Within each sonae there were several “kumi,” a group consisted of about 20~30 men. The army consisted of multiple sonae (regimen) consisting of 300~800 warriors. The samurai armies did not have one big group. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi banned the peasants from carrying swords in the 1590s, it was almost impossible for someone to become a samurai. ![]() However, in the warring states period, some talented peasants eventually became samurais. In the Edo era, samurai’s life was ruled by the shogunate, therefore the only way to become a samurai was to be born in the samurai family, adopted by a samurai family with the permission of authorities, or get married to a samurai. Some become office workers, bankers, military or police officers Therefore, the samurais lost their jobs and tried to find new jobs. The annual salary of the samurai (3 tons of rice) was suspended, their land was confiscated and they were prohibited from carrying arms and armors. In the 1870s the han system (the feudal clan system) was abolished, and the ken (the local government system) was installed. They also never brag about having the samurai blood because in today’s society it’s been considered a bit irrelevant. Although more than 5% of the Japanese population can trace their lineage to the samurai families, they are ordinary citizens with ordinary jobs who don’t carry a sword and who don’t know how to use a sword.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |