Warriors of old Japan
The SAMURAI were the noble WARRIOR class of feudal JAPAN, and this word search gathers their world. You'll be finding the ruling SHOGUN and the local DAIMYO lord, the masterless RONIN who wandered without a master, and the strict code of BUSHIDO that prized HONOR, LOYALTY and DISCIPLINE above all else.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the grid changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a Hard-mode duel once the diagonals and backwards words appear.
Swords, armour and the battlefield
The samurai trained for a lifetime of war, and the words are here. There's the razor-sharp KATANA and the shorter SWORD and DAGGER, the heavy ARMOR and crested HELMET, and the skill of ARCHERY with the bow. They fought each BATTLE beneath a clan BANNER, defended the mountain CASTLE, and served the EMPEROR and the ruling DYNASTY — while the shadowy NINJA struck from the dark.
The way of the warrior
For nearly 700 years the SAMURAI were the ruling military class of JAPAN, serving a local DAIMYO lord who in turn answered to the SHOGUN — the real power behind the EMPEROR, who was more of a sacred figurehead. Their lives were governed by BUSHIDO, 'the way of the warrior', a strict code valuing HONOR, LOYALTY and DISCIPLINE so highly that a disgraced samurai was expected to take his own life rather than live in shame. A samurai who lost his master became a RONIN, a 'wave man' adrift without a lord.
Surprisingly, the famous KATANA wasn't always their main weapon — for much of their history samurai prized ARCHERY and horsemanship above all, and the sword only became the celebrated symbol later. Their swordsmiths were so skilled that a well-made katana is still considered one of the finest blades ever forged, folded many times to make it both sharp and strong. The samurai finally faded in the 1800s as Japan modernised, but BUSHIDO's ideals of honour and self-control still echo through Japanese culture — which is why feudal Japan is such a popular history topic.
Great for a history topic on Japan
It pairs perfectly with a history topic on feudal Japan, the samurai and bushido — Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use our Make Your Own tool to build a grid from your own samurai words.