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Ninja: In the Japanese history, a Ninja was someone specially trained in a variety of unorthodox arts of war. The methods used by ninja included assassination, espionage, and a variety of martial arts. Their exact origins are still unknown. Their roles may

Kendo: Kendo, or "way of the sword", is the Japanese martial art of sword-fighting. Kendo developed from traditional techniques of Japanese swordsmanship known as kenjutsu. Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial

Lone Wolf and Cub: Lone Wolf and Cub is a well-known gekiga or manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima. Its story led to the creation of six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya, an

Seiwa Genji: The were the most successful and powerful of the many branch families of the Japanese Minamoto clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto Yoshiie, also known as "Hachimantaro or God of War; and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the fou

Japanese clans: This is a list of Japanese clans. The ancient clans (Gōzoku) mentioned in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki lost their political power before the Heian period. Instead of gozoku, new aristocracies, Kuge families emerged in the period. In the late of the Hei

List of Japanese battles: The following is a list of Japanese battles, organised by date.

Samurai cinema: While earlier samurai period pieces were more dramatic rather than action-based, samurai movies post World War II have become more action-based, with darker and more violent characters. Post-war Samurai epics tended to portray psychologically or phys

List of samurai: The following is a list of Samurai and their wives. They are listed alphabetically by their family names. Some changed their names and they are listed by their final names.

Pechin: The Pechin is the Okinawan/Ryukyuan equivalent of the Japanese Samurai. In the Ryūkyū Kingdom (Okinawa) warriors of the Pechin class would commonly call themselves Samurai, therefore Pechin, Ryūkyū Samurai or Okinawan Samurai are used interchangeably

Kiri sute gomen: Kiri sute gomen (斬り捨て御免 or 切り捨て御免: literally, “authorisation to cut” or “authorisation to leave” (the body of the victim) is an old Japanese expression dating back to the feudal era right to execute and be excused. Samurai had the right to strike at

Naginata: Naginata (なぎなた, 薙刀) is a pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the samurai class. It has become associated with women and in modern Japan it is studied by women more than men; whereas in Europe and Australia naginata is pract

Taira no Kiyomori: was a general of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. After the death of his father Taira no Tadamori in 1153, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan and amb

Akechi Mitsuhide: , nicknamed Jūbei or Koretō Hyūga no Kami, was a samurai who lived during the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan. Mitsuhide was a samurai and a general under daimyo Oda Nobunaga, although he later betrayed Nobunaga and caused him to commit seppuku. Born

Satsuma Rebellion: The Satsuma Rebellion, was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from 1877-01-29 to 1877-09-24, 11 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.

Hatamoto: A hatamoto was a samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin. However, in the Edo p

Saigō Takamori: Saigō Takamori was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. He has been dubbed the last true Samurai.

Matsudaira Katamori: Matsudaira Katamori (松平容保; February 15, 1836−December 5, 1893) was a samurai that lived in the last days of the Edo period and the early to mid Meiji period. He was the 9th daimyo of the Aizu han and the Military Commissioner of Kyoto during the Baku

Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi: Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi (柳生 十兵衞 三厳, 1607?–April 21 1650) is one of the most famous and romanticized of the samurai in Japan's feudal era. Very little is known about the actual life of Yagyū Mitsuyoshi as the official records of his life are very spars

Minamoto no Yoshiie: Minamoto no Yoshiie (源義家; 1039-4 August, 1106), also known as Hachimantarō, was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and Chinjufu shogun (Commander-in-chief of the defense of the North). The first son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, he proved

Hagakure: Hagakure (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: ; meaning In the Shadow of Leaves), or Hagakure Kikigaki is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the samurai, Yamamoto Tsunetomo, former retainer to Nabeshima Mitsu

The Twilight Samurai: The Twilight Samurai or is a 2002 Japanese film directed by Yoji Yamada. Set in mid-19th century Japan, a few years before the Meiji Restoration, it follows the life of Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai employed as a bureaucrat. Poor, but not dest

