Portrait of a Samurai Print

Portrait of a Samurai Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the daimyo (the great feudal landholders). They had high prestige and special privileges such as wearing two swords and Kiri-sute gomen (right to kill anyone of a lower class in certain situations). They cultivated the bushido codes of martial virtues, indifference to pain, and unflinching loyalty, engaging in many local battles.