Introduction Samurai have long captured the Western imagination. From a long and proud mil- itary tradition dating back to the tenth ­century, the samurai have gone through numerous changes and ­today have come to symbolize many ­things for modern Japa­ nese and the rest of the world. The earliest samurai, or bushi, ­ were provincial fighters who performed essen- tial military ser­vices for aristocratic families and the imperial court, in Kyoto. Their po­liti­cal role gradually increased, and at the end of the twelfth ­century Minamoto Yoritomo established a military-­based government, the Kamakura shogunate (1185–1333), in eastern Japan that coexisted with the government of the imperial court in central Japan. From early on, samurai developed a strong sense of identity as professional warriors, one that was characterized by a “cult of honor.” Known at this time as ­ either the “way of the ­ horse and bow” or “the way of the bow and arrow,” this ethos reflected their identity as mounted warriors whose primary weapon was the bow. A second military government (the Ashikaga shogunate, 1336–1573) succeeded the first, but central authority broke down during the Warring States period (1467–1568). During this time in par­ tic ­ u ­ lar samurai ­ were not known for their loy- alty. On the contrary, they ­ were renown for treachery and lawlessness—­whatever it took, including betraying their overlords, to advance their own ­ causes. In this harsh climate, hundreds of warlords or daimyo, served by armies of landed samu- rai retainers, fought to expand their control of local resources. Waging a war of attrition during the late sixteenth ­century, three power­ful daimyo or warlords came to dominate the landscape of Japan, one ­after the other. The first, Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582), waged a violent and relentless military cam- paign to pacify the realm, unifying nearly one-­half of the country before he was betrayed by a close vassal and died at Honnôji ­temple in Kyoto, likely taking his own life by seppuku (“cutting open the belly,” a type of ritual suicide) before the ­ temple went up in flames. Picking up his overlord’s mantle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) was able to build on Nobunaga’s efforts and by 1590 extend po­ liti ­ cal control across the entire realm. His death without a mature heir led to a military strug­ gle for power that culminated in the ­ Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, one of the largest ­battles in global history, in which more than 150,000 samurai and other men fought. Three years ­ later, the victorious general, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616), was
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