Samurai vs Knight
Many people often see little similarity between the country of Japan and Europe. However, there are actually several similarities between these two countries. In fact, Reischauer and Jansen note that Feudal Japan had departed so far from East Asian norms that it was more similar to medieval Europe than it was to China. Thus, the knight of Europe and the samurai of Japan despite a lack of contact with one another shared several common elements. This was a result of many similarities social and cultural influences experienced by the two distant countries. Japan has a history that dates back thousands of years. Researchers believe the Japanese people descended from many groups that migrated to the islands from other parts of Asia, including China and Korea. As early as 4500 B.C., the Japanese islands were inhabited by fishermen, hunters and farmers. The early culture was known as "Jomon," named after the "cord pattern" pottery crafted by the people at the time. Major Japanese cultural changed occurred about 200 B.C. The people were known as "Yayoi." The Yayoi were mostly farmers. It is believed that the present-day Japanese closely resemble the Yayoi in appearance and language. Ancient Yayoi warriors developed weapons, ar
The Japanese warrior on the other hand wore much lighter armor made out of thin metal strips or porcelain bound together with brightly colored thongs. In contrast to the heavy broadsword carried by knights the samurai wore two swords (daisho). One was long; the other short. The long sword (daito - katana) was more than 24 inches. The short sword (shoto - wakizashi) was between 12 and 24 inches. The samurai often gave names to their swords and believed it was the "soul" of their warriorship. The oldest swords were straight and had their early design in Korea and China. The samurai's desire for tougher, sharper swords for battle gave rise to the curved blade we still have today. The sword had its beginning as iron combined with carbon. The swordsmith used fire, water, anvil and hammer to shape the world's best swords (Suino, 45). War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled much of the country. A chief headed each clan; made up of related families. The chiefs were the ancestors of Japan's imperial family. The wars were usually about land useful for the production of rice. In fact, only 20% of the land was fit for farming. The struggle for control of that land eventually gave rise to the Samurai.
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Approximate Word count = 1802
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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