A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

without a lord or master during the

feudal period Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege.Stephane Lun (2021). ''A Guide on Shinsengumi: the background and management.'' In modern Japanese usage, usually the term is used to describe a

salaryman In Japan, a is a salaried worker. In Japanese popular culture, this is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation where he works. Salarymen are expected to work long hours, to put in addit ...

who is unemployed or a secondary school graduate who has not yet been admitted to university.

Etymology

The word ''rōnin'' literally means 'wanderer'. It is an idiomatic expression for 'vagrant' or 'wandering man', someone who finds the way without belonging to one place. The term originated in the

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

and Heian periods, when it referred to a serf who had fled or deserted his master's land. In medieval times, the Ronin were depicted as the shadows of samurai, master-less and less honorable. It then came to be used for a samurai who had no master (hence the term 'wave man' illustrating one who is socially adrift).

Status

According to the '' Bushido Shoshinshu'' (the "Code of the Warrior"), a samurai was supposed to commit '' seppuku'' (also ''harakiri'', "belly cutting", a form of ritual suicide) upon the loss of his master. One who chose not to honor the code was "on his own" and was meant to suffer great shame. The undesirability of ''rōnin'' status was mainly a discrimination imposed by other samurai and by ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

'', the feudal lords. Like other samurai, ''rōnin'' wore two swords. ''Rōnin'' used a variety of other weapons as well. Some ''rōnin''—usually those who lacked money—would carry a '' bō'' (staff around ) or '' jō'' (smaller staff or walking stick around ) or a ''

yumi is the Japanese term for a bow. As used in English, refers more specifically to traditional Japanese asymmetrical bows, and includes the longer and the shorter used in the practice of and , or Japanese archery. The was an important wea ...

'' (bow). Most weapons would reflect the '' ryū'' (martial arts school) from which they came if they were students. During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

, with the shogunate's rigid class system and laws, the number of ''rōnin'' greatly increased. Confiscation of fiefs during the rule of the third Tokugawa shōgun Iemitsu resulted in an especially large increase of ''rōnin''. During previous ages, samurai were able to move between masters and even between occupations. They could also marry between classes. However, during the Edo period, samurai were restricted, and were—above all—forbidden to become employed by another master without their previous master's permission. Because the former samurai could not legally take up a new trade, or because of pride were loath to do so, many ''rōnin'' looked for other ways to make a living with their swords. Those ''rōnin'' who desired steady, legal employment became mercenaries that guarded trade caravans, or bodyguards for wealthy merchants. Many other ''rōnin'' became criminals, operating as bandits and highwaymen, or joining organized crime in towns and cities. ''Rōnin'' were known to operate or serve as hired muscle for gangs that ran gambling rings, brothels, protection rackets, and similar activities. Many were petty thieves and muggers. The criminal segment gave the ''rōnin'' of the Edo period a persistent reputation of disgrace, with an image of thugs, bullies, cutthroats, and wandering vagrants. After the abolition of the Samurai, some of the ronin continued with their thuggery and their mercenary work and activities, such as participating in the infamous assassination of

Empress Myeongseong Empress Myeongseong or Empress Myungsung (명성황후 민씨; 17 November 1851 – 8 October 1895In lunar calendar, the Empress was born on 25 September 1851 and died on 20 August 1895), informally known as Empress Min, was the official wife ...

of the Joseon Dynasty in 1895, the

Eulmi Incident Empress Myeongseong or Empress Myungsung (명성황후 민씨; 17 November 1851 – 8 October 1895In lunar calendar, the Empress was born on 25 September 1851 and died on 20 August 1895), informally known as Empress Min, was the official wife ...

History

Until the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, peasants accounted for the majority of ''daimyō'' armies, so they accounted for the majority of ronin. Especially in the

, ''daimyō'' needed additional fighting men, and even if a master had perished, his ''rōnin'' was able to serve new lords. In contrast to the later

, the bond between the lord and the vassal was loose, and some vassals who were dissatisfied with their treatment left their masters and sought new lords. Many warriors served a succession of masters, and some even became ''daimyō''. As an example,

Tōdō Takatora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of Tōdō clan from the Azuchi–Momoyama to Edo periods. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a light foot soldier) to become a ''daimyō''. Biography During his lifetime he changed his feudal ...

served ten lords. Additionally, the division of the population into classes had not yet taken place, so it was possible to change one's occupation from warrior to merchant or farmer, or the reverse.

