by: Nick Johnson
The Samurai are known for been one of the most respected and respectable class of citizens of ancient Japan. Such status had the samurai they could do things such as dismember people who offended them without having to answer for themselves. This was the power the samurai wielded, a power unheard of almost today in any so called civilised society. One may even argue that if such people as the samurai were to walk among us today, society may well be a much more respectful place to live out of fear of losing limbs at least!
Indeed, it would be hard to imagine the many undesirable acts of today co-existing with the presence of samurai without an abundance of heads but no bodies. For example, could you possibly imagine the today’s danger of drunken behaviour, this terror pervading our streets, offending all, concerned or non-concerned, with samurai around, his mind as sharp and stealed as his katana, and ready to use it?
Well, I suppose that depends how drunk the samurai was. Yes, not even the everyman of every culture’s favourite hobby of drinking was forbidden to the samurai. Infact, they used to have quite a good knees up on their favourite tipple of alcohol laced Sake.
Whilst a samurai, in the company of other samurai may of been forgiving of and forgiven for intoxicated behaviour, a drunken samurai may well of been a far more dangerous and volatile person than any of the yobs of today whilst drunk. So, we may rest at ease perhaps we are been chased by a drunken idiot with intentions of beating us up, rather than a drunken and incoherent samurai with a legal right to cut our heads off!