Samurai
...They enjoyed a quick rise to power with an equally quick drop to normal society. There undying devotion to there leaders honor, and even more importantly there own, set them apart from any other society. There rise to power, there code of life, there perfected technology, and there sharp downfall are all part of the great reign of the samurai.
The first appearance of the Japanese warrior was during the Heian era (794-1185), they were called bushi. Bushi were assigned to guard the emperor and came to be known as saburai. By the thirteenth century, hereditary warriors, officials serving princes, court ministers, and other persons of high rank, were called saburai. Saburai originally referred only to the higher class of warriors and court officials. Eventually it was changed to samurai to make it easier to pronounce. War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled much of the country. Each clan had its own head; made up of related families. The chiefs were the decendents of Japan's imperial family. The wars were usually about land. To make things worse, only 20% of the land was fit for farming. The struggle for control of that land eventually gave rise to the Samurai. The Samurai rose out of these continuing battles for land among three main clans: the Minamoto, the Fujiwara and the Taira. The Samurai eventually earned there own class between the 9th and 12th centuries A.D. They were called by two names: Samurai (knights-retainers) and Bushi (warriors). Some of them were related to the ruling class. Others were hired men. They gave complete loyalty to their Daimyo (feudal landowners) and received land and position in return. Each Daimyo used his Samurai to protect his land and to expand his power and rights to more land. a system of shugo or "guards" was later established for all of the districts and provinces as a means of keeping order....
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