bring back samurai like english knights

[kumdoman]

I was wondering what everyone thinks about bringing back Samurai. Like you know how in England you can become knighted(I always thought that would be awesome)....well what about becoming a samurai? How cool would that be if Japan brought something like that up? I guess it wouldn't work though since they have no more emperors.

[Shiro]

Japan still has an emperor, it is Emperor Akihito.

[Khabbi]

I thought japan still had a emperor ?

Whats the point with bringing back the samurai ? , todays soldiers are more advanced and treat the rest of the people better then the soldiers did back then.

Damnit shiro ! , posted 1 sec befor me , now my first point makes no sense .
Im gonna yell at you in PM , :angry:

[Odachi]

Too many people already think that they are samurai..LOL. Also look at the people who are getting knighted, none of them practice any "Knight skills".


Just study what you can, practice and try to get good at what you do. You don't need someone to sell you a black belt on ebay or an honorary "samurai" status. You earn rank in what ever art you practice, test your skill in tournaments, and show your devotion by helping others, etc..etc...etc....

Do you really think that having a title would make you better?

[HEIJO SHIN]

Well said Odachi,

I picked up form your post. Practice/Earn Rank/Art/Skill/ and the best of all Devotion to others. A true Samurai, Odachi san.

[kumdoman]

First off, I didn't say I wanted to be one. I was just posting a thought of mine. England has no need for their knights....yes no s***. Neither would Japan have a reason for a bunch of kendoka running around with the title "Samurai" lol

[Hai_hai]

kumdoman,
Samurai have no place in Japanese society. Didn't you watch "The Last Samurai"? Of course, there is nothing from stopping you from walking around your own house pretending to be a samurai, eating sushi, watching anime, wearing a haori, reading "Options" magazines, and collecting Hello Kitty items. Have fun but make sure you don't become the next Star Wars Kid.

[litige]

but make sure you don't become the next Star Wars Kid.

No ones talks in bad about the star wars kid, it's part of our cultural heritage. Just like poutine.

[James]

...You don't need someone to sell you a black belt on ebay or an honorary "samurai" status. ...

Rubbish! for the paltry sum of $2,600 I will furnish you with a certificate of Samurai Authenticiy, including details of your fief in Japan (air fare not included). If you find interlopers are already living there, don't worry!, I will send you guaranteed battle strategies to turf out all imposters and impose your rule. This may require several years of bloody determination, but remember YOU ARE A SAMURAI! Also included, your secret Samurai name, your kamon..er... and a flag ....a most magnificent flag!

[Khabbi]

Think you can find me a nice home on The Disc James ? , :smiley:

[Odachi]

James...I'm a little shy on money right now...do you have an Ashigaru package?

[KhawMengLee]

Rubbish! for the paltry sum of $2,600 I will furnish you with a certificate of Samurai Authenticiy, including details of your fief in Japan (air fare not included). If you find interlopers are already living there, don't worry!, I will send you guaranteed battle strategies to turf out all imposters and impose your rule. This may require several years of bloody determination, but remember YOU ARE A SAMURAI! Also included, your secret Samurai name, your kamon..er... and a flag ....a most magnificent flag!

Hahah...James you crack me up! Must come back to UK to show you my yamasan cannonball men... but don't sidestep or I may accidentally run over Fujisawa Sensei... but Frank can enjoy being a run over pedestrian tho;)

[James]

Think you can find me a nice home on The Disc James ? , :smiley:

Yes! James Enterprises can fulfill all your needs, just specify if you require an aisle seat or one overlooking the turtles legs, overlooking is a bit more expensive, but for a person of your calibre we can do a very reasonable upgrade.

James...I'm a little shy on money right now...do you have an Ashigaru package?

YES AGAIN! with our budget package you can go into battle as a mere foot soldier with a yari and half-armour, work your way up, become a retainer for an established daimyo, and in a few generations time one of your offspring may be granted samurai status! It's THAT easy!

Send Money Now!

[JSchmidt]

James, get back to work:)
You could probably make money out of this if you set up a decent looking website:).,,just look at the amount of samurai-wannabees we get on this forum :D.

Cya in a couple of weeks, btw.

