Database: Samurai

"Samurai" comes from an ancient Japanese term "saburafu," meaning "to escort" or "to serve a nobleman of the court" (wherever he goes). It became synonymous with "bushi," which means "warrior," and "skilled with weapons and in waging war." The bushi class had significant provincial power during the 10th and 11th centuries and were de facto rulers of the common people until they officially ceased to exist in the 1870s after the Meiji Revolution.

There was some diversity within the bushi or samurai class, with an aristocracy primarily composed of ancient lineages, surrounded by vassals in their service with more common warriors scattered throughout the countryside at the head of their domains. Some of these low-ranking warriors, also known as dogō or jizamurai, formed leagues (ikki) to keep peace in given areas.

The Sengoku daimyō (feudal lords) built up small, well-organized fiefdoms that heralded the regional wars of the 16th century. These lords implemented reforms that were codified under Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and then Ieyasu. The goal was to turn warriors into administrators of a lord's domain by requiring them to live in castle towns, at the foot of the castles, the jōkamachi. By the early 17th century, the warrior class had been effectively transformed into an administrative class. Warriors who used to live in small manors among the peasants found themselves serving as officials with no direct connection to their land. This new power structure took a couple of generations to stabilize, ultimately resulting in a thriving economy and lasting peace.