The Japanese Samurai were the much-respected warrior class who lived in castle towns controlled by the shogun or daimyo they served. The samurai stood for many virtues- honor, bravery, unquestioning loyalty, self-discipline, and self-denial. 

Only the samurai were allowed to have swords.  These swords were a symbol of the samurai’s social privilege.  They were used to reinforce the social order, with the right to behead any commoner who offended him.  A samurai’s sword was considered to be his soul. 

The samurai had to be agile and fit to wield his sword.  It was also expected that his mind would be sharp by constant dedication to learning. To sharpen their mind, many samurai studied poetry.

The samurai was always ready to die for his honor or the honor of his daimyo.  To avoid public shame or humiliation a samurai would plunge a small sword into his abdomen and then an aide would end the agony by beheading him.  This procedure was considered most honorable if the samurai composed a poem at the time of his death.