Although war was a very real fact of life in samurai Japan, the havoc it caused was not total. With only swords, muskets, and a few crude cannon, battles were confined to small areas and did not occur constantly but only periodically.

Living under the threat of war was undoubtedly a great strain, but life went on nevertheless. Samurai married, had families, and lived out their lives in households of various types and sizes. In describing samurai households, two factors must be taken into consideration —the time period in which the household existed and the social rank of the family.

Time Period and Social Rank

The samurai class came into being in the twelfth century because a weakened imperial government left common people unprotected. The first samurai were farmers who put their lands under the protection of a chieftain and served in his...