How changes in Japanese society gave rise to warriors trained in specialised arts

Words by Nikole Robinson

Samurai swords were masterfully crafted by experienced blacksmiths

© Getty

In 646, the Taika Reforms united Japan into a state ruled by an imperial government under an emperor. Land was redistributed, and heavy taxes were imposed. These taxes meant that many farmers had to sell their land and work under others, and as a result wealthy landowners gained more power, becoming lords who answered only to the emperor. To protect their wealth, they began to hire mercenaries and employ family members as guards, triggering the age of the samurai.

These early samurai – meaning ‘one who serves’ – would collect taxes, threaten those who wouldn’t pay up and defend their lord from rivals who might look to expand and take over their assets. However, their importance in society didn’t really take shape until the Heian period, between 794 and 1185, when imperial power began to decline. The emperor’s influence was lost outside of the capital, and civil wars began to break out across the county. The warrior class now played a huge role in society, and local lords began to amass personal armies in the struggle for power.

While the two sons of Emperor Toba fought over what little imperial power remained in the latter half of the 12th century, two powerful samurai and their clans were fighting their own battles. Though Taira Kiyomori’s clan would be victorious at first, seizing control of Japan and establishing the first samurai-led government, after his death the Minamoto clan would strike back in the Genpei War of 1180. After their victory, the head of the clan Minamoto Yoritomo established the Kamakura shogunate, turning Japan into a military dictatorship, but allowing the emperor to remain a figurehead.