Samurai
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The samurai were members of the professional warrior class in pre-industrial Japan, who served as retainers to the lords. These men came from warrior families and trained from a young age in military
The mounted archer represented the quintessential samurai.
A warrior in ō-yoroi armor typical of the Gempei War (1180–1185).
Ōdachi forged by Sadaie, 14th century, Nanboku-chō period, Important Sword
Tanegashima (arquebus)
Rōnin
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In feudal Japan to early modern Japan, a rōnin was a samurai who had no lord or master and, in some cases, had also severed all links with his family or clan. A samurai became a rōnin upon the death o
A woodblock print by ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicting famous rōnin Miyamoto Musashi having his fortune told
Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Yoshitoshi depicting Oishi Chikara, one of the forty-seven rōnin
Graves of the forty-seven rōnin at Sengaku-ji
Actors portraying ronin on left and right, employed samurai in the middle. His chonmage makes him identifiable as an employed samurai.