Zev -
I gather the chance of being elevated to samurai rank varied quite a bit
from period to period, but in general it was hereditary. (Draeger's
_Classical Bujutsu_, which I loaned out to one too many students, had some
details on this that I'm no longer in a position to check, unfortunately.)
As I recall, the greatest chances of elevation in station took place during
times of war, for the same reason that knighthoods in Europe were easier to
come by in such times: more of the upper echelons were getting killed off,
creating space for upward mobility by those who could show their courage and
skill at appropriate moments (i.e., when your superiors are watching).
But given the hereditary element, to say there was an age at which one
became samurai is kind of self-contradicting. But what I suspect you mean
is the age at which he became a warrior. Assuming that's the case... There
was a coming of age ceremony (genpuku, or genbuku) held at 13 or 15, or
shortly before the lad was expected to go into battle for the first time,
according to Anthony J. Bryant's Osprey book _Samurai 1550 - 1600_. (Some
of the colour plates in that are a little suspect, but the information in
the text seems to check out with other sources I've run across - save that
Bryant stresses the inflexible power of the bushido in motivating the
samurai, whereas Draeger and others mention the frequency with which this
code was violated by every class of samurai - to paraphrase "Pirates of the
Caribbean," "It's not so much rules as a set of guidelines.") According to
Bryant, by the time of the genbuku ceremony the boy had already been in
fairly serious training for two to three years (and in some senses, had been
training all his life). At genbuku the boy's head would first get the
shave-and-a-topknot treatment. Since the age at which the ceremony took
place varies so much, I'd guess it was based on the individual's readiness,
but that's only a guess. Anyone with more solid info?
Bryant also has an excellent website - sengokudaimyo.com - with a great deal
of very good information. Apparently he's an SCA recreationist, working on
the living history version of his studies, which in my view gives him a much
better-rounded perspective of the daily life and details of training, etc.,
than most of the other academics.
Gereg Jones Muller, Master-at-Arms
The Silk Road School of Sword and Self-Defense
2. Becoming a Samurai
From: "zevlord" <
LordZev@...>
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 02:03:06 -0000
From: "zevlord" <
LordZev@...>
Subject: Becoming a Samurai
Just a few questions, would I be right in saying that you were born a
Samurai and not become one (apart from the few exceptions). To become
a Samurai you must have the right bloodline, is this correct? Also
how old would a boy be before he turned Samurai. And how old would he
have to be before his first battle or was it, when he proved himself
ready.
________________________________________________________________________
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 23:26:27 EDT
From:
Eponymous13@...
Subject: Re: Becoming a Samurai
Hey
I don't know about the other questions, but yes, aside from the
exceptions, someone was born into the samurai class as far as I know. :-)
L8r
Tim