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During the 800s, emperors continued to rule Japan, but their power greatly weakened. Why did this happen? After a period of strong emperors, a number of weak emperors came to the throne. Court officials known as regents governed for them. A regent is a person who rules for an emperor who is too young or too sick to govern. At the same time, other nobles took control in the outlying provinces of Japan. The government gave these nobles land in return for their support. To pay for the local government, the nobles increased the taxes on the farmers working the land.
Samurai and their code
The nobles gave land to warriors who agreed to fight for them. These warriors became known as samurai. In battle, samurai fought on horseback with swords, daggers, and bows and arrows. They wore armor made of leather or steel scales and helmets with horns or crests. A few Japanese women were outstanding warriors. Perhaps the most famous was Tomoe. She fought in the 1100s during a time of civil war in Japan. The word "samurai" means "to serve." The samurai lived by a strict code of conduct. This code was called Bushido, or "the way of the warrior." It demanded that a samurai be loyal to his master. The samurai must also be brave and honorable. Samurai were not supposed to be concerned about the riches. They viewed merchants as lacking honor. Bound to these principles, a samurai would rather die in battle than betray his master. He also did not want to suffer the disgrace of being captured in battle. The sense of loyalty that set apart the samurai lasted into modern times. For instance, during World War ll Japanese army units would often choose to fight despite certain defeat. Japanese soldiers frequently fought to the death rather than accept defeat or capture. The Japanese have since turned away from the beliefs of the samurai.