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The Samurai: Perhaps the most distinguished warrior class of it's age, and an undying historical legend of japanese heritage that shall forever landmark the potential of a true warrior. The Samurai were to come as an effect of the rise of the military class in Japan, which began to make their presence felt during the tenth and eleventh centuries; commonly refered to as the Heian Period. There was little peace during this age, with clans and aristocrats warring with each other and causing a mass of chaos, briging all major clans and esteemed families into battle. Eventually, peace was restored to a degree around 1456 as the Tokugawa Regime began it's rise, bringing the military class to power under what is known as a Shogunate. The Shogun was an emperor who held the highest seat of power. Under the Shogun were the military class consisting of the Bakufu (central government), and the Daimyo (Provincial Government) who watched over their awarded territories. During the reign of the Tokugawa Regime, their army numbered in 400,000 families. From the humblest foot soldier of their legendary ranks, to the highest upper class warrior, they were known as one class; the Buke, known as men of war (Bushi). Which led to the infamous Code of Bushido wriiten by Yamaga Soko in 1685. (do means "the way" thus the common translation as"The Way of the Warrior") The Code of Bushido was a spiritual, ethical set of guidelines and moral conduct that the Samurai were to uphold at all costs. They were taught to attack without hesitation, making fearless and merciless opponets. They held a spiritual unity between mind, body, and spirit that proved a nearly unbreakable force to be reckoned with. They were famous for their many styles of combat and weapons. There were many schools in Japan, which taught the arts of swordsmanship, chained weapons, close combat (styles of Bujutsu), archery, swimming, staff, and spearmanship. Some schools taught more than one art, yet had one art as their prime focus of training. All the training , especially swimming, was very difficult and could be considered on par if not in higher demand of discipline than today's military special forces training. It is said a Samurai was able to swim nearly 75 yards underwater on one breath. The soul of a true Samurai was unbreakable, a warrior who's belief in himself and cause infinite, his loyalty unwavering, his heart pure, and his focus deadlier then the sharpest sword.


Relations in Rurouni Kenshin

There are many numerous relations and references to historical fact of the Tokugawa/Meiji Era in RK. As any long time Kenshin fan knows, their are also many philosophical quotaions and deep thoughts on morality throughout the series which demonstrate much truth to their respective groups. A couple prime examples are the Oniwabanshu, demonstarting unshatterable loyalty to their master as ninja's were obliged to, and Kenshin's pure-hearted spirit; unmovable by money, bribes or temptation in general, is a direct reference to the Code of Bushido. The clothing, food, culture, and envirement are also extremely accurate to that time, as well as the existence of firearms, and political unrest within the civilian class. Perhaps the biggest reference is to the Ronin. Ronin were as the direct translation says, "wave men", who were tossed about as the waves of change came about during Kenshin's prospective time, and wandered the lands looking for a fight or a place to call home. The Ronin were Samurai who had lost their Lord, were on a quest for themselves to train under many different masters, or who had excommunicated themselves or were excommunicated from their former masters and his clan. In fact, many of the Ronin, for pay or not, would help villagers fight corrupted government officials, as they also dispised the Bakufu for bringing an end to their time, and trying to diminsh their beliefs and ways. As the Meiji era came to rise, there were no need of Samurai anymore, and swords were outlawed in public. This became a problem as men during the Tokugawa Regime wore swords to signify their rank. Kenshin himself is another Ronin that after the revolution, wandered, helping those in need, as many real ronin did, searching for perhaps a place to call home. "Rurouni" itself means "wandering" or "wanderer",as many Ronin were also called, so the name perfectly fits Watsuki's story. In all this and more direct referenecs, too plentiful to list here, one can get a good glimpse of the Japanese world during that time through Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X.


