History of Japan Major taskThe samurai and Japanese weaponryThe samurai were the warriors of the shogun in the feudal era of Japan. Samurai were one of the highest ranked classes. The samurai of Japan used a variety of weapons. Some were very different in design and size and others were very similar. The variety of weapons served varied purposes. Most people are familiar with the samurai sword and shuriken or more commonly known as ninja or throwing star. What most people don't know is that there was much more than just these weapons. Some of them are the Naginata, the Tetsubo and the Kunai Knife. The SamuraiWhat is the Samurai?The Samurai were the warriors of the Heian period. samurai means "a person who serves a noble" because samurai were not related to the daimyo but were paid by the daimyo to help them control their domains. Each samurai had to swear an oath of loyalty to his own daimyo. Samurai and daimyo were part of the warrior class along with the shogun (military leader who ruled Japan). The Warrior Code If you were a samurai, you had to follow the warrior code of bushido. A samurai should be loyal to his daimyo lord and fight to the death in honor of his family and his daimyo. He should follow the eight virtues of Bushido which tell samurai how they should act in their professional and personal lives. Righteousness or Justice Courage Kindness or Mercy Politeness Honesty and Sincerity Honesty Loyalty Character and Self-Control Samurai vs Ninja The Samurai is often confused with the ninja but this is not the case. the same. To be a samurai, you must be born into a samurai family and have extensive training. The samurai's job was to serve the shog... middle of paper...... to keep the attacker at a safer distance.BibliographySkwirk, The Samurai - http://www.skwirk.com/p- c_s -14_u-177_t-516_c-1920/act/history/medieval-and-early-modern-societies-japan/life-in-feudal-japan/the-samuraiJudoinfo, Samurai - http://judoinfo.com/samurai. htmJapan guide - http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2127.htmlYahoo answers - https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081104113740AAS8t2lThe art of virility, Bushido code - http://www.artofmanliness.com/2008/09/14/the-bushido-code-the-eight-virtues-of-the-samurai/Samurai Weapons - http://www.samuraiweapons.comNaruto, Shuriken - http ://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/ShurikenWorld traditional weapon, Japanese traditional weapon - http://worldtraditionalweapon.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/japanese-traditional-weapons.htmlNaginata Federation of Southern California - http: //www.scnf.org/history2.html