Rounin Kenshin

[Tenbatsu]

Hiko? Shinta's master, that is who you mean right?

[sephiroth]

yep and y do u call him shinta??

[Tenbatsu]

It is Kenshin's real name. It depends on how i feel, that is what makes me use different names. Like Zhuge Liang, I will sometimes call him Chuko Liang.

[Zanshiro]

Mine is definately Kenshin, the humility, the honor, and of course, being the guardian of those weaker than himself, while wishing for nothing more than peace. True samurai. (Seeing how he's a wanderer, of course. With a lord, heck with all that, it's whatever the Shogun said.)

[Shikanosuke]

Zanshiro said:

Mine is definately Kenshin, the humility, the honor, and of course, being the guardian of those weaker than himself, while wishing for nothing more than peace. True samurai. (Seeing how he's a wanderer, of course. With a lord, heck with all that, it's whatever the Shogun said.)

haha you may be a little off in your defintition of a samurai but your right about kenshin.

[boogiepopmeup]

ya, u dun see kenshin chopping peeps heads off for looking at him the wrong way, do u?

[Zanshiro]

To my humblest of understanding, such were not the way of all samurai, as even the religious sectors had samurai, who were of the righteous paths. Such as my brother, who follows the path of the samurai in the modern ways, and doesn't really go around killing people for looking at him wrong, but heaven help them if they decide to step out of line. I'm proud to admit to having been humbled many times just messing around with him. His dedication is amazing...like clockwork every day, wake up and meditate, go to the gym, go out back and train, put in his 8 hours at work, back to train again, study and read, to bed by the wee hours in time to sleep 5 hours and do it all over again the next day...

My apologies if this does not fit your definition of "samurai" from history, but it is what samurai should mean in my heart, and to my definition of it. Also, as we are training under a master, shogun, or whatever you would choose to call it, and that is how we are supposed to behave, that does make it the proper way of action for samurai of our clan, in humblest of ways, I feel I must add that information. Buddha bless and keep you.

[Shikanosuke]

Zanshiro said:

To my humblest of understanding, such were not the way of all samurai, as even the religious sectors had samurai, who were of the righteous paths. Such as my brother, who follows the path of the samurai in the modern ways, and doesn't really go around killing people for looking at him wrong, but heaven help them if they decide to step out of line. I'm proud to admit to having been humbled many times just messing around with him. His dedication is amazing...like clockwork every day, wake up and meditate, go to the gym, go out back and train, put in his 8 hours at work, back to train again, study and read, to bed by the wee hours in time to sleep 5 hours and do it all over again the next day...

My apologies if this does not fit your definition of "samurai" from history, but it is what samurai should mean in my heart, and to my definition of it. Also, as we are training under a master, shogun, or whatever you would choose to call it, and that is how we are supposed to behave, that does make it the proper way of action for samurai of our clan, in humblest of ways, I feel I must add that information. Buddha bless and keep you.

Buddy your really cool but regardless of what you think it should mean it still doesnt. But I will understand your point. However most samurai were encouraged to stay away from religions because religions made them not be able to go out and live every second as though they may die. The book Hagakure does a good job explaining this. I'm not sure the average samurai cared to much for or even ever had contact with the shogun. I understand the meaning of your post but the 'serving a master' was what made a man a samurai. If they had no master, they were ronin. Ronin was not a respected class. As much as we glorify and make majestic the thought of 'the way of the samurai', samurai was a class of people. I'm not downing the 'way of the samurai' because it is something I respect and its good product can be seen in people like Miyamoto Musashi.

Most religious sects that delved into war...like the warrior priests of Mount Hiei (sp?) were not samurai but people who exploited the name of religion to mix in politics. You are right though that some sought enlightenment through training.

[boogiepopmeup]

who follows the path of the samurai in the modern ways, and doesn't really go around killing people for looking at him wrong,

exactly the 'modern' idea of what a samurai is.
all that stuff like bushido weren't even taken seriously until the wars were over and samurai were sitting around doing nothing.