The word "samurai" first appears in Kokin Wakashu (905 - 914), the first collection of Imperial poems.
The samurai is a hereditary class of warriors in Japan during its feudal reigns. The term originally referred only to the imperial guard, but after the advent of the feudal system it came to refer to all the military class, including warriors called daimyos and shoguns. 5% of Japanese belong to this group. It associates a samurai warrior with seppuku seppuku, a ceremonial suicide. They had high status and special privileges such as wearing two swords. The samurai followed bushido laws of military virtues, indifference to pain, and unwavering loyalty.
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