Jakob

[Shiro]

If you offer the option to get the traditional samurai haircut I want 5 packages! :D

[Wout]

kumdoman,
Of course, there is nothing from stopping you from walking around your own house pretending to be a samurai, eating sushi, watching anime, wearing a haori, reading "Options" magazines, and collecting Hello Kitty items.
didn't know samurai watched anime or collected Hello Kitty items, well I guess you learn every day ^_^

[Wout]

on a more serious note, ehm samurai are a bit different from knights in the way that the samurai were a class of which the offspring was also samurai. So the title is inhereted. (or that's what I think) A knights title doesn't go from parents to children. (I think, I'm sure most knight titles are only given to the person itself.)

[takashijarosu]

acctualy knight hood was like samurai some had a line others where squires, but during the sengoku jidai period of japan everyone was becoming samurai so ya know thats that.

[Hai_hai]

You don't want to bring back samurai... because then I'll have to quit my job and go back to being a ninja.

[Dawnix Heosphe]

There is an emperor but he is only a figure head. The real power belongs to the prime minister. His decision is the fate of what happens. Anyway samurai won't do any good. Guns have taken the street, samurai they are just not valued any more. People could careless about a samurai in the U.S.. Keeping the art of Kendo alive is all the honor I could ask for to live by. Some say you can become crazy with the obsession of kendo or is it really the taking up of the sword that makes all the more pain. Between reality and imagenation.

[kumdoman]

First off guys I wasnt talking about becoming an 10th century samurai....I'm talkin about like being a knight for england, the same situation.....just instead of the title "sir"you get "samurai""

[KendokaJim]

First off guys I wasnt talking about becoming an 10th century samurai....I'm talkin about like being a knight for england, the same situation.....just instead of the title "sir"you get "samurai""
It would seem that everyone is too busy being wiseguys about it, or are taking it entirely too seriously to try and understand what you're saying. Kumdoman is not suggesting that Japan bring back samurai as an actual class with power; that would be absurd. It would be more of a title of honor and respect. We all know that the samurai are obsolete, and that the emperor has no power, etc. Nor does the queen have any power, and neither do the "knights" of England. Yet, these things still exist and are not considered silly. Is that concept really that hard to understand?

[James]

James, get back to work:)
You could probably make money out of this if you set up a decent looking website:).,,just look at the amount of samurai-wannabees we get on this forum :D.

You're right on both counts, me getting back to work and samurai wannabees. I'll make sure that London is well stocked with beer for your arrival.
Good to hear from you too Meng, congrats on the grading!

James

[Shogun97]

Nice idea kumdoman.Yes it would be cool if you could become a Smurai.
Well in fact the title is nothing......follow the way of Kendo and the way of the Bushido and you ARE a Samurai.
Like I said: the title is NOTHING.
What you do counts!

Wow! That sounds absolutly strange and odd!!!!

[hyouriittai]

You don't want to bring back samurai... because then I'll have to quit my job and go back to being a ninja.

Hey, don't be so pesimistic. The ninja line of work has changed alot since you left. The night hours aren't so bad, anymore. We get paid leave, and they've even upped our medicare.

[Khabbi]

"follow the way of Kendo and the way of the Bushido and you ARE a Samurai."

umm , could you say that again , :smiley:

[Wark 1978]

becoming an english knight is easier than you think. just follow the patented "sir mick jagger route"

1 sleep with as many women as possible.
2 cheat on every partner you've ever had.
3 drink a lot.
4 take a lot of drugs.
5 father illegimate children and then deny that they are yours.
6 move out of the country that is giving you a knighthood to avoid paying tax.
7 make a load of great records.

it worked for him. it can work for you too!! (steps 1-6 are easy but 7 may take some extra effort).

[Hai_hai]

Samurai and knights aren't really the same. You need to read more about samurai.

[Shogun97]

"follow the way of Kendo and the way of the Bushido and you ARE a Samurai."

umm , could you say that again , :smiley:

I would love to do that

Follow the way of Kendo and the way of the Bushido and you are a Samurai!
I stick to this oppinion! :smiley:
Do you look at this in the same way?

And the thing Hai Hai said is right too!

[James]

I would love to do that

Follow the way of Kendo and the way of the Bushido and you are a Samurai!
I stick to this oppinion! :smiley:


What do I have to do to be a Viking?

[Wout]

pillage rape (even if you have a fit Suede or Norwayese as a wife) destroy and yell "Odin" or "Thor" as you attack.
Slaughter a cow, get a helmet put the horns on them
Make a boat and pillage every village along every European river.
And last but not least, must be able to jump in water of 0 degrees without even a shiver.

[Shogun97]

What do I have to do to be a Viking?

