When talking about Japan, you would think of samurai. The samurai have an attractive attitude of sticking to Bushido (way of the bushi or warrior), but the kimono they are wearing also looks cool. This time, let's find out what kind of kimono the authentic samurai wore, along with history.
Samurai and Kimono of the Heian Period
The law that "the land cultivated by oneself is one's own thing" was established back then, and the farmers developed the undeveloped land in order to build their own land as property. Then, farmers began to arm themselves so that others could not take away the land they have developed. Then, the group came to be called "Warriors group" (武士団 Bushi-dan).
This is the birth of bushi, which is later known as the samurai.
Samurai and Kimono From the Early 12th Century
Originally farmers, the status of bushi at that time was close to the lowest rank. Thereafter, the need for bushi was recognized as a result of the Battle of Hogen No Ran (保元の乱) in 1156, and the samurais became more powerful. By the way, it is said that the bushi made a curved Japanese sword for the first time during the battle in this era.
Samurai and Kimono From the 16th Century
The word samurai was born in the 16th century. The original etymology was "to take care of the master's aides, or the very person himself", and did not mean a person to engage in fighting.
Samurai and Kimono From the Edo Period
The status system in the Edo period was called Shi-no-ko-sho (士農工商 warrior-farmer-craftsman-trader), and bushi was included in the "shi" (士 warrior) section, and was the highest rank. Samurai had their own territory and rode horses during battle. Especially for the samurai who had a high rank, there was a rule called "Bunbu Ryodou" (文武両道 well versed in war skill and literature skill). By keeping this, the bushi themselves became proud of being a bushi.
Samurai and Kimono From the Meiji Restoration
The Meiji Restoration is the revolution from the Edo Shogunate to the establishment of the Meiji government. After Perry arrived from the United States and learned about the economic and military power of Europe and America, Japan was divided between those who want to open the country and those who want to keep isolation. It can be said that this revolution was carried out by high-ranking samurai for the sake of the country and the people.
The Shi-no-ko-sho system was abolished, bushi chose to abandon oneself a high position to declared equality. This can be said to be one of the reasons for catching up with Western countries in terms of economic strength and technological strength. It can be said that Japan's unique “Bushido” led to success by their selfless sacrifice.
Modern Time
Of course, no one is a samurai nowadays, but there are many people who wear the samurai style just to look cool. Don't you want to wear the symbol of Japanese Bushido?
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