Saitō Dōsan , also known as Saitō Toshimasa (斎藤利政), was a Japanese samurai during the Sengoku period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Saitō Dōsan"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 809. He was also known as the for his ruthless tactics. His hono ...

was one merchant who rose through the warrior ranks to become a ''daimyō''. As

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

unified progressively more significant parts of the country, ''daimyō'' found it unnecessary to recruit new soldiers. The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 resulted in the confiscation or reduction of the fiefs of large numbers of ''daimyō'' on the losing side; consequently, many samurai became ''rōnin''. As many as a hundred thousand ''rōnin'' joined forces with

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's second son. The birth of Hideyori cr ...

and fought at the

Siege of Osaka The was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages (winter campaign and summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege ...

. In the ensuing years of peace, there was less need to maintain expensive standing armies, and many surviving ''rōnin'' turned to farms or became townspeople. A few, such as

Yamada Nagamasa was a Japanese adventurer who gained considerable influence in the Ayutthaya Kingdom at the beginning of the 17th century and became the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, which is on the Malay Peninsula in present-day Southern Thailand. ...

, sought adventure overseas as mercenaries. Still, the majority lived in poverty as ''rōnin''. Their number approached half a million under the third Tokugawa shōgun Iemitsu. Initially, the shogunate viewed them as dangerous and banished them from the cities or restricted the quarters where they could live. They also prohibited serving new masters. As ''rōnin'' found fewer options, they joined in the

Keian Uprising The was a failed coup d'état attempt carried out against the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan in 1651, by a number of ''rōnin''. Though it failed, the event is historically significant as an indication of a wider problem of disgruntled rōnin through ...

of 1651. This forced the shogunate to rethink its policy. It relaxed restrictions on ''daimyō'' inheritance, resulting in fewer confiscations of fiefs, and it permitted ''rōnin'' to join new masters. Not having the status or power of employed samurai, ''rōnin'' were often disreputable and festive, the group targeted humiliation or satire. It was undesirable to be a ''rōnin'', as it meant being without a stipend or land. As an indication of the shame felt by samurai who became ''rōnin'',

Lord Redesdale Baron Redesdale, of Redesdale in the County of Northumberland, is a title that has been created twice, both times in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was firstly created in 1802 for lawyer and politician Sir John Mitford (later Freeman-Mi ...

recorded that a ''rōnin'' killed himself at the graves of the forty-seven ''rōnin''. He left a note saying that he had tried to enter the service of the ''daimyō'' of Chōshū Domain but was refused. He killed himself, wanting to serve no other master and hating being a ''rōnin''. On the other hand, the famous 18th-century writer

Kyokutei Bakin (), a.k.a. (, 4 July 1767 – 1 December 1848), was a Japanese novelist of the Edo period. Born (), he wrote under the pen name (). Later in life he took the pen name (). Modern scholarship generally refers to him as , or just as n. He is ...

renounced his allegiance to

Matsudaira Nobunari The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the m ...

, in whose service Bakin's samurai father had spent his life. Bakin voluntarily became a ''rōnin'', and eventually spent his time writing books (many of them about samurai) and engaging in festivities. In the 19th century, Emperor Meiji abolished the Samurai class and any status the ronin had died with them.

Notable rōnin

Forty-seven Rōnin The revenge of the , also known as the or Akō vendetta, is a historical event in Japan in which a band of ''rōnin'' (lordless samurai) avenged the death of their master on 31 January 1703. The incident has since become legendary. It is on ...

Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2012). ''Forty-Seven Ronin: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Edition'David (2012). ''Forty-Seven Ronin: Utagawa Kuniyoshi Edition.'' Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00ADQM8II *

Miyamoto Musashi , also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and rōnin, who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship a ...

Sakamoto Ryōma was a Japanese ''samurai'', a '' shishi'' and influential figure of the ''Bakumatsu'' and establishment of the Empire of Japan in the late Edo period. He was a low-ranking ''samurai'' from the Tosa Domain on Shikoku and became an active oppo ...

Portrayals in media

Numerous modern works of Japanese fiction set in the Edo period cast characters who are ''rōnin''.

Comics

*The moniker Ronin has often appeared in Marvel Universe comic series, and has been used by many characters such as Echo (Maya Lopez),

Hawkeye (Clint Barton) Hawkeye (Clinton Francis "Clint" Barton) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck, the character first appeared as a supervillain in ''Tales of Suspense ...

and many more.

Film

* ''Rōnin'' are often depicted in the ''

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait of H ...

'' of

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

, in particular ''

Yojimbo is a 1961 Japanese Samurai cinema, samurai film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, and Ats ...

'', ''

Sanjuro is a 1962 black-and-white Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. It is a sequel to Kurosawa's 1961 ''Yojimbo''. Originally an adaptation of the Shūgorō Yamamoto novel ''Hibi Heian'', the script ...

