What is a samurai? When we think of a samurai, we think of a warrior, but samurai were also citizens, and often religious leaders.

As a warrior, samurai were often expert horse-men. Many, however, ran into battle on their own two feet. A samurai was also an expert with his sword, called a Naoshikawa.

A samurai was a very highly honored citizen. He received many special rights. For example, if a samurai stole one of his neighbor's horses, he would give the horse back and nothing would become of it, but if a normal peasant did that, he would be fined very severely.

A samurai normally would have killed himself before facing the dishonor of defeat. A samurai who was defeated in battle was thrown out the samurai ranks, disowned by his family, immediately became ineligible to claim his special place in the afterlife, and forever tortured with the knowledge that he was known as dishonorable and weak.

The clothing of the samurai was very different from that of a normal army officer's cotton or hemp uniform tunic. A samurai wore a baggy tunic called a Kimino. Kiminos were made with varying materials depending on the season it was made for. A summer or spring Kimino was made from silk, and a fall or winter Kimino was most often made of a goat hair/silk blend.