The term originated in the Nara and Heian periods, when it referred to a serf who had fled or deserted his master's land. It later came to be used for a samurai who had no master. In …

rōnin, any of the masterless samurai warrior aristocrats of the late Muromachi (1138–1573) and Tokugawa (1603–1867) periods who were often vagrant and disruptive and sometimes …

May 7, 2025 · A ronin was a samurai warrior in feudal Japan without a master or lord — known as a daimyo. A samurai could become a ronin in several different ways: his master might die or …

Mar 20, 2025 · What is a rōnin in Japan, and how is it different to a samurai? To be a samurai meant position and prestige, but it could all be taken away in an instant, plunging the once …

Jul 7, 2012 · There are quite a few chambara / jidaigeki films featuring ronin as main characters, including the very famous film Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai) in which some Sengoku …

Power in medieval Japan rested on the bond between lord and retainer. Learn about how warriors became ronin and what this meant for society.

Nov 12, 2024 · In feudal Japan, a samurai’s identity and honor were deeply tied to their loyalty to a master. When a samurai lost their lord, either through death or disgrace, they became a …

The Ronin, or masterless samurai, play a significant and fascinating role in Japanese history. Emerging primarily during the feudal period of Japan, the ronin were samurai who had lost …

Apr 7, 2023 · The Japanese ronin are legendary and yet they’re often widely misrepresented. Fascinating historic figures turned into romantic mythological characters, these wandering and …

What was a Ronin Samurai? A ronin, or "wave man," was a samurai without a master in feudal Japan. These masters were typically daimyo, a type of Japanese feudal lord.