samurai

[gerrytierney]

who was the last samurai

[Octavius]

Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573 - 1603)

When Toyotomi Hideyoshi reunited Japan, he started to introduce a rigid social caste system which was later completed by Tokugawa Ieyasu and his successors. Hideyoshi forced all samurai to decide between a life on the farm and a warrior life in castle towns. Furthermore, he forbade anyone but the samurai to arm themselves with a sword.

Edo Period (1603 - 1868)

According to the Edo Period's official hierarchy of social castes, the samurai stood at the top, followed by the farmers, artisans and merchants. Furthermore, there were hierarchies within each caste. All samurai were forced to live in castle towns and received income from their lords in form of rice. Masterless samurai were called ronin and caused minor troubles during the early Edo Period.

With the fall of Osaka Castle in 1615, the Tokugawa's last potential rival was eliminated, and relative peace prevailed in Japan for about 250 years. As a result, the importance of martial skills declined, and most samurai became bureaucrats, teachers or artists.

In 1868, Japan's feudal era came to an end, and the samurai class was abolished.

I don't think there was a "last Samurai" in particular

[Octavius]

Having said that....

The true story of the "last samurai," Saigo Takamori, whose life inspired the movie starring Ken Watanabe and Tom Cruise

One of Japan's most renowned samurai, Saigo Takamori (1828-1877) helped to pull down the Tokugawa shogunate and to restore the Meiji emperor. He then watched in anguish as the Meiji government, in its drive to modernize the country, stripped the samurai of all that made them samurai � the representatives of Japanese tradition, honor, and glory, if also feudal privilege. Ravina's biography takes a revealing look at Saigo, and examines him both as a legend and as a historical figure.

Saigo is one of Japan's most compelling cultural heroes and his story inspired the upcoming Warner Brothers film The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise. In the film, Saigo is represented by Katsumoto, a fictional rebel poet-warlord who teaches Nathan Algren (Cruise's character) traditional samurai morals and skills.

Ravina examines how Saigo's understanding of samurai honor led him first, to overthrow the shogun in the name of the emperor, then to support a radical reformist government, and finally to rebel against a government he had helped to establish. In this dramatic story of politics and rebellion, the author examines in gripping detail the clash between Saigo's samurai ideals and impending Japanese modernity � and the reasons why Saigo has been revered for his courage and integrity until the present day.

[jake-the-peg]

More amazing is the Story of William Adams.

You may have read or seen the series "Shogan" about an Elizabethan sailor who travelled to Japan and became a Samurai.

It's actually true:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Adams

there's also a book by Giles Milton "Samurai William" that I can recommend

[Loosehead]

Tom Cruise, surely!