ARMOURED SAMURAI WARRIOR CIRCA 1860
Photograph by Felice Beato
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushido. While they numbered less than 10% of Japan’s population samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendo, meaning the way of the sword. [Source: Wikipedia]