Samurai

history · Japan · warriors

Pro warriors. Samurai were professional fighters who served lords as loyal retainers in old Japan, long before factories and machines.

Three big skills. Their main martial arts were swordsmanship, archery, and horsemanship, skills that took many years to truly master.

Weapon rights. For much of Japanese history, only samurai were even allowed to own these weapons, setting them apart from ordinary soldiers.

Not just fighters. They also studied literature, calligraphy, and Confucian philosophy, since many worked as bureaucrats under the shoguns.

Trained from young. Coming from warrior families, samurai began private training as children, making them far more skilled than militia given only days of practice.