Search Results: Samurai

The samurai (also bushi) were a class of warriors that arose in the 10th century in Japan and which performed military service until the 19th century. Elite and highly-trained soldiers adept at using both the bow and sword, the samurai were...

A photograph of a samurai warrior c. 1860 CE.

Swords used by Japanese samurai were renowned for the craftsmanship which produced strong yet flexible curved steel blades with a single, super-sharp cutting edge. Produced from the 8th century CE onwards and symbolic of the samurai's elevated...

Samurai were elite and highly skilled warriors that arose in the tenth century in Japan. They performed military service using a bow or swords of varying lengths and were essential components of Medieval Japanese armies. The samurai were...

Artist's impression of samurai before their shogun, inside a ceremonial building. Created by Amplitude Studios for the video game Humankind.

A 16th century CE print showing a samurai on horseback. From the Night Attack on Yoshitsune.

Two steel-bladed Japanese samurai swords: the longer katana and shorter wakizashi. 18-19th century CE. (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

A mid-19th century CE woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi of the samurai Onikojima Yatarô Kazutada (1522-1582 CE). (Private Collection)

The handles of a pair of samurai swords (the daisho or 'great and small') with traditional ray skin covers and silk bindings. 19th century CE. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Samurai facemask and armour from the Sengoku period (Warring States Period), 1467-1568 CE. (Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum, Dallas, USA)