Shudō: Shudō is the Japanese tradition of age-structured homosexuality prevalent in samurai society from the medieval period until the end of the 19th century. The word is an abbreviation of wakashudō (若衆道), "the Way of the young" or more precisely, the Way

Daishō: The daishō, lit. "big and small", is a Japanese term referring to the traditional weapons of the samurai. The daishō is composed of the katana and the wakizashi. The etymology of this word becomes apparent when the terms daitō, meaning big sword, and

Samurai Fiction: Samurai Fiction (aka SF: Episode One) is the English language title for SF・サムライ・フィクション (SF: samurai fikushon), a comedy-samurai film directed by Hiroyuki Nakano. It is almost entirely black-and-white, and follows a fairly standard plotline for a come

Kaiken (dagger): A is a dagger formerly carried by men and women of the samurai class in Japan. It was useful for self-defense indoors where the long katana and intermediate wakizashi were inconvenient. Women carried them in the obi for self-defense and rarely for ji

Ōta Dōkan: Ōta Dōkan (太田道灌) (1432-1486), also known as Ōta Sukenaga (太田資長) or Ōta Dōkan Sukenaga, was a Japanese samurai warrior-poet, military tactician and Buddhist monk. Ōta Sukenaga took the tonsure as a Budhist priest in 1478, and he also adopted the Buddh

Ultima Online: Samurai Empire: Samurai Empire is the sixth expansion to the Ultima Online MMORPG, featuring an oriental-themed environment, allowing players to play archetypical characters the Samurai and Ninja. It also added a new area named the Tokuno Islands. It was developed a

Onna bugeisha: An onna-bugeisha was a female of the buke class in feudal Japan who was trained in the use of weapons. The term consists of the word onna ("woman") and the word bugeisha ("warrior"). Use of the term "female samurai" is technically a misnomer. Samurai

Kyūjutsu: Kyūjutsu is the traditional Japanese martial art of wielding a bow. Although the samurai of feudal Japan are perhaps best known for their swordsmanship with a katana (kenjutsu), kyūjutsu was actually considered a more vital skill for a significant po

Knight: Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. In the Commonwealth of Nations, knighthood is a non-heritable form of gentry. Elsewhere, the Spanish Caballero (related to "chivalry"), the Italian Cavaliere, the German

Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, after Hideyoshi's castle. He is

Tokugawa shogunate: The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Tokugawa bakufu, and the Edo bakufu, was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from

Koku: The is a unit of volume in Japan, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice t

Ronin: around 1860 (1)]] A ronin was a samurai with no lord or master during the feudal period (1185–1868) of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the ruin or fall of his master (as in the case of death in a war), or after the loss of his master's favor

Katana: Katana is a type of Japanese sword (nihontō). The term is sometimes incorrectly used as a generic name for Japanese swords. The katana gets its gentle curve from quenching during forming; it is actually straight prior to quenching. Differential quenc

Taira clan: Taira (平) is a Japanese clan name. In reference to Japanese history, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects. The Taira

Bushidō: Bushidō, meaning "Way of the Warrior", is a Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery and hono

Boshin War: The Boshin War was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court. The war found its origins in dissatisfaction among many nobles and yo

Jidaigeki: Jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama", and the period is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier — Portrait of Hell, for example,

Seppuku: is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai honor code, seppuku has been used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies,

The Last Samurai: The Last Samurai is a 2003 drama film/war film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay based on a story by John Logan. The film stars Tom Cruise (who also co-produced) in the role of American soldier Nathan Algren w

Seven Samurai: Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese film co-written, edited and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film takes place in Warring States Period Japan (around 1587/1588). It follows the story of a village of farmers that hire seven masterless samurai (ronin) t

Yojimbo (film): Yojimbo is a 1961 jidaigeki (period drama) film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It tells the story of a ronin (masterless samurai), portrayed by Toshirō Mifune, who arrives in a small town where competing crime lords make their money from gambling. The r

Forty-seven Ronin: The revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin, also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the Genroku Akō incident took place in Japan at the start of the eighteenth century. The tale has been described by one noted Japanese scholar as the co

