The role of the samurai in peacetime declined gradually over this period, but two factors led to the end of samurai: the urbanization of Japan and the end of isolationism. As more and more Japanese moved to the cities, fewer farmers produced the rice needed to feed the growing population.
As modern militaries emerged in the 19th century, the samurai were rendered increasingly obsolete and very expensive to maintain compared to the average conscript soldier. The Meiji Restoration ended their feudal roles, and they moved into professional and entrepreneurial roles.
By the late 12th century, samurai lords ruled both the provinces and central Japan. They maintained their influence until the mid-1870's when the samurai class was outlawed and their privileged status was dissolved.
The samurai would dominate Japanese government and society until the Meiji Restoration of 1868 led to the abolition of the feudal system. Despite being deprived of their traditional privileges, many of the samurai would enter the elite ranks of politics and industry in modern Japan.
The samurai were defeated by the Imperial Army on September 24, 1877. Battle of Shiroyama Summary: Having risen up against the repression of the traditional samurai lifestyle and social structure, the samurai of Satsuma fought a series of battles on the Japanese island of Kyushu in 1877.
Saigo Takamori of Japan is known as the Last Samurai, who lived from 1828 to 1877 and is remembered to this day as the epitome of bushido, the samurai code.
Beaten back by government forces in battles across Kyūshū, the army made a final stand at Shiroyama in Kagoshima. Saigō committed suicide after his soldiers were defeated. He was 49.
To many Japanese, it seemed that Japan would always be the villain of Asia. Therefore, many audience members watched the Last Samurai as a foreign movie that reminded them that not all people outside Japan saw their past in a negative light.
The samurai warriors do not exist today. It is illegal to carry swords and arms in Japan. However, the cultural legacy of the samurai exists today. The descendants of the samurai families also exist today.
In addition to forming the new Japanese military, ex-samurai also became civil servants, teachers, merchants, and even farmers. Sonoda calls it “a self-transformation from samurai estate to modern office holder.” Most were more than willing to cut off their distinctive topknots and join the bourgeoisie.
Saigō and his remaining forces withdrew to caves on Shiroyama, which overlooked Kagoshima Bay, where Saigō was killed on 24 September 1877.
As a result, lords paid their samurai with land, gifts, or food. Samurai who received no land were given food—usually rice— or other gifts as payment. Only the most powerful samurai got land for their service. Most of these powerful samurai didn't live on the land they received, because they were training and fighting.
Although samurai no longer exist, the influence of these great warriors still manifests itself deeply in Japanese culture and samurai heritage can be seen all over Japan - be it a great castle, a carefully planned garden, or beautifully preserved samurai residences.
In fact, samurai were compelled to exercise violence in certain circumstances in order to maintain their honour and position as retainers in the daimyo's political organisation, his retainer band.
They were honorable within their own culture's conception of honor. The values of medieval Japan, including the code of bushido, might not be considered right or honorable to other cultures, but samurai were expected to strictly uphold those values. Those who did not were generally asked to commit seppuku.
There were various reasons for the Satsuma Rebellion's failure, including inferior weaponry, insufficient manpower, and an outdated warrior ethos.
The Last Samurai is a 2003 epic period action drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz from a story devised by Logan.
Set in Japan during the 1870s, The Last Samurai tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a respected American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare.
Eventually Saigō and his final remaining samurai were encircled and annihilated at the Battle of Shiroyama. Saigō's death brought the Satsuma Rebellion to an end.
The samurai would rule over Japan for most of the next 700 years. During the chaotic era of warring states in the 15th and 16th centuries, Japan splintered into dozens of independent states constantly at war with one another. Consequently, warriors were in high demand.
The other most well-known reason a samurai might go through with this act was as a form of capital punishment. A warrior who made a grievous error, lost a battle, or otherwise failed his daimyo, might be ordered to commit hara-kiri as atonement.
Although still allowed to wear the two swords emblematic of their social position, most samurai were forced to become civil bureaucrats or take up some trade during the 250 years of peace that prevailed under the Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship).
The conscript army had defeated the samurai; never again would the government fear local uprisings or samurai threats. If the great Saigō could not win, no one else would be foolhardy enough to try. But in a broader sense, Saigō probably emerged the victor.
Aside from representations in cinema, very few actual photographs depicting the lives of these legendary warriors exist today. This due in part to the fact that photography was an emerging technology during the 19th century, a time of swift political change in Japan that saw dwindling numbers of samurai.
1. Tsukahara Bokuden. Bokuden famously fought in 19 duels and 37 battles and came out alive and complete undefeated, allowing only a natural death to take him down. He garnered a reputation as one of the most deadly samurai warriors during the Warring States Period.