What exactly is a Ronin? The word rōnin means “a person that drifts”, originally it was a masters serf that deserted his lands, but the name was then used for a samurai without a master. When a samurai’s master dies he is bound by honour to take his own life, this act is known as seppuku. Those who do not are from that time forward on their own in the world and carry shame wherever they go, this negative attitude was mostly imposed by a feudal lord or of course other samurai.
The general population in actual fact, were more comfortable with the ronin samurai, as they were no longer warriors under the command of the lords of whom they were regularly threatened and unfairly treated. other samurai, who still had lords were very jealous of them, because they carried on as warriors but their movements were no longer limited and they could work for whomever they pleased. In the late Edo period, the bond between master and samurai became less formal, it was not uncommon for a samurai to leave a master when he felt he was not being treated fairly and work for another, some had as many as ten masters in their life times. To many, the ronin were SELF DETERMINATION personified, they were men who’s fate was governed by no man…..and answering to nobody but themselves.
Ronin are even today, used in movies, books and anime as the face of good, in touch with the world and often serving as a Robin Hood style capacity, helping the weak and defenseless against tyrant lords. FuNnY how that works, because in the old days ronin used to band together as outlaws and rob just about everybody.
I reckon if I was a samurai I would have gone completely ronin, imagine having to deal with the same dude everyday when he was a total twit and hurt his own people. How about you members, got any cool or interesting info on samurai or ronin?