Asking stupid questions for a start!
So you're on the best way to become one!!!!!!

[hyouriittai]

pillage rape (even if you have a fit Suede or Norwayese as a wife) destroy and yell "Odin" or "Thor" as you attack.
Slaughter a cow, get a helmet put the horns on them
Make a boat and pillage every village along every European river.
And last but not least, must be able to jump in water of 0 degrees without even a shiver.

That doesn't sound so tough. Are vikings considered to be a 501-c3 organization? If so, are the cow slaughterings tax deductable?

[mingshi]

As for the Chinese:

Bring back the concubines!

Bring back the eunuches!

Yay! :D

[moonblade]

Keep the eunuchs. I sure ain't volunteering for that job, no matter what the medical coverage.

Actually "viking" is an adjective ala "going a-viking" so anybody can do it. You just need a boat and a destination. I smell a tourist package in this.

Bringing back samurai without the privileges they enjoyed would negate the whole point of their existence. Unlike a knight, which is a position earned by feats, being a samurai was being part of a class, like being a baron or duke. It would be cool to get the stipend like they did in the old days tho'. :)

[Eldritch Knight]

I can't remember where, but a few years back I saw an advertisement in a magazine that was posted by the British government in regards to selling a barony. They had the whole nine yards - a hereditary title, land, manor, and even a new British passport (that listed your title). As I recall the price was somewhere in the 6 figure range, but it was quite funny (and cool) to think that someone could so blatantly buy their way into royalty.

[moonblade]

Royalty and nobility have been selling their titles for years. Since the late eighteenth century, really. Mostly to pay off old debts. There was a great sequence in Doonesbury about it during the Eighties. All those titles are is ownership of parcels of land. You live off the rents.

[Jung_Yul]

If I may interject my humble opinion, without trying to seem too serious. "Samurai," as I understand it, means either "to serve," or "one who serves." So the first question to honestly answer to yourself is whom or what are you serving? Aside from that, I can't honestly say that I believe that simply swinging a sword makes one a Samurai. Samurai practiced so many other weapons and styles of fighting other than the sword. Granted the sword was the primary weapon, and their single greatest symbol. Additionally, I believe that the Samurai were more than just a group of guys with swords. (Sorry, ladies, but it's historically true that there were no female Samurai. Not to say that in our modern world some of you couldn't handle it.) The Samurai embodied Bushido, the Way of the Warrior, and, at least the truly honorable of them, lived exceedingly execptional lives. I guess what I'm ultimately trying to say is, you need no one to bestow a title on you, and you can't just wake up one day and decide that you are a Samurai. Learn completely what they were, and live by such guidelines. If that is too daunting, then you are not Samurai. If such a life is appealing, then why should you need anyone to tell you that you live well as a Samurai? If you need someone else's confirmation, then you clearly aren't confident enough in yourself. Just my opinion.

Yours in Budo,
John Anderson

[moonblade]

You've brought up an important point. You can't have samurai without a lord to serve. Maybe Sony and Mitsubishi could create a new samurai class.

But you're perpetuating a serious myth. Woman WERE samurai. It was a societal class. You can't have a class without the ability to breed. Samurai women had many responsibilities including the possibility of commiting seppuku and defending their land. This very forum has paintings of women samurai defending bridges with naginata. Ever hear of somebody named Tomoe Gozen? There's an awful comic of the same name but she was an historical figure as well.

[Jung_Yul]

Ah! Gommen, gommen... once again I learn to see how little I know. I have much to learn. Domo arigato gozaimasu ta!

Sony or Mitsubishi become modern lords to revive the Samurai? lol ^_^ Amusing concept, but then, I'm sure that many honorable Samurai, both men and women, defended the ways of corrupt lords even hundreds of years ago... ^_^

Yours in Budo,
John Anderson

[moonblade]

Too true but it brings up an interesting philosophical question. Are you a better samurai if you serve a good lord or an evil lord?

The evil lord! It's easy to serve a good man but a true samurai could serve even the devil himself without question.

Feh. Better to stick to the purity of Kendo.

[Nishi]

If you can find a way to serve humanity in a selfless way (sutemi), and give yourself to the people and principles that really require you, then you are already samurai (one who serves).

Gendai budo, or more so Kendo, is the study of humanity and through correct (consistant & lifelong) training we can understand humanity and how to serve it.

There is no glory in it, thats what makes self sacrifice unappealing.