Samurai and Knights: What were the Similarities and Differences?

Overview: More than a thousand years ago, a class of professional warriors arose, who swore oaths of loyalty to noble lords and fought to the death to defeat them in battle. Interestingly, this happened at about the same time in both Japan and Europe, even though the regions were thousands of miles apart. The Japanese called the warriors samurai; the Europeans called their warriors knights. Study the documents provided and answer the question: Samurai and Knights: what were the similarities and differences?

Questions and answers about the Samurai and Knights:

Questions A: Two Feudal Class Systems

Questions B: Loyalty to the Feudal Lord in Japan and Europe
Questions C: Armor of Japanese and European Warriors
Questions D: Military Training of Samurai and Knights
Questions E: Codes of Honor
Questions F: Feelings about Death

Terms

clan - group of people who are descended from a common ancestor
feudalism - political and economic system in which lords gave lands tonobles in return for military service and loyalty.
knight - knights exchanged loyalty and military service to a lord for apiece of land called a fief. (European horseman warrior)
samurai - Military group in feudal Japan (horseman warrior in Japan)
shogun - supreme military ruler in Japan
chivalry - ideal code of conduct for medieval knights.
bushido - code of honor and conduct for samurai

Questions A: Two Feudal Class Systems

What is the purpose of drawing a social pyramid?
- show which groups of people have more power, wealth, and social standing than the other groups.
- who is at the top, middle, and bottom of a society.
What group in Japan was like the lords in Europe?
- daimyos
In Japan, what was the relationship between samurai and daimyos?
- The samurai were the warrior class and the daimyos were the lords and landowners. The daimyos hired the samurai for protection and making war.
  In return, the samurai received land or payment for their services.
In Europe, what was the relationship between knights and lords?
- The lords were the wealthy landowners and the knights were the warrior class. The knights would receive land or payment from the lords for the knights’ loyalty and military service to the lords.
What were the similarities between samurai and knights?
- There were great similarities between knights and samurai. In the social pyramid, they were both in the same position in the social hierarchy and received some sort of payment (land/fee) for their loyalty and military service to their lord/daimyo.

Questions B: Loyalty to the Feudal Lord in Japan and Europe

Was the relationship between lord and warrior hereditary? What does that mean?
- hereditary relationship between lord and warrior in Japan means that a child MUST follow the same relationship that their parents had before them.
What evidence is there that the bond between lord and samurai in japan was strong?
- The samurai’s allegiance to his lord lasts the duration of three lives.....his past existence, his present one, and the next life.
- The bond was forever lasting.
About how many acres might be required to support a knight in western Europe?
- about 600 acres was needed to enable a knight to support himself, his horses, his armor, his squire, and his family if he had one.
What was an important similarity between samurai and knights
- Both had to show a sense of loyalty to their lord in order to receive payment.
- Both had to give their lord military service.
What was an important difference between samurai and knights
- Samurai’s bond to his lord was hereditary and it was passed down from generation to generation. A samurai’s child will always be a samurai.
- A Knight had to show allegiance to his contract. A knight’s child doesn’t have to become a knight and could stop the contract that his father had “signed”.

Questions C: Military Training of Samurai and Knights

What are three examples of the kind of training received by young samurai hopefuls?
- Physical Training: Kendo (art of fencing with bamboo sticks.)
- Moral Training: Zen Buddhism
- Mental Training: poetry.
What are three examples of the kind of training received by young Pages hoping to become knights?
- Horseman Training: refining his horse skills
- Religious Training: some training in religious instructions
- Physical Training: with wooden swords
In what ceremony and at what age was a Japanese trainee inducted into the samurai class?
- age: 14
- ceremony: genpuku at age 14
At what age did a European page become a squire? When did a squire become a knight?
- squire age: 14.
- knight age: 21
What were the main differences between samurai and knights?
- Training: Samurai trained in studies as well as in fighting and sometimes Japanese girls received warfare instruction.
  There were many different levels of a knight’s training unlike that of the Samurai.
- Samurai may have gone into battle at a much younger age since they became a samurai at the age of 14 & knights didn’t become “knighted” until the age of 21 where he would be in battle alone.
What were the main similarities between samurai and knights?
- they both began their training in their childhood.
- trained for many years before they became warriors.
- used some sort of fake weapons to train.
- received some religious or moral instruction.
- Eventually they both studied poetry.

Questions D: Armor of Japanese and European Warriors

What was the main purpose of suits of armor?
- protect the warrior in battle.
Both the samurai and knights generally fought on horseback. Who would have been in the most trouble if he was knocked from his horse or his horse was killed? Explain your thinking.
- European knight would be in the most trouble because of the weight of his armor which ranged anywhere from 40- 60 pounds. His horse meant that he was able to be move about freely and without his horse, he was basically an open target.
- The Japanese samurai’s armor allowed for more hand to hand fighting.
Military historians speak of the difference between shock warfare (striking the enemy with weapons like swords, lances or axes) & projectile warfare (shooting or throwing arrows, javelins, and bullets). Judging from the armor, which kind of offensive warfare was fought by the samurai and knights? In each case, explain your thinking.
- Shock warfare: knights were better suited because their armor allowed the knight to ride up to his enemy and make a direct hit. It DIDN’T allow for the knight to throw things at his enemy because of its rigidness.
- Projectile warfare: samurai were better suited because their armor had the right arm free which allowed the warrior to THROW things at his enemy or use his bow & arrow.
What was an important similarity between samurai and knight armor?
- both had some type of iron plate armor.
- both had full body armor
WHAT was an important difference between samurai and knight armor?
- free arm of the samurai armor. This allowed the samurai to fight from either point whether it was farther away using a bow and arrow or up close using swords and having the ability to throw things and move around and attack.

Questions E: Codes of Honor

What are the main characteristics of bushido? What are the main characteristics of chivalry?
- Bushido: be loyal to the master, upholding moral principles, ways of peace and be ready to use your weapon at all times.
- Chivalry: Loyalty to the king, mercy, courtesy, helpfulness, honor, strength, and bravery.
Which code of honor was written first? What is the difference in years between the writing of these codes?
- Knights Code written in 1470.
- Samurai Code was written in 1600s.
- difference is about 130 years.
What should a samurai do if there is a conflict between dealing with a family problem and one involving the Daimyo family he serves?
- The Samurai’s main concern is to always be loyal to his lord and serve his lord even before his own family’s problems.
Based on this document, what were the main similarities between samurai and knights?
- responsibility to be loyal to his lord.
- live an honorable life.
What were the main differences between samurai and knights?
- samurai’s code seems more loyal and devoted to his lord even before his family. knight’s code states that he must be loyal to his lord, but also pay attention to being courteous to the ladies, not to fight for worldly gain, give mercy to those asking for it.

Questions F: Feelings about Death

What was a Samurai's attitude to Death?
- One day you are here and the next you are not.
Were the Samurai afraid of death?
- Death is like any other day. It really is no big deal.
How would you describe a knight’s view of life?
- Afraid of death and asking forgiveness for the sins that he has created. Begs for mercy and perhaps be fearful of not being accepted into heaven.
In general, were the responses to death of the samurai and the knight similar or different? Explain.
- The responses were very much different. It seems like the Samurai never questioned his afterlife and it was as if he knew his place in the after life. If the samurai had been honorable to his master as well as
  his ancestors there was no need for fear.
- Whereas with a knight, there may be worry that he had sins he had not confessed to a Catholic Priest and sought forgiveness and so may be asking for mercy. They may be worried that they would not be offered a place in heaven.