History_Goes_to_the_Movies__History_in_Popular_Culture_-_the_Last_Samurai

History Goes to the Movies: History in Popular Culture - The Last Samurai Bushido, literally translated as the "Way of the Warrior," developed in Japan between the Heian period and Tokugawa period (9th-12th century). It was a code and way of life for Samurai, a class of warriors similar to the medieval knights of Europe. It was influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism, two different schools of thought of those periods. The origins of the samurai started roughly 1000 years ago when they emerged in a form like the knights in medieval England, they were warriors who served regional lords(daimyo) and earned in favor to conquer others daimyo’s lands and protection of their lord. Their attitudes were formed from the Buddhism and Japanese national religion Shinto, and a series of bushido code which represented devoted loyalty, stern self disciplines and the defense of personal honor. The code would also demand a particularly crucial form of ritual suicide, seppuku as a mean to preserve ones honor in the face of defeat. Over the course of their 700 years history, the Samurai class went to dominate Japan, their values had shifted to political and social framework of Japan, leaving an indelible impact of the Japanese national identity. Japanese is a small island country, its total land consist four main Island surround by a hundred of smaller ones, the peasant were believed to be migrated from China and other parts of Asia mainland between 1300 to 1200 B.C.. By 300 A.D., some inhabitants started rice farming and long term settlement at Yamato plant, Honshu, this permanent settlement soon gave birth to a political state based on military might and taxation paid in form of rice.