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The hereditary stipends provided to the samurai by their formal feudal lords (and assumed by the central government in 1871) were likewise abolished in 1873. The prohibition on wearing swords was controversial with the Meiji oligarchy but the argument, that it was an anachronism not in keeping with the westernization of Japan, won out.
A samurai in his armour in the 1860s. Hand-colored photograph by Felice Beato. Samurai or bushi (武士, [bɯ.ɕi]) were members of the warrior class in Japan.They were originally provincial warriors who served the Kuge and imperial court in the late 12th century, although it is debated when they became a class. [1]
They were instrumental in overthrowing the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Boshin War (1868–1869). [201] In 1873, Emperor Meiji abolished the samurai class in favor of a western-style conscripted army. They lost their privileges such as the only class allowed to wield weapons. Many samurai volunteered as soldiers, and many advanced to be trained as ...
In the 1870s, the Meiji restoration abolished the samurai class and they were transferred to professional, military and business classes. [37] However, the former samurai and their descendants continued to be influential in Japanese society because they occupied important positions. Bushido has continued to exist in various types.
Furthermore, hereditary stipends to their samurai retainers were paid out of the prefectural office by the central government, and not directly by the governor, a move calculated to further weaken the traditional feudal ties. The term daimyō was abolished in July 1869 as well, with the formation of the kazoku peerage system.
During the Meiji period an edict was passed in 1871 abolishing the requirement that daishō be worn by samurai, and in 1876 wearing swords in public by most of Japan's population was banned; thus ended the use of the daishō as the symbol of the samurai. The samurai class was abolished soon after the sword ban. [14] [15] [16]
Indeed, Clavell once revealed that his hugely successful novel had been inspired by a single line he read in his daughter’s textbook: “In 1600, an Englishman went to Japan and became a samurai.”
Samurai were paid a stipend from their lord, limiting their ties to the economic base. In addition, samurai could not own land, which would have given them income independent from their duty. Samurai generally lived around their daimyō 's castle, creating a thriving town or city environment around the middle of a domain.