2006-08-10 14:38:43 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Early origins of samurai would probably be somewhere around the 6th or 7th centuries AD, with the more organized/modern groups beginning in the Heian period (9th and 10th centuries AD) and rising until the Meiji era in the mid-1800's.
The samurai class ended with Meiji reform in the late 1800's.
2006-08-10 16:07:06 · answer #1 · answered by Cat 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Up until the 19th century when Japan started to modernize. If you've ever seen "The Last Samurai" with Tom Cruise, it's probably accurate in the sense that when weaponry started modernizing in Japan (from a military standpoint), there wasn't a need for samurais anymore and the sword became.....well, outdated.
2006-08-11 00:12:55 · answer #2 · answered by chrstnwrtr 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Up until the 1890's.
The end of the Samurai & Feudal law coincided with The Meiji Era (from 1893).
Samurai were active for hundreds of years, documentation dates back to before the Edo Era in the 1600s.
A little vague on dates - but I have to go to work! I'll update later!
2006-08-10 21:47:23 · answer #3 · answered by chocolette 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The activity of the Japanese samurai warriors came into existence in the 12th century when two powerful Japanese clans fought bitter wars against each other - the Taira and the Minamato. It has been active till 1603.
2006-08-11 05:27:08 · answer #4 · answered by ♥ lani s 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They roughly began in the 12th century as armed soldiers as opposed to the peasant class
They became of great importance in the 14th during the warring state period - hired by landowners to protect their land
During the Tokugawa reign samurai were seen as the highest class and were tied to their castle towns
During the Meiji period they became more akin to bureaucrats
2006-08-11 11:37:53 · answer #5 · answered by smiling 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Read ShoGun. Great historical fiction.
2006-08-10 21:47:01 · answer #6 · answered by sharone 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