SAMURAIS. CULTURE OF WAR
In Europe, the feudal man-at-arms, heavily armoured from head to toe, relied on the force of his blows or, if mounted on a steed, the impact of his charge to overcome the enemy. In contrast, the Japanese warrior, whether on foot or on horseback, has always valued his agility in combat over any protective gear that might restrict his freedom of movement.
This is reected in the construction of old Japanese armour: its laminar structure of scales (dō-maru), the quality of the material and its relative thinness provided ample defence against light weapons, and less but still suffcient protection against direct attacks (pike thrusts or sword slashes), while ensuring the warrior remained nimble enough to fight.
The basic structure of this armour remained relatively unaltered over time, with only minor adaptations to suit changing combat tactics. However, with the advent of ‑rearms in the 16th and 17th centuries, the samurai found it necessary to replace their traditional scale armour with heavier plate armour or tosei-gusoku.
MUSHA
Warriors
The musha was the tribal warrior and archetype of the solitary hero, a leader on the battle‑eld and an aesthete in peacetime. He was at once keeper of the peace and defender of aristocratic power.
Over the centuries, the musha became the samurai, “the one who serves”: the heroic, mythical image of Japan’s warrior tradition constructed from a blend of history and legend.
Samurai formed an exclusively military caste and followed a strict code of honour called bushidō, “the way of the warrior”, whose most important precept was to fulfil their duty to the daimyo or feudal lord. The samurai’s entire life was an expression of exquisite, absolute allegiance to their daimyo, even unto death, which explains why their emblem was the cherry blossom, a symbol of the transience and beauty of life.
Two centuries had passed since the last great battles for the uni‑cation of Japan, now ruled by the Tokugawa dynasty, but the memory of those heroic deeds lived on, fuelled by the nostalgia of the samurai, whose power was already waning, and by ordinary citizens who dreamt of adventure as they admired musha-e, prints featuring the greatest warriors and most important battles of Japanese history.
