Etymology |
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The term "Samurai" is of Chinese origin and translates in both Chinese and Japanese as "those who serve in close attendance to nobility." In Japanese, it was originally pronounced in the pre-Heian period as "saburau" and later to "saburai". In Japanese literature, there is an early reference to samurai in the Kokinshu (early 10th century).
The word bushi (武士) (lit. "warrior or armsman") first appears in a early history of Japan called Shoku Nihongi (797 A.D.). In a portion of the book covering the year 723 A.D., Shoku Nihongi states: "Literary men and Warriors are they whom the nation values". The term bushi is of Chinese origin and adds to the indigenous Japanese words for "warrior": Tsuwamono and Mononofu. The terms "bushi" and "samurai" became synonymous near the end of the 12th century, according to William Scott Wilson in his book Ideals of the Samurai--Writings of Japanese Warriors. Wilson's book thoroughly explores the origins of the word "warrior" in Japanese history as well as the Kanji (Chinese symbols) used to represent the word. Wilson states that Bushi actually translates as "a man who has the ability to keep the peace, either by literary or military means, but predominantly by the latter." It was not until the early modern period, namely the Azuchi-Momoyama period and early Edo period of the late 16th and early 17th centuries that the word saburai became replaced with samurai. However, the meaning had changed long before. During the era of the rule of the samurai, the earlier term yumitori (“bowman”) was also used as an honorary title of an accomplished warrior even when swordsmanship had become more important. Japanese archery (kyujutsu), is still strongly associated with the war god Hachiman. A samurai with no attachment to a clan or daimyō was called a ronin. In Japanese, the word "ronin" means "wave man", a person destined to wander aimlessly forever, like the waves in the sea. The word came to mean a samurai who was no longer in the service of a lord because his lord had died, being banished, or simply choosing to become a ronin. It was considered undesirable to be a ronin, because it meant being without a stipend from a lord, measured in "koku" of rice (180 liters; enough to feed a man for one year). Samurai in the service of the han are called hanshi. The following terms are related to samurai or the samurai tradition:
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