At their peak, in the 17th and 18th centuries, there were an estimated 1 million to 3 million samurai. These ranged from the shogun or military ruler and his generals to feudal lords and administrators, all the way down to personal guards. Half of these samurai were women. Elegant silk firefighting uniforms on display at the exhibition suggest that some specialised in battling fires within the largely wooden city of Edo (now Tokyo) too.
A still from the 2003 film When the Last Sword is Drawn. Many of the apocryphal legends about samurai were created, interestingly, by samurai.
What other surprises lie in wait, at the British Museum exhibition on 1,000 years of samurai history? Click here to take a look. Keep scrolling, for more from the exhibition.
A surcoat or protective garment worn over armour that possibly belonged to legendary samurai Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-98).With his tactical genius and strong battlefield skills, Toyotomi rose to the post of chief Imperial minister and eventually one of the Three Unifiers (along with Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu) who played a critical role in the consolidation and establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868.
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Christianity became part of Japan’s diplomatic engagement with the West in the 16th century. (Above left) A portrait of the Christian samurai Ito Mancio, who led the first Japanese delegation to the Vatican.“On the return journey, while in Venice, his portrait was painted by Dominico Tintoretto showing him in beautiful velvet costume and an ostentatious ruff,” says Rosina Buckland, the British Museum show’s lead curator.
(Above right) After the fall of the shogunate, visitors to Japan often held on to artefacts from the period, adding to the lore. In 1887, during a seven-month stay in the country, the Italian count Enrico of Bourbon-Parma even commissioned a portrait of himself as a Japanese warrior.
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Duck and Man, a 2025 artwork by Noguchi Tetsuya. The Japanese artist is known for his samurai figurines wearing meticulously crafted miniaturised armour. “The surprise with this one is that the figure is sitting on a rubber duck, employing playful, humorous juxtapositions. This work perhaps suggests the need for fun and whimsicality in our high-pressure, modern lives,” says Buckland.
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Samurai live on in popular culture, with movies and videogames helping cement and sometimes complicate their tale. Many of these reinforce an idea of the samurai code that emerged in modern Japan and was further romanticised in the West. Above, a still from the 2020 videogame Ghost of Tsushima (above), in which a samurai is forced to abandon the code and use stealth tactics to save his home from Mongol invasion.
सिद्धभूमि के लेखक एक प्रमुख समाचार लेखक हैं, जिन्होंने समाज और राजनीति के महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दों पर गहरी जानकारी और विश्लेषण प्रदान किया है। उनकी लेखनी न केवल तथ्यात्मक होती है, बल्कि समाज की जटिलताओं को समझने और उजागर करने की क्षमता रखती है। उनके लेखों में तात्कालिक घटनाओं के विस्तृत विश्लेषण और विचारशील दृष्टिकोण की झलक मिलती है, जो पाठकों को समाज के विभिन्न पहलुओं पर सोचने के लिए प्रेरित करते हैं।
एक ऐसे समय में जब प्रिंट एवं मुद्रण अपनी प्रारंभिक अवस्था में था ,समाचार पत्र अपने संसाधनो के बूते निकाल पाना बेहद दुष्कर कार्य था ,लेकिन इसे चुनौती के रूप में स्वीकार करते हुए स्वर्गीय श्री शयाम सुन्दर मिश्र “प्रान ” ने 12 मार्च 1978 को पडरौना (कुशीनगर ) उत्तर प्रदेश से सिद्ध भूमि हिंदी साप्ताहिक का प्रकाशन आरम्भ किया | स्वर्गीय श्री शयाम सुन्दर मिश्र “प्रान ” सीमित साधनों व अभावों के बीच पत्रकारिता को मिशन के रूप में लेकर चलने वाले पत्रकार थे । उनका मानना था कि पत्रकारिता राष्ट्रीय लोक चेतना को उद्वीप्त करने का सबसे सशक्त माध्यम है । इसके द्वारा ही जनपक्षीय सरोकारो को जिन्दा रखा जा सकता है । किसी भी संस्था के लिए चार दशक से अधिक का सफ़र कम नही है ,सिद्ध भूमि ने इस लम्बी यात्रा में जनपक्षीय सरोकारो को जिन्दा रखते हुए कर्मपथ पर अपने कदम बढ़ाएं हैं और भविष्य के लिए भी नयी आशाएं और उम्मीदें जगाई हैं । ऑनलाइन माध्यम की उपयोगिता को समझते हुए सिद्ध भूमि न्यूज़ पोर्टल की शुरुवात जुलाई 2013 में किया गया |
हमसे संपर्क करने और जुड़ने के लिए मेल करें - siddhbhoomi@gmail.com
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