Hi Erik,
Ronin or "wave man" is a samurai without a master.
They have either been released from service, their
lord is dead, their clan has been shattered, they
committed an act that resulted in them being cast out.
These are some of the reasons one woul become ronin.
During the early Tokugawa period there was estimated
to be close to 400,000 Ronin in Japan. The reason for
this was the disbanding of many defeated clans after
the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) by the victorious
Tokugawa Shogunate. These Ronin would figure
prominantly in the Osaka Campaigns of 1614-1615 on the
Toyotomi side and during the Shimabara Rebelion of
1637-1638 on the rebel side. These Ronin took any
chance to strike back at the those who made them Ronin
namely the Shogunate and their Hatamoto. The Ronin are
often depicted as the champion of the peasant and as a
dangerious man during the Tokugawa Period. Many of
these Ronin also found service in the Tozama
Clans(outside clans) such as the Shimazu and Nabeshima
Clans.
Ronin Samurai also figured prominantly during the
Meiji Restoration and the downfall of the Shogunate in
1867-1868.
Hope I helped ya.
Jake
--- Erik Larson <
skippyefa@...> wrote:
> What exactly are the Ronin? I thought that they
> where Samurai that
> had lost their lord and lands. Is there more to
> them?
>
>
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