'' and '' Seven Samurai''. ** The 1954 film '' Seven Samurai'' follows the story of a village of farmers that hire seven rōnin to combat bandits who will return after the harvest to steal their crops. ** The 1961 film ''

'' tells the story of a rōnin who arrives in a small town where competing crime lords vie for supremacy. The two bosses each try to hire the newcomer as a bodyguard. The film inspired the Spaghetti Western films ''

A Fistful of Dollars ''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, ...

'' and '' Django''. ** The 1962 film ''

'' is a sequel to Kurosawa's 1961 ''Yojimbo''. * The 1962 film ''

Harakiri , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

'' is set in Edo period Japan (early 17th century) and concerns two Ronin who present themselves at the palace of the

Ii clan is a Japanese clan which originates in Tōtōmi Province. It was a retainer clan of the Imagawa family, and then switched sides to the Matsudaira clan of Mikawa Province at the reign of Ii Naotora. A famed 16th-century clan member, Ii Naom ...

and request permission to commit ritual suicide. * The 1998 film '' Ronin'' portrays former special forces and intelligence operatives who find themselves unemployed at the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. Devoid of purpose, they become high-paid mercenaries. There is also a direct comparison of the characters to the forty-seven ''rōnin''. * The film ''

47 Ronin 47, 47 or forty-seven may refer to: *47 (number) *47 BC * AD 47 *1947 * 2047 *'47 (brand), an American clothing brand * ''47'' (magazine), an American publication * 47 (song), a song by Sidhu Moose Wala *47, a song by New Found Glory from the alb ...

'' is a 2013 Japanese-American fantasy action film depicting a fictional account of the forty-seven ''rōnin''.

Television

* In the '' Dragon Ball'' franchise, the character

Yajirobe ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, '' Dr. Slump''. While many of the ch ...

is a ''rōnin''. * In the manga and anime ''

Rurouni Kenshin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins during the 11th year of the Meiji period in Japan (1878) and follows a former assassin from the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his wor ...

'', the ''hitokiri''

Himura Kenshin , known as Kenshin Himura in the English-language anime dubs, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the manga '' Rurouni Kenshin'' created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Kenshin's story is set in a fictional version of Japan during the Meiji p ...

becomes a ''rōnin'' after the end of the Edo period, wandering for ten years in order to mend his sins and to complete the restoration. *

Samurai Jack ''Samurai Jack'' is an American animated action-adventure television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. Tartakovsky conceived ''Samurai Jack'' after finishing his wor ...

, the main protagonist of his eponymous animated television series, is technically a ''rōnin'' because he serves no master and is mostly seen wandering the land, searching for a resolution to his quest to defeat his nemesis, the shapeshifting master of darkness: Aku, after he opens a

time portal Time portals are doorways in time, employed in various fiction genres, especially science fiction and fantasy, to Time travel, transport characters to the past or future. They differ from Time travel, time machines in being a permanent or semi-p ...

that sends Jack into a future where Aku reigns supreme. * In the 2004 anime series ''

Samurai Champloo is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series. The debut television production of studio Manglobe, the 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005. It was first partially broadcast on Fuji TV, then had a complete a ...

'', one of the main protagonists is the ''rōnin'' Jin. Along with the vagrant swordsman Mugen, he accompanies a young girl named Fuu on a quest to find the "samurai who smells of sunflowers".

Video games

* The 2008 video game Saints Row 2 features a Yakuza street gang called The Ronin, who are more modeled after

Bōsōzoku is a Japanese youth subculture associated with customized motorcycles. The first appearance of these types of biker gangs was in the 1950s. Popularity climbed throughout the 1980s and 1990s, peaking at an estimated 42,510 members in 1982. Thei ...

culture. Despite their name, they have a hierarchy with a defined leader. * The 2020 video game ''

Ghost of Tsushima ''Ghost of Tsushima'' is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The player controls Jin Sakai, samurai on a quest to protect Tsushima Island during the first Mongo ...

'' features many ''rōnin'' as part of the story, including Ryuzo (

Leonard Wu Leonard Wu is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Orus in the Netflix television drama series ''Marco Polo'' (2016), Shiwei Chen in the drama television series '' Bosch'' (2018), Kinuba in the action film '' Alita: Battle Angel'' (2019 ...

), the childhood friend of the protagonist Jin Sakai. * Hisuian Samurott, one of the three starter Pokémon's final evolutions from the 2022 video game '' Pokémon Legends: Arceus'', is modeled after a typical ''rōnin''.

Music

* American composer

Zack Hemsey Zack Hemsey (born May 30, 1983) is an American composer, songwriter, and filmmaker best known for the use of his music in movies and trailers. Personal life Hemsey grew up in New Jersey with his older sister Tara. He graduated from Palisades ...

released the album ''Ronin'' in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronin Samurai Japanese warriors