The Historical Development of the Warrior Class in Japan

This lecture surveys the history of the Japanese “samurai” warrior class, beginning with its origins around the 12th century and going right up to its abolition in 1877. It takes a slightly unusual approach by looking at the development of these warriors alongside the history of their weapons, with an emphasis on the rise of the Japanese sword relative to the bow. Sources quoted and consulted in preparing this lecture, and suggested further reading: Conlan, Thomas Donald. State of War: The Violent Order of Fourteenth-Century Japan. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 2003. Farris, William Wayne. Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan’s Military, 500-1300. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995. Friday, Karl F. Hired Swords: The Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1992. Friday, Karl F. Samurai, Warfare & the State in Early Medieval Japan. New York: Routledge, 2004. Hurst, G. Cameron III. Armed Martial Arts of Japan: Swordsmanship and Archery. New Hav