The samurai had many purposes in early Japan from handling day-to-day disturbances in the village to defending Japan from foreign invaders. The samurai role in government was simple. Help the Daimyo, or landlords, maintain order. This varied throughout Japan but basically meant to keep the villagers in the fields producing and maintaining the crops. Some …show more content…
The samurai were regulated into two classes; the lower social standing samurai were combined with the commoner while the ones with higher social standing maintained their status. This was until the government of Japan prohibited samurai from wearing two swords in 1876, and with that ending the samurai special rights. During this time many samurai felt the government had gone too far and actually rebelled against Japan and other samurai that still stood by the government. The samurai against Japan formed a rebellion called the Satsuma rebellion. Its leader Saigo Takamori lead the charge through many battles until it became clear that this would not be won. Saigo eventually committed hara-kiri before he could be captured during the Battle of Shiroyama. His death effectively ended the rebellion. The movie “The Last Samurai” is loosely based on this