samurai

22 May, 2019 - 01:36 Kerry Sullivan

The Brutality and Delicacy of Samurai Armor: Superior Protection with a God-like Aesthetic

The Samurai class was officially dissolved over 150 years ago. Nonetheless, the warriors’ elaborate armor is still recognized globally as an iconic emblem of Japanese military strength and virtue...

A 300 years old scroll bearing a ninjas oath has been discovered in Japan.

3 December, 2018 - 18:59 ashley cowie

300-Year-Old Ninja Master’s Oath Alludes To The Secrets Of The Masked Deadly Assassins

Historical researchers in Japan have uncovered a rare, three centuries-old, ‘Ninja Oath’ in which one of the famed ancient warriors pledged “never to divulge the secrets” of spying, sabotage and the...

Japanese samurai warrior (brunogm / Fotolia)

30 October, 2018 - 22:02 Samurai Swords Store

Medieval Japanese Weapons Influenced Culture Long After the Middle Ages

Weapons are important instruments and are essential during wars. This was especially true regarding Japanese weapons used during the Medieval period. The wars that were fought, won, and lost impacted...

Antique Japanese daishō, the traditional pairing of two Japanese weapons which were the symbol of the samurai, showing the traditional Japanese sword cases (koshirae) and the difference in size between the katana (bottom) and the smaller wakizashi (top).

21 September, 2018 - 02:02 Samurai Swords Store

Unknown Weapons of the Samurai: The Forgotten Warrior Arsenal from Feudal Japan

The Katana sword was considered as the Samurai soul. That is why some people treat Samurai and katana as synonymous words. It is true that a Samurai and his sword is inseparable, but believe it or...

Detail of ‘The warriors Kumagai Naozane and Taira no Atsumori.’ One of the warriors is brandishing a Japanese war fan called a Tessen.

8 September, 2018 - 22:59 Samurai Swords Store

Sensu and Tessen in Combat: A Japanese Fan Became a Deadly Weapon In the Right Hands

In Ancient Japan, the Samurai utilized a wide range of weaponry other than swords, bows, and spears. These weapons were used in places where swords were not allowed to be carried, for self-defense...

28 January, 2018 - 18:55 ashley cowie

Ancient Psycho Secrets of Ninja Assassins

Ninjas or shinobi ("to sneak”) have become kings of popular culture and their acrobatic trained-killer antics have been featured in hundreds of movies and television series. These deadly mercenary...

A Japanese samurai sword with Chinese script that reads "killed 107 people during the war in Nanjing, (China)" was used on Aug 18 by an attacker that slashed a military police guard at the Taiwan Presidential Palace.

19 August, 2017 - 19:01 aprilholloway

Man Steals Samurai Sword From History Museum and Launches Attack Outside Taiwan Presidential Office

A Taiwanese man stole an antique samurai sword inscribed with the words “Nanjing battle, (this sword) killed 107 people” and used it to try to break into the Presidential Office, injuring a military...

Yamamoto Kansuke, named as author in the Sword Scroll text

28 June, 2017 - 02:04 Mark Miller

Samurai Secrets Revealed: English Translation of the 500-year-old ‘Sword Scroll’ Provides Fighting Tactics Including ‘Egg Them’

A medieval samurai text recently translated into English gives many practical tips on fighting an enemy and advises all warriors to be ‘pure of heart and in balance in their spirit’. Although...

Japanese parade helmet, made from iron, gilded copper, lacquered leather, silk

3 April, 2017 - 18:57 dhwty

More Than Metal: Amazing Historical Suits of Armor

Armor was commonly used by warriors for protection during combat. In the history of warfare, various types of armor have been used. Some of these, such as the lorica segmentata of the Roman...

16 February, 2017 - 18:53 Caleb Strom

The Amazing Story of Yasuke: The Forgotten African Samurai

Samurai are among the most enduring symbols of Japanese cultural heritage, thus unsurprisingly, most samurai were Japanese. There are, however, examples of non-Japanese who became samurai as well...

