Studium Generale by Prof. Till Weber (The University of the Ryukyus)

The Samurai
– Japan´s history poster boys put into perspective
– A tour through 800 years of political and cultural history

The samurai, Japan´s warrior elite, took governing power from Kyoto´s court aristocracy in 1185 and started to shape Japan in their own ways. Culturally, the samurai reached a peak that is absolutely fascinating during the Sengoku and Momoyama periods mainly in the 16^th century before they set out to dominate the Edo period until 1868. Officially dissolved as a social class in the 1870´s, the samurais´ legacy such as in martial arts or in a frugal mentality, hierarchical thinking or minimalist, but refined designs is manifest to this day.