By: Erika Schmitt
An order of wandering warrior monks, righting wrongs and defending the helpless where they tread. At first glance, the Jedi Order and the Samurai of Japan seem to be extremely similar. George Lucas himself credits several Japanese films with being important inspirations for Star Wars. The very word “Jedi” comes from “Jidai-geki”, a type of Japanese period piece film. But how deep do those similarities go? There may not be as much common ground as you think.
Heian Period (710-1185)
Although the earliest samurai were a response to Emishi resistance towards the Kyoto-based emperor, the samurai later evolved into warriors-for-hire in order to protect nobles’ land. The word samurai itself comes from the verb saburau, meaning to serve. Due to the lack of structure in the distant estates, nearby chiefdens would attack and prevent the emperor and courtiers from receiving the agricultural based income that they relied on. The samurai sent to these estates created militias from the residents in order to build local and regional power in their absence. These militias or “warrior bands” first began as families who formed for organized military campaigns and then disbanded afterwards in order to tend to their fields. By the 11th century, the warrior bands gained enough manpower, resources, and political backing to create the first samurai dominated government.
Two of the most powerful clans, the Minamoto to the east and the Taira to the west, fought against each other during the Heiji Rebellion of 1160. With the Taira clan as victor, the leader seized control of the central government, established the first samurai-government, and demoted the emperor to a figurehead. The Minamoto and Taira would clash again resulting in the Genpai War, this time with the Minamoto clan triumphant.
Kamakura Period (1185-1333)
The Minamoto clan established the new capital at Kamakura, which was located near their base of power. The leader of the Minamoto would be granted the title of Sei’i Taishogun (which translates to “Great Barbarian Subduing General” or shogun for short) by the emperor. It was during this period that a feudal system was established with warrior landowning vassals known as daimyos would report back to the shogun. The shogun initially limited samurai duties to tax collecting and policing, but with their responsibilities eventually expanding, the samurai class eventually replaced the aristocracy as a ruling power in Japan.
Muromachi Period (1338-1573)
The Muromachi Period is broken up into two sections with the Sengoku Period lasting the latter half, from 1467 until 1615. During this time, Japan was in a near constant state of civil war (sengoku refers to the age of warring states) which began with the fall of the previous dynasty and the collapse of the feudal system. Due to political instability and warfare, anyone could
prove themselves in battle to become a samurai - an honor not easily bestowed in previous generations.
Even though Japan was in a precarious state for almost 150 years, it was also during this time that the castles of Osaka, Himeji, Kumamoto, and others were built. Renamed dojos, these castles acted as schools where samurai were taught different martial arts styles. Inspired by a new interest in Zen Buddhism, the arts were pursued by samurai in the form of calligraphy, ink paintings, Noh dramas, architecture, literature, landscape gardening, flower arranging and tea ceremonies (chado). Also during this time, Shinto became a popular belief in that the Japanese emperor was divinely appointed thus proving spiritual dominance and supremacy over China and India. As such, during the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, the role of the kamikaze (divine wind) became prevalent in defeating an enemy.
Edo Period (1603-1868)
Marked by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policy, a stable population, no wars, and the population enjoying arts and culture, Japan entered an era where the samurai were unchallenged rulers of the feudal hierarchy - which was brought back by the newly established Tokugawa Shogun. With samurai as the top class, the second was peasants, next was craftsman, and then merchants, this elaborate system discouraged social mobility and every family knew their place and level of prestige.
It was during this time of peace that other forms of art such as geishas, kabuki, woodblock prints, and art such as The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Hokusai were created. Also during this peaceful time, the samurai were introduced to Confucian teachings (blended with Shinto and Zen Buddhism beliefs) which encouraged a bushido lifestyle of diligence, honor, honesty, loyalty, and frugality.
The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Hokusai
Unfortunately, the shogun trusted power to his 300 daimyo - each having their own castle - who were served and protected by their own samurai vassals. The shogun forced each daimyo to visit Edo (the location of the capital, present day Tokyo) for years at a time, which became costly to the various daimyo estates and ultimately drained their earnings through the years. The samurai, who were warriors during a time of peace, were out of work and forced to become civil servants, paid by their daimyo. However, if the daimyo themselves eventually lost their earnings, they could not long pay those under them. This caused the samurai to lose ownership of their land and become peasants and in some cases become homeless and indebted to those of lower ranks.
Meiji Period (1868-1912)
In 1853, American Commodore Matthew Perry threatened military action unless Japan ended its long held isolationist tendencies. Since the emperor was more of a figurehead than a military leader, Commodore Perry’s ultimatum was directed towards the ruling shogun, whose authority was already being challenged by disgruntled samurai. Under this pretext, the samurai eventually overthrew the shogun and restored imperial power to the emperor for the first time in 700 years. This rebellion would eventually backfire for the samurai. Although they were essential to giving the emperor back his throne, the samurai were completely stripped of all titles and power, forcing them to surrender all weapons within the first decade of the revolution and integrate into Japanese society.
Commodore Perry
While George Lucas was heavily inspired by samurai films (most notably Akira Kurosawa’s Hidden Fortress), that inspiration seems limited to the look and style of the samurai, rather than their actual history. Traditional samurai dress was symbolic of their status. Modest and muted colors were favored and silk was used. Everyday wear consisted of a kimono with an inner and outer layer which covered the loincloth underneath. The belt worn at the waist was called the obi and typically secured to it was the katana, on the left side. Acting as a sort of jacket with oversized sleeves and exaggerated shoulders was the kamishimo, to be worn in public. Wide trousers were worn on the lower half. If that description doesn’t ring any bells, Google Image search “Jedi robes” and read it again.
Edo Period style helmet or zunari kabuto which draws significant parallels to Darth Vader.
The weapon of choice for a samurai was the sword. Although the types of swords differed throughout the samurai’s lengthy history, it was during the Edo Period that the use of a long katana sword and a smaller wakizashi sword were officially regulated. A samurai’s weapon was immensely important, and their skill at wielding it even more so. One might say that a samurai’s weapon was his life. The katana is obviously similar to a Jedi’s lightsaber, but even the smaller wakizashi has parallels in the Star Wars universe. Many Jedi (and Sith, for that matter) who dual wield lightsabers with the Jar Kai technique, use a shorter saber called a shoto in their off-hand. Famously, this includes Ahsoka Tano during the Clone Wars, as well as appearing in several Legends novels when Jedi use them specifically to counter enemies wielding lightwhips.
Japanese daisho, the traditional pairing of two swords, was iconic to the samurai
The similarities between Jedi and Samurai are strikingly obvious when you simply look at the two next to each other - but the comparisons end quickly. The history behind actual samurai is seemingly entirely unrelated to Star Wars. This makes sense, though - George wasn’t inspired by Samurai themselves, he was inspired by samurai movies. He captured the look and the feel and even some of the character traits, but didn’t ever study the political or historical standing of samurai. In those areas, the Jedi share more with the Knights Templar, which we’ve already checked out here!
Sources
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/art-japan/kamakura-period/a/an-introduction-t o-the-samurai
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Dissolution https://www.pbs.org/empires/japan/enteredo_8.html#:~:text=The%20samurai's%20everyday%20
wear%20was,the%20warrior%20wore%20a%20loincloth. https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/world-cultures/discovering-japan/discover
ing-japan/samurai-armour/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_armour