SAMURAI RESUME ASSIGNMENT
SCENARIO
You are a courageous and highly skilled samurai. You have served your daimyo quite well
with a spirit of loyalty and dignity. Your service to the noble daimyo has allowed you to
support your family in a very comfortable manner. However, you have just received the most
unfortunate word that your daimyo has died. You are saddened by this loss, as he was like
part of your own family. Now you must prepare yourself to find a new daimyo to serve. One
of the ultimate tools in a job search is the resume. The resume briefly lists your experience
and skills for a potential employer. Now you must prepare a "killer" resume to market
yourself in order to find a new job. In this resume you must present abilities, expertise, and
interests that would have actually been characteristic of a real samurai. That means your
resume needs to be based on research that is historically accurate. To complete this
assignment you can research samurais, Japanese warfare or a specific shogun. Don't forget,
history has recorded both men and women as being brave and noble samurai.
BACKGROUND INFO
The daimyo was the title given to territorial lords who ruled over vast land holdings and large numbers of
vassals (or peasants) in Japan from the 10th until the mid-19th century.
The samurai (or bushi) were the warriors of medieval Japan. Samurai employed a range of weapons such as
bows and arrows, spears and guns, but their main weapon and symbol was the sword.
Samurai were supposed to lead their lives according to the ethic code of bushido ("the way of the warrior").
Strongly Confucian in nature, bushido stressed concepts such as loyalty to one's master, self discipline and
respectful, ethical behavior. Many samurai were also drawn to the teachings and practices of Zen Buddhism.
The shogun was a (usually) hereditary military dictator in medieval Japan who relegated the emperors to a
position of purely theoretical (powerless) supremacy.
CHM 4E: Samurai Resume
Date:
Name:
Knowledge:
Demonstrates knowledge of medieval Japanese
society and samurai culture
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Thinking:
Choice of attributes of a samurai to highlight on
resume are relevant
Communication:
Clear communication of skills and abilities; follows
resume format
Application:
Connects life of samurai to resume style; would be
hired by new daimyo
THE SAMURAI AND THEIR USE OF BUSHIDO
In Japan the warrior class was known as samurai, also called bushi (hence bushido). They formed a class in and
of themselves during the 9th and 12th centuries. They emerged from the provinces of Japan to become the
ruling class until their decline and later total abolition in 1876 during the Meiji Era.
The samurai were fighting men and women, skilled in the martial arts. Samurai had extensive skills in the use of
the bow and arrow and the sword, but they could just as likely have killed you with their bare hands. Samurai
were also great horsemen.
These warriors lived by Bushido; it was their way of life. The samurai's loyalty to the emperor and his overlord,
or daimyo, was unsurpassed. They were trustworthy and honest. They lived frugal lives with no interest in
riches and material things, but rather they were interested in honor and pride. Samurai had no fear of death.
They would enter any battle no matter the odds. To die in battle would only bring honour to one's family and
one's lord.
Samurai usually would rather fight alone, one on one. In battle a samurai would call out his family name, rank
and accomplishments. Then he would seek out an opponent with similar rank and do battle. When the samurai
has killed his opponent he severs his head. After battle he takes the heads of his enemies back to show proof of
his victory. Heads of generals and those of high ranks were transported back to the capital and displayed for the
officials and others. The only way out for a defeated samurai was death or ritual suicide: seppuku.
Seppuku--or disembowelment or hara-kiri (belly slicing)--is when a samurai stabs a knife into his abdomen and
literally disembowels himself by cutting out his guts. After the samurai disembowels himself another samurai,
usually a kinsman or friend, slices his head off. This form of suicide was "performed under various
circumstances: to avoid capture in battle, which the samurai did not believe to be dishonorable and degrading,
but generally bad policy; to atone for a misdeed or unworthy act; and perhaps most interestingly, to admonish
one's lord" (Varley, 32). A samurai would rather kill himself than bring shame and disgrace to his family name
and his lord. This was considered an act of true honour.
The samurai became the ruling class during the 1400s and the 1500s. In the 1600s there was a time of
unification; warring in Japan had ceased. Then toward the end of the Tokugawa Era (the late 1700s), Japan
began to move towards a more modernized and Western way of life. There was no need for fighters, for
warriors, for samurai. The samurai and their way of life were officially abolished in the early 1870s, but it was
not forgotten.
BUSHIDO: THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
DOCUMENT A
The samurai had an unwritten code of behavior that became known as bushido or “the way of the warrior.” The
samurai code emphasized loyalty and family values. It placed great value on courage, honor, self-discipline, and
samurais put the needs of others in front of their own. Capture or surrender was dishonorable.
1. How would you describe the samurai code of behavior?
2. What were some of the values of the samurai?
DOCUMENT B – Seppuku
Rather than fall into enemy hands, samurai commonly committed suicide. This act was performed by stabbing a
knife into the left side of the abdomen, drawing across to the right and giving a final upward twist to the chest.
Samurai committed suicide in this fashion not only to avoid capture, but to make up for any unworthy behavior.
1. Why would a samurai commit suicide?
2. How would a samurai commit suicide?
DOCUMENT C – The Code of Bushido
“The business of the samurai consists in reflecting on his own station in life, in discharging loyal service to his
master if he has one, in deepening his fidelity (faithfulness) in association with friends, and with the due
consideration of his own position in devoting himself to duty above all.”
- Yamaga Soko (1622-1685)
“The way of the warrior (bushido) is to find a way to die. If a choice is given between life and death, the
samurai must choose death. There is no more meaning beyond this. Make up your mind and follow the course.
Someone may say, ‘You die in vain if you do not accomplish what you set out to do.’
“If the samurai misses his objectives and continues to live, he must be seen as a coward. If he misses his
objectives and chooses death … this must be a noble act. It is of utmost importance for bushido. Day and night,
if you make an effort to think of death and at a moment’s notice, you and the bushido will become one. In this
way throughout your life you can perform your duties for your master…”
- Hagakure by Yamato Tsunetomo, 1716
1. How would you describe Bushido?
2. Why would a samurai choose death?