29 November, 2016 - 02:25 MartiniF

Art of War: Onna Bugeisha of Japan and the Ancient Female Warrior Culture

The idea since ancient times that it was men solely who were engaged in war is so common that it has become somewhat of a cliché. The vision of heavily armed men has become so associated with the art...

24 May, 2016 - 00:43 Natalia Klimczak

Sword Guards Confirm Samurai Warriors Secretly followed Christianity

At least 48 sword guards used by samurai warriors during the feudal era belonged to hidden Christians. The artifacts are related to the early history of 16 th and 17 th century Japan, which saw the...

4 May, 2016 - 14:52 MartiniF

The Honorable Death: Samurai and Suicide in Feudal Japan

While martial suicide is a practice found in a lot of cultures, the act of seppuku , or ritual self-disembowelment, is peculiar to Japan. The earliest known acts of seppuku were the deaths of samurai...

Utagawa Kuniyoshi painted Honjō Shigenaga parrying an exploding shell.

1 May, 2016 - 14:58 dhwty

Searching for the Honjo Masamune, Lost Samurai Sword of Power

The Honjo Masamune is a sword that was forged by the renowned Japanese swordsmith, Goro Nyudo Masamune. This sword is one of the most famous swords in Japanese history, and at one point of time, even...

29 April, 2015 - 15:05 dhwty

Tomoe Gozen - A fearsome Japanese Female Warrior of the 12th Century

In most societies of the past, it was the men who were usually engaged in the bloody business of war. Nevertheless, there are also historical records of women who managed to make a name for...

17 March, 2015 - 13:32 dhwty

47 Ronin: The Samurai Warriors that Sought to Avenge the Death of their Master

The Japanese samurai are arguably among the greatest warriors known in history. Their code of conduct was romanticized and popularized at the end of the 19 th century in Bushido: The Soul of Japan, a...

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Myths & Legends

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Source: Luca Oleastri / Adobe.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Searching For a Way to the Home Planet

In contrast to many theorists, this unconventional retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens.

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

The Real Story of Medusa: Protective Powers from a Snake-Haired Gorgon

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

The Nature and Dangers of the Legendary Kobold

The Menhune of Hawaii – Ancient Race or Fictional Fairytale?

Human Origins

The Pagan Wheel of the Year: What Elaborate Rituals and Events Mark this Sacred Cycle?

Although it may be a long time (if ever) before pagans reclaim their Yule from Christmas or their Samhain from Halloween, it is worthwhile to explore these ancient religious traditions. The Wheel of the Year follows the cycle of pagan festivals.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Rh-Negative Blood: An Exotic Bloodline or Random Mutation?

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Are the Distinctive Kalash People of Pakistan Really Descendants of Alexander the Great’s Army?

Ancient Technology

An ancient Roman road at Leptis Magna, Libya

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

It was not uncommon for the ancient Romans to travel long distances all across Europe. Actually during the Roman Empire, Rome had an incredible road network which extended from northern England all...

The incredible earthquake detector invented nearly 2,000 years ago

Mummy Brown – the 16th century paint made from ground up mummies

Why Are There 365 Days in a Year? Organizing Dates with an Ancient Egyptian Calendar

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

Ancient Places

Royal Palace at Ebla. Source: CC BY-SA 3.0

First Kingdoms: The Forgotten Mesopotamian Kingdom of Ebla

Spectacular things were happening in Mesopotamia in the period we call the Early Bronze Age, particularly in the southern part of it, commonly called Babylonia.

Sumer: Where Written Language, Arithmetic and Civilization Were Born

Homer’s Iliad Casts Doubt on the Aegean Location of Troy

The Great Ziggurat of Ur

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

Henge of the World

Opinion

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

There are many accounts of a land of immortality and eternal youth in world myths and legends, as well as shamanic and indigenous spiritual traditions. Mysterious Worlds Writing in his recent work,...

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

Cracking the Code to Discover Ancient Tarot Symbolism and Forgotten Universal Knowledge

The Secret Strategic Plans of Darius the Great

The Secrets of the Kabbalists Garden

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