Ronin - Who were the masterless samurai and who was number 1?

The name Ronin is still used today in films and series for people who are particularly daring.
But what was a ronin really and was he the legendary daredevil?

Ronin in the early days of the samurai

Ronin means masterless samurai. They were samurai who served no fixed leader.
Samurai were warriors who belonged to the military and were in the service of a lord.
They were samurai who lived apart from these troops and did not take part in the normal life of the troops. They travelled through the country alone, on their own.

Miyamoto Musashi: The greatest ronin of all time

Even if a samurai lived as a ronin, he could still be loyal to a leader. Like the most famous of all samurai ronin: Miyamoto Musashi.
Musashi fought in battles alongside Toyotomi Hideyoshi's troops, but he was not part of his army.
Miyamoto Musashi is regarded as the best swordsman of all time. Although he gave up fighting at the age of 20, he defeated a whole series of famous samurai in his time.
As he lived in the Sengoku period, the time of the warring empires, there were plenty of battle-hardened, seasoned samurai against whom he could fight his legendary duels. In the end, he defeated them all.

Despite this remarkable achievement, Musashi is best known today for the fighting style he founded Niten Ichiryu and the Book of the 5 Rings Gorin no Sho, which he wrote.
He is also known as the author of the book Dokkodo, which describes the rules for living as a loner.

Change in the Edo period

In the Edo period, it was no longer considered respectable to roam the countryside as a masterless samurai.
Every samurai had a fixed leader whom he served. Ronin were still samurai who fell out of favour with their leader or whose leader died and the samurai refused to follow him to death by seppuku.
The term ronin was now associated with the loss of honour and many privileges. Samurai who became ronin could hardly find work and were usually impoverished outsiders.

Although the term ronin was not held in high esteem during the Edo period, one of the most famous stories in Japanese history comes from this time: the story of the 47 ronin.
In the story, the Samuari avenged the death of their master and thus restored their honour. Which they could not enjoy for long, because they were sentenced to death for it.

If you want to read the full story, take a look at our Article about the 47 Ronin on!

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