In the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, when warriors held lands that they occupied, a rōnin was a warrior who had lost his lands. During these periods, as small-scale wars frequently occurred throughout Japan, the daimyo needed to augment their armies, so rōnin had opportunities to serve new masters. Also, some rōnin joined in bands, engaging in robbery and uprisings.
Especially in the Sengoku period, daimyo needed additional fighting men, and even if one's master had perished, a rōnin was able to serve a new lord. In contrast to the later Edo period, the bond between the lord and the samurai was loose, and some samurai who were dissatisfied with their treatment left their masters and sought new lords. Many warriors served a succession of masters, and some even became daimyo. As an example, Tōdō Takatora served ten lords. Additionally, the division of the population into classes had not yet taken place, so it was possible to change one's occupation from warrior to merchant or farmer, or the reverse. Saitō Dōsan was one merchant who rose through the warrior ranks to become a daimyo.
As Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified progressively larger parts of the country, daimyo found it unnecessary to recruit new soldiers. Next, the Battle of Sekigahara (AD 1600) resulted in the confiscation or reduction of the fiefs of large numbers of daimyo on the losing side; in consequence, many samurai became rōnin. As many as a hundred thousand rōnin joined forces with Toyotomi Hideyori and fought at the Siege of Osaka. In the ensuing years of peace, there was less need to maintain expensive standing armies, and many surviving rōnin turned to farming or became townspeople. A few, such as Yamada Nagamasa, sought adventure overseas as mercenaries. Still, the majority lived in poverty as rōnin. Under the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu, their number approached half a million.
Initially, the shogunate viewed them as dangerous, and banished them from the cities or restricted the quarters where they could live. They also prohibited serving new masters. As rōnin found themselves with fewer and fewer options, they joined in the Keian Uprising (AD 1651). This forced the shogunate to rethink its policy. It relaxed restrictions on daimyo inheritance, resulting in fewer confiscations of fiefs; and it permitted rōnin to join new masters.
Not having the status or power of employed samurai, rōnin were often disreputable and festive, and the group was a target of humiliation or satire. It was undesirable to be a rōnin, as it meant being without a stipend or farm. As an indication of the humiliation felt by samurai who became rōnin, Lord Redesdale recorded that a rōnin killed himself at the graves of the Forty-Seven Rōnin. He left a note saying that he had tried to enter the service of the daimyo of the Chōshū Domain, but was refused. Wanting to serve no other master, and hating being a rōnin, he had decided to kill himself.
On the other hand, the famous 18th-century writer Kyokutei Bakin renounced his allegiance to Matsudaira Nobunari, in whose service Bakin's samurai father had spent his life. Bakin became voluntarily a rōnin, and eventually spent his time writing books (many of them about samurai) and engaging in festivities.
In the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, when warriors held lands that they occupied, a rōnin was a warrior who had lost his lands. During these periods, as small-scale wars frequently occurred throughout Japan, the daimyo needed to augment their armies, so rōnin had opportunities to serve new masters. Also, some rōnin joined in bands, engaging in robbery and uprisings.
Especially in the Sengoku period, daimyo needed additional fighting men, and even if one's master had perished, a rōnin was able to serve a new lord. In contrast to the later Edo period, the bond between the lord and the samurai was loose, and some samurai who were dissatisfied with their treatment left their masters and sought new lords. Many warriors served a succession of masters, and some even became daimyo. As an example, Tōdō Takatora served ten lords. Additionally, the division of the population into classes had not yet taken place, so it was possible to change one's occupation from warrior to merchant or farmer, or the reverse. Saitō Dōsan was one merchant who rose through the warrior ranks to become a daimyo.
As Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified progressively larger parts of the country, daimyo found it unnecessary to recruit new soldiers. Next, the Battle of Sekigahara (AD 1600) resulted in the confiscation or reduction of the fiefs of large numbers of daimyo on the losing side; in consequence, many samurai became rōnin. As many as a hundred thousand rōnin joined forces with Toyotomi Hideyori and fought at the Siege of Osaka. In the ensuing years of peace, there was less need to maintain expensive standing armies, and many surviving rōnin turned to farming or became townspeople. A few, such as Yamada Nagamasa, sought adventure overseas as mercenaries. Still, the majority lived in poverty as rōnin. Under the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu, their number approached half a million.
Initially, the shogunate viewed them as dangerous, and banished them from the cities or restricted the quarters where they could live. They also prohibited serving new masters. As rōnin found themselves with fewer and fewer options, they joined in the Keian Uprising (AD 1651). This forced the shogunate to rethink its policy. It relaxed restrictions on daimyo inheritance, resulting in fewer confiscations of fiefs; and it permitted rōnin to join new masters.
Not having the status or power of employed samurai, rōnin were often disreputable and festive, and the group was a target of humiliation or satire. It was undesirable to be a rōnin, as it meant being without a stipend or farm. As an indication of the humiliation felt by samurai who became rōnin, Lord Redesdale recorded that a rōnin killed himself at the graves of the Forty-Seven Rōnin. He left a note saying that he had tried to enter the service of the daimyo of the Chōshū Domain, but was refused. Wanting to serve no other master, and hating being a rōnin, he had decided to kill himself.
On the other hand, the famous 18th-century writer Kyokutei Bakin renounced his allegiance to Matsudaira Nobunari, in whose service Bakin's samurai father had spent his life. Bakin became voluntarily a rōnin, and eventually spent his time writing books (many of them about samurai) and engaging in festivities.
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