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 an essential component of Japanese armies in the medieval period.
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Definition
Timeline
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800 - 1876Samurai active in Japanese warfare.
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1159 - 1189Life of the legendary samurai Yoshitsune
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c. 1580It becomes fashionable for Japanese samurai to wear two swords: the daisho ("great and small").
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1588Toyotomi Hideyoshi rules that only full-rank samurai may carry two swords.
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1591Samurai are no longer permitted to farm their own land making them dependent on their lords for income.
