侍

Samurai (侍) comes from the verb saburau (侍う, 'to serve, to attend'). The warriors of feudal Japan defined themselves by service to their lord, not by martial skill alone.

The samurai emerged as a warrior class in the 12th century and ruled Japan for over 700 years. Their code, bushidō (the way of the warrior), emphasized loyalty, honor, and discipline above combat prowess.

When the samurai class was abolished in 1876 during the Meiji Restoration, the word shifted from describing a social class to embodying an ideal — discipline, honor, and the beauty of self-sacrifice.

Hollywood adopted samurai for its own purposes — Kurosawa's films influenced Star Wars, The Magnificent Seven, and countless Westerns. The servant-warrior became a global archetype.