at Sengaku-ji]] around 1860 ([LINK: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13051/13051-h/13051-h.htm] 1)]]A was a masterless samurai during the feudal period (1185?1868) of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the ruin or fall of his master (as in the case of death in a war), or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege. Etymology The word r?nin literally means "drifting person". The term originated in the Nara and Heian periods, when it referred to a serf who had fled or deserted his master's land. It then came to be used for a samurai who had lost his master. Status According to the Bushido Shoshinshu (the Code of the Samurai), a ronin was supposed to commit oibara seppuku (also "hara kiri" ? ritual suicide) upon the loss of his master. One who chose to not honor the code was "on his own" and was meant to suffer great shame. The undesirability of ronin status was mainly a discrimination

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z # TAGS