samurai stories
Japanese fighter narratives
Samurai stories are narratives centered on Japan's warrior class, typically set in feudal Japan and featuring themes of honor, loyalty, martial skill, and bushido—the samurai code.
The genre spans literature, film, and other media: Kurosawa's samurai stories influenced countless Westerns.
Like Westerns in American culture, samurai stories explore codes of conduct against backdrops of violence and social change.
- HonorName or courtroom title
- TokugawaRuling samurai dynasty, 1600s-1800s
- clan loyaltyDevotion to kinfolk
- CourageSpirit facing danger
- SacrificeSurrendering something valued
master swordsman · cherry blossoms · revenge tale · Shogun · Zen Buddhism · Tradition · feudal Japan · warrior code · Feudalism · sword fighting · Haiku · Akira Kurosawa
- Japanese LiteratureNorwegian Wood, Rashomon, Confessions, Kappa, Genji
- children's storiesfairy tales, folk tales, picture books, classic tales, fantasy tales
- Asian theaterkabuki, noh, Beijing opera, bunraku, Peking opera
- Japanese theaterkabuki, noh, bunraku, Bunraku, kyogen