Wokou Ronin



The Masterless Samurai is a Treasure Guardian appearing in ''Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. The unit is commonly found on Asian maps, and is one of the more dangerous Guardians in the game.

The Masterless Samurai is based on the Wokou Ronin, sharing its image.

History
''The samurai were members of the Japanese warrior aristocracy who embodied the bushido code, and rose to power during the rival clan wars of the twelvth century. This bushido belief system - "the way of the warrior" - emphasized an unwavering loyalty to a master, the act of self-sacrifice, and an indifference to pain. From the twelvth century to the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603, the samurai were the dominant social class in Japan, and many acted as knights in the service of the warring feudal lords.''

''A "ronin" was a masterless samurai warrior, and literally meant "drifting person". A samurai became masterless when his master was defeated, or after the samurai lost his master's favor. Since a ronin did not serve any lord, he ceased being a true samurai, as the word "samurai" has its roots in "saburau", Japanese for "to serve". Becoming a ronin was incredibly undesirable. In fact, a samurai that lost his master was expected to commit seppuku or ritual suicide to retain his honor.''