Samurai The Essential Philosophy
By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai were usually associated with a clan and their lord, and they followed a set of rules that later came to be known as the bushido. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japan's population, their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts.From childhood, the Samurai were trained to self-discipline and sense of duty, together with the contempt for material goods and for the fear, the refusal of the pain and especially death.