Samurai were elite and highly skilled warriors that arose in the tenth century in Japan. They performed military service using a bow or swords of varying lengths and were essential components of Medieval Japanese armies. The samurai were both highly mythologised and romanticised as the epitome of chivalry and honour, famous for their code of bushido meaning the ‘way of the warrior’ which is essentially the code of conduct for the samurai.
From the seventeenth century, samurai were no longer active in the military, so they became advisors and moral guides, teachers, or administrators, but still held the elevated social status the samurai always had. Eventually in 1876 samurai were formally disestablished in Japan.
