Japan: A samurai posing in full armour. Hand coloured albumen print, c. 1890

Samurai (侍), usually referred to in Japanese as bushi (武士) or buke (武家), were the military nobility of medieval and early-modern Japan.

By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as bushidō.

While the samurai numbered less than 10% of Japan's population, their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts.

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