Subject: 武士 bushi warrior
Culture: Japanese
Setting: Heian period, Japan 794-1185
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources,Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
* Freejohn/Rosenbluth eds. 2010 p32 (Karl Friday, "They were soldiers once: The early samurai and the imperial court" p21-52)
"The expansive social and political changes taking shape during the Heian period spawned intensifying competition for wealth and influence among the premier noble houses of the court, which in turn led to a private market for military resources, arising in parallel to the one generated by evolving government military policies. State and private needs thus intersected to create widening avenues to personal success for ambitious young men with military talents. Provincial elites and lower-ranking court nobles, therefore, increasingly turned to military service as a path to entourages of powerful aristocrats and lucrative government posts.
"Compelled by a need to defend themselves and their prerogatives against outlawry and armed resistance, as well as by the desire to maximize the profits that could be squeezed from taxpayers, many provincial governors began to include 'warriors of ability' among the personal staffs that accompanied them to their provinces of appointment. Some also took up arms for themselves and established reputations as military troubleshooters.
"By the tenth century, military service at court and service as a provincial official had become parallel and mutually supportive careers for many zuryō, resulting in the emergence of the group Japanese scholars have dubbed the miyako no musha, or 'warriors of the capital.' These were men of the fourth or fifth court rank, who curried the patronage of the higher nobility and recognition by the state by serving as bodyguards, police, and soldiers."
* Freejohn/Rosenbluth eds. 2010 p38 (Karl Friday, "They were soldiers once: The early samurai and the imperial court" p21-52)
"In Heian times, warriors remained essentially mercenaries, offering their skills and services in exchange for long-term patronage of their careers by court powers-that-be, or for more immediate rewards. While such activities often brought perquisites over lands and peoples, and sometimes involved the transfer of properties hitherto administered by warriors on the losing side of a conflict, Heian samurai were rarely, if ever, able to specify the size or the particulars of rewards for themselves. Any transfers of lands were accomplished indirectly, through the agency of the court and in accord with the niceties by the court-centered legal system.
"Consequently, Heian military alliances tended to be nebulous and short-lived. The larger the organization, the more ephemeral it tended to be. On occasion, illustrious warriors like Minamoto Yoshiie or Yoshitomo were able to construct martial networks that extended across multiple provinces, but until the 1180s, so such organizations survived the death of its founder."
Archery
* Bennett 1998 p352
"yumi Japanese bow of composite construction, consisting of a length of hardwood and sandwiched between two pieces of bamboo, generally bound with rattan and sometimes lacquered. The yumi was normally about 2 m/6.5 ft long and had the grip approximately one-third up from the bottom of the bow. It was used from the Heian period (794-1185).
"It was fired from horseback and this differential enabled the archer to pass the bow quickly over the horse's body as he stood up in the solid stirrups (abumi) to aim and fire."
Armor
*
"
Costume
*
"
Saber
* Bennett 1998 p306
"tachi Japanese slung sword, originating in the Heian period (794-1185) and used continuously for cavalry use and carried with the cutting edge facing down. Different styles of tachi were also worn at court and on ceremonial occasions."
