Database: Education of Samurai Children

In a kakun (family teaching precepts) from mid-16th century, the Tako Tokitaka kakun, it is clearly stated that a warrior's child (a boy) must first master letters, reading, writing missives, and calligraphy. In ancient Japan, having poor handwriting was a source of mockery. Additionally, a variety of other activities were taught including: archery, horseback riding, arithmetic, elements of medicine, poetry, singing, playing the flute and tambourine, ball games, basket weaving, flower arranging, the art of war, and sumo to name a few. Learning literature was prioritized even among young warriors. Despite the very warlike atmosphere of the 1óth century, education was not solely focused on combat and war. In another family document, it is noted that the child had a teacher for letters, martial arts, and a Buddhism teacher who mainly taught morality. Each warrior family had its own rules and teachings.

In samurai families, children learned to read and write at home (under the father's authority); however, increasingly learning was children the basics of writing, reading, and arithmetic with classes differentiated by age—7–8 years, 9–10 years, 11–13 years. Reading was learned from the Analects of Confucius. There was a large amount of moral teaching (encouraging good, denouncing evil) according to Confucian criteria (filial piety, respect for rites, honesty and sincerity, etc.) along with instruction on manners related to politeness practices (how to greet properly, for example), singing, and religious education. For wealthier families, education was often provided by private tutors. From the age of 13–15, when boys knew how to ride horses, hunting became an important activity as it was understood to be training for war. At the end of the 16th century, the first schools for combat training appeared. For girls, they were taught to follow the standards of court nobility from the Heian period. They were to work on their posture, and the focus was solely on the education of letters (writing, poetry, calligraphy, etc.) and the arts (mainly singing and musical instruments). Around the ages of 13–15, warrior girls sometimes attended lectures on Chinese and Japanese poetry.