When did the Japanese Samurai era end?

Answer 1

Officially, the Samurai were banned, literally, legally, from the 1880's onward, the begining of the Meiji restoration era which I believe lasted until the mid 1920's. The transition into the 20th century was more painful for Japan than it was for everyone else; although its Samurai had protected Japan from European colonialism due to its geographical and political isolation, in the end that same isolation and close mindedness, left it too weak to dictate diplomatic terms with Commodore Perry's "black ships." Consequently, the rapid change, left many power vacuums; see, during the Edo period, when the house of Tokugawa ruled, everyone who held political office was a Samurai. The moment they were legally banned, they all lost their positions literally overnight, creating a power vacuum to be filled by corrupt ambitious men, which culminated with Japan ultimately becoming one of the oppressive powers of WWII. Had the Samurai who held positions of power been allowed to keep their jobs, WWII may not have occured because see, by that time, the Samurai class had become pacifists, at its heart, the very nature of Bushido is pacifist. You train as hard as possible, to end violence as quickly as possible. It is true that Hideyoshi Toyotomi attacked China and Korea, seeking to expand Japan's borders, however his lack of success, not to mention the fact that he did it more to get rid of unruly Samurai, than actually wanting an empire, made it so that all the lords that supported him were against him. Toyotomi's attacks on China and Korea, left a lot of sour people who saw it as needless war, just an excuse to get rid of people he didn't like, that bitterness, created trouble for his descendants, culminating in yet another civil war that placed the house of Tokugawa in power. The Tokugawas were more popular than the Toyotomis because under their rule, Japan prospered.

Many Japanese historians, see the Meiji period as an excuse of ambitious men to gain power, the real reason there was pressure to get rid of the Samurai, with the pretext that they were "outdated," was not to modernize Japan, but for them to gain power. Similar to what happened in Great Britain with the advent of Darwinism; there are people who used Darwinism, as an excuse for the ambitious middle class, to wrest power from the upper classes, while using Darwinism as a justification that because they're "the best," that no one should remove them from power. The mentality, later found its way into the United States, hence the reason why social mobility for nonwhites in this country is all but impossible. See the Samurai rulers of Japan during the Tokugawa era were in fact doing a good job; an outstanding job in fact, because Japan had a high living standard, and poverty was nonexistent, a far cry from China, which was being ripped apart by the fall of the Ming, and the Manchus.

So, how was the merchant class able to wrest power from the Samurai? For one, there is strength in numbers, second, they took advantage of the Japanese public's xenophobia. See, Commodore Perry's black ships, provided the ideal pretext to play upon Japanese fear of outsiders.

"Look at how outdated and close minded those Samurai are; we need to learn new technology! Let US have the power."

That, is basically how the merchant class took over Japan; by exploiting Japanese xenophobia and racism.

"If Japan does not modernize like those foreigners are modern, then we will be invaded! Those Samurai do not want to help you WE do!"

Its a gross oversimplification, but, that IS basically how it happened. To a certain extent, that Tom Cruise Samurai movie is indeed accurate; although the Samurai were indeed respected, and the Satsuna rebellion was seen as a tragic chapter in Japanese history as Hollywood drama demonstrated, in the end, Japanese xenophobia won over respect for the Samurai. Therein lies the tragedy; had the Japanese public allowed the Samurai to do their job, reason with them, let them keep their power while letting them guide the modernization process, Japan would not have the dubious distinction of being the only country in the world to have felt nuclear attacks. Millions of both Japanese, and Chinese lives could have been saved.

The fall of the Samurai, was tragic for more reasons than you realize; read the history.

http://www.amazon.com/Samurai-Reprint-New-Directions-Classics/dp/0811213463/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242937629&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Samurai-World-Warrior-Stephen-Turnbull/dp/1841769517/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242937629&sr=1-2

Of course, the idea of using xenophobia to gain power, is not unique to Japan, see, years lator, Mao Zedong did the same thing; "Chairman Mao" kept his dealings with the Russians a secret, whereas Chang Kai Shek foolishly allowed his dealings with the Americans to go public. His rival Mao and his cronies were just all over that; after years of colonialist style humiliation by foreign powers, Chang Kai Shek gave Mao, the means by which to wrest power. He presented himself as a hero for the people, and Chang as yet, another collaborator of course when Mao took power, he revealed his true colors.

Frankly I did not like either of them; I've always seen Chang Kai Shek as somewhat of a coward, and Mao, as an oportunistic pig.

The point remains; had the Samurai kept control of Japan, Nanking, Pearl Harbor, and later on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, none of that would have happened.

all, because, come on, its a small country. However they do not reserve the right to be so arrogant, they are willing to slaughter Chinese, just to have enough raw materials for a military that will ensure its isolation. Of course all that is history, and Japanese society is not likely to change any day soon.