Glossary

Aiki: an inner factor of bujutsu, the centralized idealism is of using the coordinated power of ki (inner or intrinsic energy) to level all aspects of oneself to sucessfully subjugate an opponet.
Bakufu: Central Government of the Tokugawa Regime
Bojutsu: art of the staff. Employed excellent defensive tactics and a lightning quick assault of multiple angled strikes, and vicious chains of combination attacks.
Budo: "martial ways" earlier term of bujutsu dating back to the Edo period. "Bu" denotes the military, as "do" is of a spiritual sense and relates to inner factors of ones self.
Bujutsu: refers to the many arts of warfare armed and unarmed in Japan, as well as all encompassing inner factors.
Buke: entire military class of the Tokugawa period.
Bushi: higher ranking military, commonly Samurai
Bushido: "Way of the Warrior" code of ethics and moral guidelines and principles written by Yamaga Soko in 1685, that would be upheld by the Bushi at all costs.
Daimyo: Provincial Government of the Tokugawa Era.
Edo: Imperial castle/town during Tokugawa Regime said to be impossible to siege,and a central stronghold for war. Names of steets included "arrow, helmet,armor" and other implements of war.
Iaijutsu: art of drawing the sword, the real equivalent to Kenshin's "battoujutsu"
'Jutsu: justu is a suffix in japanese martial arts refering to an 'art of war' applying concepts of melee combat. It's literal meaning is "art (of)" (example: kenjutsu-jutsu(art of) ken(sword)
Kendo: art of the sword, it is said that a Kendo master couldfight wars, and did in some cases, using only wooden swords with deadly precision. the "Kamiya Kasshin" style from RK, although fictional, is a clear definitive of true Kendo.
Kenjutsu: Art of swordsmanship for war, is the definitive style of the Bushi/Samurai. Although many schools of differnt sub-forms of kenjutsu existed, there were two definitives: Jigen-Ryu, the more aggressive form of Kenjutsu fouded by Togo Bizen no Kami in the 16th century; favored especially by the warriors of Satsuma. And Shingen-Ryu also founded in the 16th century under patronage of the Nanbu Clan. This style focused more upon closer counter-attacks, and precise defense. A true Kenjutsu practicioner who was venerable in both was nearly undefeatable in melee combat.
Kiaijutsu: a form of an intrinsic vocalization of ki (inner energy)in a powerful shout. Another skill the Samurai were to be venerable in, and commonly applied to combat.
Kusarijutsu: art of chained weapons. Perhpas one of the hardest arts to learn due to the fact that the slightest feint of technique would break the rhythm and/or cause injury to the user. A masterful practicioner could take on all weapon types with this art and use the opponets weight and force against them.
Kyujutsu: art of the bow/archery. An art that required supreme focus, as an intermediate level kyujutsu soldier could hit a 32 inch target from 180ft. 100/100 times. One of several arts besides kenjutsu that the Samurai were expected to be proficient in.
Meiji Period/Restoration: revolutionary movement that brought the Tokugawa Period to an end around 1867,in which the shogunate fell restoring power to the emperor.
Naginatajutsu: art of advanced spearmanship, favored by many female Samurai in which they were expected to be masters of by the age of 18. Said to be one of the most graceful arts, as well as deadly.
Ninjutsu: art of invisibility, and undetected assassination, the ninja are one of the most well-known Japanese warriors who could perform a variety of nearly impossible actions, most commonly known for their amazing speed and stealth. They used a variety of weapons and techniques, trained from birth in all aspects of this mysterious art.
Nito-Kenjutsu: the kenjutsu art of two swords,employed both Jigen-Ryu and Shingen-Ryu tactics and techniques.
Samurai: the military retainer, a high ranking Tokugawa official expected to uphold the Code of Bushido at all costs, and master many arts as the elite warrior class of it's time.
Experts in both dueling and melee combat.
Seppuku: ceremonial suicide performed most commonly with the wakizashi.
Tokugawa Period/Regime: also known as the Edo period. Time when the Shogunate took rule over the land from the Emperor and brought the militray class to power, giving birth to the Samurai.
Yarijutsu: art of spearmanship, similar to naginatajutsu, but employed more thrusting and defensive techniques.
Zazen: form of Japanese meditation in which one could tap and power up his intrinsic energy, and focus his energies to centralize ki and build spiritual power.
Zen: concept of Buddhism, in which the Bushi could find spiritual enlightment and peace of mind through Zazen. The Zen played a fundamental role in the developmental process of the feudal arts as a whole, and promoted inner power and focused discipline that went hand in hand with the warrior.

