Samurai, member of the Japanese warrior caste. The term samurai was originally used to denote the aristocratic warriors, but it came to apply to all the members of the warrior class that rose to power in the 12th century and dominated the Japanese government until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

Samurai were an elite class of Japanese warriors who performed military service for nobles. They were well-trained and highly skilled at riding horses and using the bow and sword. They wore particular armour and followed a code of honour known as bushido.

The samurai, members of a powerful military caste in feudal Japan, began as provincial warriors before rising to power in the 12th century with the beginning of the country’s first military...

Learn about the history, culture and lifestyle of the samurai, the warriors of premodern Japan. Explore samurai-related attractions such as castles, districts, mansions, museums and experiences.

Learn about the origins, culture, and legacy of the samurai, Japan’s feudal elite who lived by a strict code of honor. Discover the samurai’s distinctive attire, weapons, battles, and historical sites in Kamakura and Kyoto.

Samurai were a class of highly skilled warriors that arose in Japan after the Taika reforms of A.D. 646, which included land redistribution and heavy new taxes meant to support an elaborate Chinese-style empire. The reforms forced many small farmers to sell their land and work as tenant farmers.

For more than 800 years, the samurai helped to lay the foundations of Japan's culture. Their reverence for honor, duty, and service remains ingrained in Japanese society even today.

A samurai in his armor in the 1860s. Hand-colored photograph by Felice Beato. Bushidō (武士道, "the way of the warrior") is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle, [1][2][3] formalized in the Edo period (1603–1868).

Bushidō, the code of conduct of the samurai, or bushi (warrior), class of premodern Japan. In the mid-19th century, however, the precepts of Bushidō were made the basis of ethical training for the whole society, with the emperor replacing the feudal lord, or daimyo, as the focus of loyalty and sacrifice.