At a very young age, the sons of samurai began military training in weapons and received strict religious and academic instruction. Around age 12, during a special ceremony known as genpuku, a young samurai would receive his first armor and sword.

NEXT IMAGE | Slide Show Index

The History Place Terms of Use: Private home/school non-commercial, non-Internet re-usage only is allowed of any text, graphics, photos, audio clips, other electronic files or materials from The History Place™