Japanese Armor Informatory
(articles appear in order of dress)

Fundoshi: underwear/cloth implement in short form (briefs) to long (briefs with halter tie behind neck that extended to upper chest.
Shitagi and Obi: cloth robe and cloth belt
Kobakama: similar to the pants, or bottoms of a kimono except as shorts extending slightly past the knee.
Tabi: socks
Kyahan: light shinguards (normally leather)
Waraji: sandals
Sune-Ate: heavy shinguards worn over kyahan
Haidate: layered hanging armor for legs attached at waist extending to knees or slightly lower.
Yugake: gloves extending slightly lower than elbow
Kote: armor covering whole arms, with several maneuverable plates, complete with handguards.
Wakibiki: armor for upper chest and back, open in center of chest and center of back for maneuverability.
Do: full chest and back armor
Uwa-Obi: over armor cloth belt, used to help hold componets together and weapons
Sode: Hanging shiftable plate armor for arms and shoulders,extended to elbow or slightly lower
Daisho: wakizashi and katana, holstered normally upon Uwa-Obi
Nodowa and Hachimaki: cloth headband (helpful for catching sweat and centralizing helmet) and neck armor.
Mempo: (optional) mask or face paint
Kabuto: Helmet

Weapons Glossary

Aikuchi: Short dagger with a cutting edge of about 9 inches. Popular in the 15th century, it was a sub-weapon carried by warriors and sometimes Samurai. Used primarilt to finish the opponet once thrown to the ground in close combat.
Bo: wooden staff about 5 feet long
Bokken: wooden sword curved and shaped in accordance as a steel katana would be.
Chigiriki: often employed by the Samurai, it is a chain 3 to 10 feet long with a cast iron or lead weight attached to one end, the other end fixed to a staff of variable length. Great for keeping multiple attackers at bay.
Daisho: katana and wakizashi together as worn by the Samurai/Bushi.
Daito: a compromise between a katana and nodachi.
Jitte: 15 inch iron or steal rod with a hook jutting from it's long hilt. Although not well suited for duels or close combat, it excelled in dispatching multiple enemies in melee combat.
Katana: main weapon of the Samurai, a slightly curved one-sided sword sword with a blade around 2 feet long. Worn on the left side and the primary weapon of focus in kenjutsu.
Kanzashi: Sharp-pointed decorative hair pin worn by women in feudal japan. The sides were spoon shaped and usually contained a lethal poison.
Keiko-Naginata: a light naginata with a bamboo blade used for practice. It sized about 6 feet 8 inches in length.
Kodachi: Short sword similar to a wakizashi except wih less curvature and excellent defense. The blade ranged between 30 and 60 inches.
Kusarigama: a chained weapon with a weight at one end, the other attached to the shaft of a razor sharp sickle.
Naginata: Scimitarlike curved blade 3 feet in length, attached to a slightly longer staff. It's popularity rapidly rose in the 11th century due to it's excellent thrusting and cutting abilities.
Nodachi: a heavy long sword resembling a katana except with much more reach. Normally strapped to the back, it became a rare practice throughout the Tokugawa Period.
Shinai: bamboo practice sword used in kendo, consisting of 4 sections resembloing a straight sword (example: Yahiko Myojin's sword)
Shinobu Shozoku: ninja uniform, usually black, commonly reversable in another color with hidden weapon pockets.
Shira Tachi: tachi with a strapped belt holder. A common of high ranking officers.
Tachi: a more decorative version of the katana, commonly produced by a more famous swordsmith
Tanto: 9 inch fighting knife similar to the aikuchi, except with no hand guard.
Tetsu Bishi: four pointed caltrop dropped by ninjas to pierce the feet of pursuing attackers.
Wakizashi: short sword worn by samurai that accompanied the katana. It's length was 16 to 20 inches long and was the favored and documented weapon of seppuku.
Yari: the japanese spear and one of the main proficiencies expected of a samurai. It has various differnt types of balded heads and styles of combat. One of the most well known weapons in Japnese history next to the sword and bow.
Yumi: the bow, ranging from 5 to 8 feet with the hand postion about 2/3 down. It is the longest bow in the world.