Comparison Between Knights and Samurai

Japanese Shogunate Feudal System

Both protected the feudal system

Feudal System

European Feudal System

Knights and Samurai lived in villages which had a feudal system. The feudal system was a social standing system during the middle ages/ shogunate era. Both the knights and samurai fell in the middle of the feudal system because they owed the leaders service in return for land. They fought against opposing sides such as rebellion troupes, barbarian attacks or Mongolian invasion groups. Essentially the Knights and Samurai were the most important part of their society.

Both had a code of Conduct (Bushido, Chivalry)

Bushido Code

Code of Conduct

Both knights and samurai had a code of conduct which was a long list of rules to follow. The code for the Japanese samurais was called the Bushido code. The Bushido code had eight sets of rules to follow which were none as the seven viruses of the samurai. The first rule was to have justice and rectitude, which meant to have moral behavior. The second rule was to have courage no matter what the situation was. The third rule was to have mercy which meant to show love, affection and sympathy. The fourth rule was to have politeness which meant to use your manners especially to people who were higher than you. The fifth rule was to be honest and the sixth rule was to have loyalty especially to your lord. The seventh rule was to have self control and know how they should behave at particular moments. The code of conduct for the knights was chivalry. Chivalry was a code of respecting women,bravery, courtesy and honor.

Chivalry Code

Knights and Samurai were mainly males

Joan of Arc

Although most Knights were males there was one historic Female Knight, Joan of Arc. She had a memorable victory which prevented France from being invaded by England. Joan was soon after burnt to death by the English.

‘I am not afraid... I was born to do this.’

All Males

Have you ever wondered why females are barely ever in Knights or Samurai pictures? That is because Knights and Samurai were mostly males. They were trained by former and present knights and samurai which were males. Females were also not expected to fight. We think societies in the Middle Ages Europe/ Shogunate Era did not allow females to be knights/samurai because they were looked down upon.

Both Rode on Horses

Samurai on a horse

Rode on Horses

A similarity they had was that both knights and Samurai rode on horses. At that time there were no cars so they either traveled on horse or on foot. Horses were an easier way of getting around because they were faster and more convenient for both samurai and knights. They would ride horses to and from battles (fights). We think that samurai and knights would ride on horses because they could carry their weapons more accessibly.

Knight on a Horse

Both started Training at a Young Age

Young Samurai

Young Age Training

Young children who were destined or wanted to be Knights or Samurai had to start training at a very young age. Training for knights started at 7 whereas training for Samurai was between the ages of 5 and 7. Some samurai boys as young as 3 would practice fighting with wooden swords. The age of training was young so knights and samurai would be ready to fight by the time they turned 18. Samurai had a ceremony for commencing training at 15 years of age.

Young knight

Samurai Weapons

Had Different Types of Weaponry

Different Weaponry

Knights Weapons

Knights had any hand held weapons they could carry to the fights whereas every samurai had the same weapons. Knights weapons could include a mace, a sword or a battle axe. Samurai weapons include a long and a short sword; some samurai even owned a bow and arrows. We think that samurai had better weapons than knights because they were more strategic with what weapon to use for who or what they were fighting.

They Wore Different Armour

Samurai Armour

Different Armour

The uniform for the knights and the samurai were very different. Knight armor was mostly used to protect themselves while the samurais used a different approach by using extravagant headwear to distract their enemy. Knight armor was made out of metal and steel. The knight's armor included a helmet, breastplate, pauldrons, rerebrace, vambrace, gauntlet, cisses, poleyns, greaves,a sword and sabatons which were a type of shoes. The samurai's uniform would include a helmet with a head piece, sleeve shields, lower body armor ( couldn't find the translation for the lower body armor) and a sword.

Knight Armour

Young Samurai and His father

Following In the fathers footsteps

Following in Fathers Footsteps

Young Knight and His Father

The Shogunate era in Japan was very strict with how people lived. There were rules that prohibited anyone from moving to a different social class. During the middle ages in Europe the feudal system would let people move to a different social class freely if they changed jobs. Moving so freely to different social classes in Europe made it easier for young knights to choose their future not be like his father. Whereas young Samurai couldn’t change so it would be his destiny to be a samurai.

Buddhism

Had Different Religions

Different Religions

Christianity

Samurai and knights both had religions that they followed. The most common religion in the samurai time was buddhism. Buddhism was none as dharma. Buddisum had four noble truths which left a lot of things unexplained: the first noble existence is suffering,the second one was the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end is suffering and the path that leads to the end of suffering. Christianity was the most common religion with the knights. Christianity believed in Jesus and his teachings and were ordered to take vows to the lord.

KNIGHTHOOD

Modern Day Knights and Samurai

Modern Day Knights

Samurai Movie

During the period of 500 AD to 1867 AD was the era of the middle ages and the Japanese Shogunate era. Knights lived in the middle ages in Europe and samurai lived in the Shogunate era in Japan. This century does not have knights and samurai like it used to but we do have knighthood. Knighthood is given to a man by the Queen or King of England for doing a great service to his country. By being knighted it puts ‘Sir’ in front of your name instead of ‘Mr’. Samurai are not around in this century unless you watch a movie. We think that samurai do not exist anymore because ninjas took over.

Knights had a Coat of Arms

KNIGHts coat of arms

Coat of Arms

In the medieval times knights would often fight against other knights that had the same uniform. An effect of that the knights began to kill their own men so they created the code of arms.The coat of arms was painted on their shield. It was a symbol that represented the army or nation they were fighting for. Those symbols were then used as flags and banners. The samurais did not have a coat of arms

Samurai and Knights in pop culture

Samurais has had a significant impact on pop culture. There have been countless movies and tv shows made about samurais including 13 assassins, seven samurais and the last samurai starring tom cruise. Samurai are also in a lot of video games and anime. Knights have also had a significant impact on pop culture. Knights appear in almost every movie that is based in the middle ages. Knights are also represented in different ways for video games.

Knight

Samurai