WAY OF THE SAMURAI

When we think of the samurai we often think of bushido – the ‘Way of the Warrior’. But this moral code that governed the actions of the samurai was never actually a single philosophy, as different clans followed different rules. A closer look at Japanese culture, however, shows us how the samurai grew from simple soldiers to become the warrior poets and philosophers we know them as today.

Higashiyama culture

Much of what we consider as distinctively ‘samurai’ is derived from Higashiyama culture that developed in the Ashikaga shogunate in the 15th century. Under Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa there was a harmonisation between the cultures enjoyed at court and those of the warrior samurai. It was no longer sufficient to be a bold fighter: samurai were now expected to cultivate the arts and act in accordance with philosophical principles.

“IT WAS NO LONGER SUFFICIENT TO BE A BOLD FIGHTER: SAMURAI WERE NOW EXPECTED TO CULTIVATE THE