The Samurai in Japanese Ukiyo-e Prints
A look at the samurai of Japan as depicted in the ukiyo-e prints of the Edo Period.
Like European knights or American Hollywood cowboys, the Japanese samurai stands larger than life in cultural memory. Today, they are usually remembered as stoic, honor-bound warriors leading lives full of peril and tragic romance. But who were the real samurai, and how can we untangle the men from their myth? And how has art, both during and after their heyday, affected the way we think about samurai today?
The Mythic Samurai
The samurai of legend is a monumental figure. He (or occasionally she) stands tall and imposing, a mountain of ornate armor and willpower. His sword, the katana, has been mythologized as the sharpest blade ever forged. His conduct, likewise, has been squeezed into the narrow confines of bushido, a code of behavior similar to the chivalry followed by European knights. The samurai, we imagine, would kill himself without a second thought before straying from the laws of honor.
But this is ultimately a fairy-tale person, like Sir Lancelot or a John Wayne character. As we examine how samurai were depicted in contemporary Japanese art, it’s important to keep in mind the contrast between the man photographed above and those illustrated below. One is an individual person, the other an archetype. When you picture a samurai, which image is closer to what you see in your mind’s eye? The dynamic between these two visions of a samurai had a real-world impact not only on their legacy, but also their daily life and public reputation in feudal Japan.
The Rise of the Samurai Class
Though warrior skills were valued in Japan for thousands of years, the samurai tradition did not fully develop until around 1185 CE. Samurai arose mainly due to changing political realities at that time. The emperor, a figure of divine importance but little real power, could not enforce his authority across much of Japan. Instead, powerful landowners employed armed forces to maintain control over lucrative rice farms.
As their influence grew, these nobles vied for territory, often through violent clashes. A particularly powerful figure known as the shogun became the true ruling authority in Japan. The first shogun, Minamoto Yorimoto, was appointed in 1192. The system of a figurehead emperor controlled by the militaristic shogunate would continue until the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
The samurai developed as essentially mercenaries, hired by these noble families to protect and expand their interests. Over time, however, samurai clans often supplanted the original nobility, becoming wealthy landowners themselves. By the Edo Period, in 1603, they represented much of the daimyō, or the vassals of the shogun. Many, though not all, samurai had moved from mostly mercenary to administrator.
The samurai, from the lowest ranks to the highest, were an enforcing arm of the shogunate but also a threat to its leadership. Because of this, the Edo government, the Tokugawa Shogunate, concentrated samurai and their kin in the city of Edo, now modern Tokyo. The large population of influential, wealthy warlords led to a proliferation of commerce and the arts as well. And this is where the rich tradition of the samurai in art really hit its stride.
Samurai in Japanese Paintings and Prints
The Edo period, especially within the city of Edo, saw the growth of the merchant class and a bustling urban culture. As money changed hands, amenities prospered in the city. Shops, theaters, high-end brothels, and restaurants opened their doors for a flourishing mixture of samurai, merchants, and artisans. Their sometimes hedonistic exploits, along with landscapes, mythology, and battle scenes, were captured by artists, who distributed them en masse via woodblock prints. Just as you might have posters and prints in your home, ukiyo-e prints adorned the houses of Edo’s expanding middle class and were not expensive.
The samurai, of course, featured prominently in Ukiyo-e. Prints record them not only as skilled fighters, but as intellectuals, lovers, and mythical figures. Noble families cultivated prestige by supporting artists and craftsmen. Many samurai took interest in philosophy and poetry as well as warfare and government. The prints did not always depict actual samurai; some instead show actors dressed as samurai, portraying them for local kabuki theaters. Besides providing an exciting, colorful subject matter, these prints also elevated the status and fame of the actor.
Ukiyo-e proved to be a wildly popular medium. They are a partial ancestor of both modern Japanese manga and several important schools of European painting, such as impression. The prints are one of our few remaining insights into the world of the samurai and their contemporaries in the era before photography. And yet, because they were meant for popular consumption and not as a historical record, they have also somewhat distorted the legacy of the real samurai. The figures tend to be imposing, larger-than-life, and idealized into the standard image of the noble warrior.
The Decline of the Samurai
The extravagant lifestyles of samurai rulers, who supported a home in both Edo and their actual lands, gradually impoverished them by the 19th century. At the same time, the long-standing shogunate was buckling under new pressures. After watching neighboring China face colonial subjugation, and having its own harbors forcibly opened to trade in 1853, the Japanese determined to modernize industry and reassert central authority.
The Meiji Restoration of 1868 brought numerous changes to Japan, most notably the renewed power of the emperor and rapid technological innovation. It also abolished the samurai and daimyō, leaving much of the former aristocracy obsolete, landless, and broke. Ironically, it was a group of samurai who led the coup against the shogun and empowered the young Emperor Meiji.
Some samurai families accepted this change and moved on to serve in the Meiji government and military. Others resisted and were forcibly shut down. Either way, the era of the samurai was over. Thankfully, thousands of the ukiyo-e documenting life in their golden age have survived, giving us a lingering, if fantastical, glimpse into a bygone world.
References
“Art of the Pleasure Quarters and the Ukiyo-e Style.” The Met, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/plea/hd_plea.htm. Accessed 9 July 2020.
McGregor, Mark, and Mariko Ishida. Ukiyo-E: Secrets of the Floating World. Vyiha Publishing, 2016.
“Samurai, Soldiers, and Idealized Militarism in Japanese Prints.” RISD Museum, RISD Museum, risdmuseum.org/exhibitions-events/exhibitions/samurai-soldiers-and-idealized-militarism-japanese-prints. Accessed 9 July 2020.
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