ronin

ronin (rō`nĭn), in Japanese history, masterless samurai. Ronin were retainers who were deprived of their place in the usual loyalty patterns of Japanese feudalism. The daimyo they had served might have died, been exiled, or become so poor that the samurai had to abandon his lord. Ronin became farmers, monks, soldiers of fortune, or even bandits. In demand in times of war, they were often a burden on society in times of peace. At their best, as in the story of the 47 Ronin depicted by Chikamatsu in his popular drama, they are a model of loyalty and self-sacrifice exemplifying bushido. In modern Japan, the term ronin is often given to high-school graduates who, having failed to pass college entrance exams, are preparing for another opportunity.

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ronin

Japanese masterless samurai. Because samurai received their livelihood from their lord in return for service, a masterless samurai was essentially a vagabond unless he could enter the service of another lord. Ronin could be disruptive to society; at the beginning of the Tokugawa period (the early 17th century), ronin led unsuccessful revolts against the shogunate. The most famous ronin were the 47 whose actions were celebrated in the kabuki play Chushingura. By avenging their lord's death in defiance of a shogunal order forbidding the vendetta, the 47 ronin, who were subsequently forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), came to be seen as embodiments of the ideals of bushido, the warrior's code.