Samurai Warriors were extremely skilled fightsmen, they originated in Japan back in 646 A.D. The Samurai culture came down to one thing 'bushido' (the way of the warrior) the meaning was; the honor and freedom from the fear of death. Samurai's legally allowed to kill commoner who who failed to honor them. Samurai's would always fight fearlessly for their masters, and die honorably rather than surrendering and admitting defeat.
To begin with Samurais would fight on foot or horseback using long bows called 'yumi' they would also use swords to finish of the opposing enemy by killing him or making him surrender. But after the Mongolian invasions in 1272 and 128, Samurais began to make more use of swords and started to use spears. Samurais also started to use two sword a short one and a long one; the long blade 'katana' which was over 24 inches and the short one 'wakizashi' which was 12-24 inches. In the 16th century the non-Samurais were forbidden to wear the 'daisho' which is the name for the two swords together.
Gempei War:
This war started in May 1180 when the Prince at the time (Mochihito) issued at statement encouraging the Minamoto to rise against the Taira.
In June 1180 Mochihito and the Minamoto would be killed at the battle of Uji. The Uji battle was the first battle of the Gempei war, it was called the battle of Uji because it took place by the Uji river just outside kyoto between the Byodin monks who fighted alongside the Minamoto against the Tiara.
Following the battle of Uji was the Siege of Niara where the Tiara clan invaded and destroyed most of the Minamoto's city by setting fires to temples and killing over 3000 people.
After the siege of Niara the battle of Ishibashiyama started where the Minamoto clan was assisted by the Muira clan to battle the Tiara clan, but the Tiara clan still managed to come out on top.
In the next battle of the Gempei war 'The battle of Fujiwaka', the Tiara clan are tricked by a flock of waterfowl for a suprise attack from the Minamoto. The Tiara troops fled without engaging in battle.
In 1181 not long after the battle of Fujiwaka, another battle took place called Sunomata-gawa, where the Minamoto clan made a crafty move and done a suprise attack during the night, but all failed when they tried to wade across the river and the Tiara clan could distinguish the enemy.
In the spring of 1181 the battle of Yahagigawa started where the Minamoto's tried to destroy the bridge over the Yahagi river, but forced to stop. The Tiara clans pursuit on the Minamoto's was called off when their leader fell ill.
Nearly 2 years later the war look liked it had stopped with action happening with the years, until... The siege of Hiuchi, where Tiara destroy the Hiuchiyama fortress, luckily the Minamoto clan was able to escape, but it was said that one the troops in the Minamoto clan had fired an arrow with a message into the Tiara clans base telling how to breach the fortress.
After the siege of Hiuchi, the Minamoto was lacking in strength with having less numbers in troops compared with the Tiara clan, but the battle of Kurikara where the Minamoto clan came out on top taking out alot of Tiara troops, and created a major turning point in the war when they were staring into the face adversity.
The next battle within the Gempei war was the battle of Shinohara, where the Minimoto caught up with the retreating Tiara clan and caused a another battle straight after the Kurikara involving mainly archers, the victory went to the Minimoto.
The Gempei war went on for another two years between the Minimoto and Tiara clan with the Minimoto slowly bringing it back after being beat during the first part of the war. At the end of the war the Minimoto clan came on top at the battle of Dan-no-ura straight after they had attack the Tiara's fortress just of Shikoku. The battle of Dan-no-ura was the last battle of the Gempei war, it was a naval battle between the two clans which started on March 24th 1185. During the battle the Tiara clan knew the seas and had more naval combat experience so they did have an upper advantage over the Minamoto in that perspective, but they were out numbered in this war due to the Minamoto dominating the war in the 2nd half of it. At the beginning of the battle it mainly consisted of long range archery shots being fired from ship to ship, until the Tiara clan decided to use the tide to there advantage and surround the Minamoto which then made the war come down to hand to hand combat where they would be jumping on to each other ships. The tide then changed and the advantage was given back to the Minamoto. Another crucial part to the Minamoto winning the war was them finding out which boat the Tiara's Emperor was on, so they turned there attention to that specific boat and took him out. When the Tiara clan saw that the battle was turning against them, many of them threw themselves over board to admit defeat and give the victory to the Minamoto clan. But to this day the Heike crabs found in the straits of Shimonoseki are considered to hold the spirits of the Tiara warriors that died in battle.
Myths:
- It has been said that the Japanese Samurai sword is the most fearsome and dangerous weapon on earth.
- Samurais were also known for being the greatest warriors in ancient history.
- It has also been said that Samurais were bravest, fearless and most honorable warriors in history.
- It has been said that the Samurai sword was the best made swords ever.
Clothing:
Samurais wore something called a Kimono which consisted of an outer and inner layer, they would wear heavier Kimonos in the winter, while lighter ones made of a lighter silk were worn in the summer. The Kimono was made of silk because it was thought to be a superior material compared to cotton, it was also used because of its appearance and feel to the material. Underneath the Kimono they wore a loincloth and body armour. For footwear the samurai would wear sandals or wooden clogs, these were made from various types of materials like straw, hemp and cotton thread.
Sources:
http://www.aikido-world.com/articles/Bushido-Code%20of%20the%20Warrior,%20the%20Samurai.htm
http://realfighting.tumblr.com/post/385069378/myths-about-the-samurai
http://asianhistory.about.com/od/warsinasia/p/SamuraiProfile.htm
http://www.samurai-archives.com/clothing.html
http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Gempei_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genpei_War
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