THE AGE OF SAMURAIS AND SHOGUNS
In April 1986 in Nikko, Japan, the Edo Mura Village was opened to the public. The
village commemorates the period in Japan's history from 1603 to 1867, called the
Tokugawa shogunate, when warlords called shoguns ruled the country. The warriors of
the shoguns were called samurai. By the 12th century, the ability of the emperor and
his court to govern effectively had diminished. It was then that the samurai emerged as
a distinct social class. They were held together by personal loyalty to powerful chiefs -
the shoguns - who brought more territory under their control. Local wars among the
chieftains continued for generations until finally, under the Tokugawa shogunate, the
whole nation was united under one warlord. From the end of the 12th century
until the Meiji Restoration, or resumption of the emperor's authority, in 1868,
government was exclusively in the hands of the samurai class. The
behaviour of the samurai was strictly regulated by a code of conduct
called Bushido, which is translated as "way of the warrior." The idea of
the code developed in about the 13th century, and it encompassed the
ideals of loyalty and self-sacrifice. By the 19th century, it had become
the basis of ethical training for the whole of Japanese society, and it,
contributed significantly to the tough Japanese nationalism "
and morale exhibited during World War II.
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