Samurai vs Knights.

HI! and welcome to  Shogun vs Europe! In this segment we will comparing the Samurai and the Knights. Keep in mind none of these peoples had met yet and were on the other side of the world so differences are common, but are there similarities. Read to find out!

Samurai!

These were the warriors of pre modern Japan. The Bushi, or as we know them the Samurai. They are the military class that became the highest ranked during the Edo Period (1603 -1867) even though they started appearing around the Heian Period (794 to 1185). They used bows and arrows, spears and sometimes guns, but their main weapon, their sybom, was the sword. Their swords were so important they said a mans honour would reside in the sword, the craftmanship of swords even became an art itself. Their swords were also curved. Samurai were supesed to live by the ethic code of bushido (The way of the warrior). Loyalty, self disciplne and respectful and ethical behaviour are just some of the things that you need to do under bushido. Many samurai also were zen buddhists. The samurai were used to defend Japan and give the Shoguns power. They started of helping wealthy land owners. They helped everyone, the name samurai even translates into "those who serve"! They wear leather because it is light and ususally have very different designs and some samurai have horns on their helmets. They are also associated with the colour red but would also wear other colours.

Knights!

The knights and their servants dominated the medieval period. It was their duty to learn to fight and serve their leige. This was according to the Code of Chivalry. This was a very violent time though, knights were ordered to defend and guard castles and had to learn to use a range of weapons like swords, battle axes, daggers, maces and a lance. If you wanted to become a knight though it was a very hard task requiring years of training. First you trained as a page, then as a squire. Now being a knight wasn't just standing around and fighting, there was fun and games to! Lots of tournaments were help so knights could train and show of. Some of the things in the tournaments were archery, jousting and hand to hand combat with a range of different weapons. These were dangerous tournaments! As allways, there was a code they had to follow. This was called The Code of Chivalry. This meant during battle you had to be brave and fearless but show good amnners, generosity and be devout and courteous. They also had to be nice to women. This is also where we get the knight in shiing armour picture. The Code of Chivalry aslo led ot some famous people like King Arthur who ruled Camalot and the Knights if the round table. Armour was also a big thing for knights, but was very expensive. It needed to be fitted for each knight so he had armour that fit him, that way it didnt hamper them in battle. Their armour was a range of garments, chain mail, then iron plates. Horses also wore armour. 

Similarities

Now for the similarities, there is lots of similarities but one obvious similaritie is they are both wariors, I know it is obvious but it is still a similarities. Another one is they wear armour and their main weapon is a sword, the swords may look different but they are both swords, they are both made for metal. Pretty amazing considering they had never met. Another is that they both had a code which specialised in honour and being a nice person in general, also these wariors were there to serve the empire and give protection to the lowly. Another similaritie is that they dont just use swords, even though it is their main weapon, they also use bows and arrows. Also their helmets usually have designs on them. The samurai had horns or wings on their helmets and the knights often had feathers comming out of their armour. 

Differences

Now they lived on different sides of the world, and had never met so there is alot of differences. The forst difference that comes to mind is the swords. The European swords were just long, they were sharp but the Japanese were sharper! The Japanese made theirs by heating the metal and then folding it over and over again, they were also curved so it was better for killing but blocking was a nightmare. Some other differences was what armour they wore. Samurai wore leather and wore it in red where as knights wore metal and of course, that was grey. Also another difference is one that may not be true but because we dont know EVERYTHING it is as good as true. And that is tournaments. We know that knights did a lot of tournaments to train but we have no knowledge of samurai doing tournaments. Of course they may have but we just dont know. Also another like the last one this may not be true but we dont have enough information to tell. And that is the way people become a warrior. We know that nights had to go through years of training and they had to become a page and then a squire, but with the samurai, we dont know. Did it take years? Probably but what evedence do we have! Also did they have to become something else first? We just dont know!