Wakizashi: The wakizashi (meaning "side arm") is a traditional Japanese sword with a shōtō blade between 30 and 60 cm (12 and 24 inches), with an average of 50 cm (20 inches). It is similar to but shorter than a katana, and mostly shorter than the kodachi ("sma

Onimusha: Warlords: Onimusha: Warlords, released in Japan as Onimusha, modeled after actor Takeshi Kaneshiro, determined to save Princess Yuki of the Saito clan and defeat Nobunaga, resurrected after signing a pact with demons. The game also features Kaede, an expert fe

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai: Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a 1999 offbeat samurai action film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. The film was shot mostly in Jersey City, NJ, but the movie never mentions where the story is set. License plates reveal it is in "The Indust

Hachiman: Hachiman is the Shinto god of war, and divine protector of Japan and the Japanese people. The name means God of Eight Banners, referring to the eight heavenly banners that signaled the birth of the divine Emperor Ōjin. His symbolic animal and messeng

Tantō: A tantō is a common Japanese single or, occasionally, double edged knife or dagger with a blade length between 15 and 30 cm (6-12 inches). The tantō was designed primarily as a stabbing instrument, but the edge can be used to slash as well. Tantō fir

Stan Sakai: Stan Sakai (Japanese: 坂井 スタンSakai Sutan; born May 25, 1953) is a third-generation Japanese American who became known as an Eisner Award-winning comic book creator. Born in Kyoto, Japan, Sakai grew up in Hawaii and studied fine arts at the University

Heiji Rebellion: The Heiji Rebellion was fought between rival subjects of the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan in 1159. It was preceded by the Hōgen Rebellion in 1156. In many ways, this struggle is seen as a direct outcome of that earlier armed dispute. Earl

Mito Kōmon: Mito Kōmon is a Japanese jidaigeki that has been on prime-time television since 1969. The title character is the historic Tokugawa Mitsukuni, former vice-shogun and retired daimyo of the Mito domain. In the guise of Mitsuemon, a retired crêpe merchan

Goemon Ishikawa XIII: Goemon Ishikawa XIII is a fictional character created by Monkey Punch for his Lupin III series. Goemon is the thirteenth generation of renegade samurai, a descendant of the historical figure Ishikawa Goemon. He is usually quiet and participates in Ar

Samurai Trilogy: The Samurai Trilogy is a film trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi and Koji Tsuruta as Sasaki Kojirō. The films are based on the novel by Eiji Yoshikawa, about the famous duellist and author of The Book

Kusunoki Masashige: Kusunoki Masashige (楠木 正成, b. 1294-1336) was a 14th century samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in his attempt to wrest rulership of Japan away from the Kamakura shogunate. A brilliant tactician and strategist, Kusunoki's cunning defense of two k

Mitsurugi: Heishirō Mitsurugi is a video game character designed for the Soul Series of fighting games. Mitsurugi is the staple samurai character of the series, holding out the precepts of honor and pride, and seeking a fair battle against enemies of his same l

When the Last Sword Is Drawn: When the Last Sword Is Drawn (Japanese: 壬生義士伝, Mibu gishi den) is a 2003 Japanese movie directed by Yojiro Takita. It tells the story of two Shinsengumi samurai, one of whom, Saitō Hajime, is a taciturn killer (played by Koichi Sato), and the other,

Seven Samurai 20XX: is a PlayStation 2 game released by Sammy Studios in 2004. Its story and concept are based upon Akira Kurosawa's 1954 movie Seven Samurai. Rights for the production of the game were given by the Kurosawa production, with character designs by French a

Jin Uzuki: Jin Uzuki is Shion Uzuki's calm, composed, and older brother. Jin runs an antique bookstore on the outskirts of Second Miltia's capital. He formerly served as a captain in the Galaxy Federation's Special Forces Intelligence Division, but left the mil

Bishamon: Bishamon or Bishamonten may refer to: *Vaiśravaṇa, a Buddhist deity, as referred to in Japan. *Bishamonten, a fictional character in the Ranma ½ movie, Big Trouble in Nekonron China. Bishamon may also refer to the following items found in computer, v