Samurai Influence On Japanese Art

No other tribe in the history may have gained such an epic image that Samurai people got who had been featured in a large number of comic books, plays and movies. That military people lived in the feudal Japan before centuries are still living in the hearts of hundreds of people today without regard to adults or children.

History of the Samurai art cannot be explained without referring to the history of the Samurai tribe. The governance system that existed in Japan in 12th century was denominated as Shogunate and the ruler was known as Shogun. At that time, Japan was suffering a lot from frequent struggles between the then existed powerful clans named Taira and Minamoto.

The daimyo were the second in command in the hierarchy of the Shogunate. This position was similar to that of dukes in Europe. The Samurai class was then the soldiers of a daimyo. Ronin is the name given to a Samurai that did not have a master. This happens when their master is forced to commit suicide.

The Samurai caste had many privileges which was not granted for the common people. They were licensed to carry two swords while the common people were restricted from carrying any. They were even allowed to kill any ordinary citizen who came to hurt them.

The Samurai tribe itself was categorized into three classes – the administrators who were known as housemen, soldiers who were permitted to fight on horse back named mounted Samurai and the foot soldiers.

Eventually this Samurai life underwent many changes and now most of their descendants are farmers living in castles. Depending upon their ranks, they were authorized for a certain percentage of the rice tax also. Samurai followed some moral doctrines which were mainly established over the obedience to the leader who was known as Daimyo. This code of Samurai life is known as Bushido, which means the way of warrior.

A strange custom of committing suicide named Suppuku existed among them. They believed it as a honourable way of death and was performed at the battle field or outside the battle as a formal function. Gradually, the age of battles came to an end and the Samurai class dissolved in the mainstream of the Japanese life.

The Samurai chronicles have become world-renowned because of their heroism and the impacts they made in the Japanese history in addition to the fame they accomplished through various types of media. The fact that this type of a tribe existed in the history and the code of life they adopted still remain implausible for the modern world.

The Samurai life had a great impact on the Japanese art of those times because of the power and position they possessed in the society. Their life, history and culture had been depicted in the Japanese art works with all the fascination. These arts catch the attention of everyone including those who are not at all familiar with the Japanese way of life.