodo-dono, Matsudaira Yorinori, tori Keisuke, Harada Sanosuke, Takeda Kanry sai, Takashima Sh han, Dewa Shiget, Katsu Kaish, Yagy J bei Mitsuyoshi, Kintar, Akiyama Nobutomo, Kamimura Hikonoj, Nitta Yoshisada, Got Sh jir, Ogasawara Tadazane, Gam Ujisato, Asakura Yoshikage, Tatsumi Naofumi, Ito Sukeyuki, Nagai Naoyuki, Akechi Mitsuhide, Tsuboi K z, Ijuin Gor, Shiba Gor, tomo S rin, Shinagawa Yajir, Inoue Yoshika, Kawakami Gensai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Soejima Taneomi, Arichi Shinanojo, Naoe Kanetsugu, Yamanami Keisuke, Sasaki Takayuki, Kusunoki Masashige. Excerpt: Samurai ) were the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany persons in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility," the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai. According to Wilson, an early reference to the word "samurai" appears in the Kokin Wakash (905-914), the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the first part of the 10th century. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi ( ), and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as bushid . While they numbered less than 10% of Japan's population samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts. Iron helmet and armor with gilt bronze decoration, Kofun era, 5th century. Tokyo National Museum.Following the Battle of Hakusukinoe against Tang China and Silla in 663 AD that led to a Japanese retreat from Korean affairs, Japan underwent widespread reform. One of the most important was that of the Taika Reform, issued by Prince Naka no e (Emperor Tenji) in 646 AD. This edict allowed the Japanese aristocracy to adopt the Tang Dynasty political structure, bureaucracy, culture, religion, and philosophy. As part of the Taih Code, of 702 AD, and the later Y r Code, the population was required to report regularly for census, a precursor for national conscription. With an understanding of how the population was distributed, Emperor Mommu introduced the law whereby 1 in 3-4 adult males was drafted into the national military. These soldiers were required to supply their own weapons, and in return were exempted from duties and taxes.
