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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...