Friday, February 22, 2013

About Samurai

I'm baffled by the ignorance of most of people (especially the people I know) about Samurai meaning. This is just a reminder for you who don't really know the difference. A light reading perhaps.


A Samurai warrior in armor 
(The photo is under Wikimedia Commons)
A Samurai is a person.

Noun
A member of a powerful military caste in feudal Japan, esp. a member of the class of military retainers of the daimyos (Japanese pre-modern territorial lords).

Most of people I know refer Samurai as the sword. Well, not completely true. Even though, in those days, a Samurai always brought the sword(s), and "became one" with the weapon(s), not necessarily means that the person is the sword.

If you pick a Samurai to cut a watermelon, that would be so hilarious. Imagine, literally, you pick up a man, then use him to splice a watermelon.

Then, the meaning broadened. Because of the loyalty, dedication and the strict honor system they had for serving their masters (the daimyos), Samurai, in this modern age, also means "an honorable spirit". A person who never leaves his/her job undone. The word itself has the essence of Bushido (literally means, the way of the warrior).


The swords.

The Japanese culture has many kinds of swords ( nihontō -日本刀).

The blades - the long ones : Katana - the short ones : Wakizashi
(The photo is under Wikimedia Commons)

Uchigatana
(The photo is under Wikimedia Commons)


And there's a lot more, complicated, and sophisticated blades and weapons traditionally made in Japan. Even the components of the sword and the housing have detailed names. I can't remember them all.
For further reading, you can find out more from earlier written article on Wikipedia.

Probably, the most famous kind in Western world is Katana.

So, there you go. A short reminder from me.

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