Samurai, the Japanese warriors of medieval and early modern Japan.
Fierce sword wielders as focused on honour as they are weaponry.
Vikings, Ferocious fighters known for their successful invasions and shameless rape and
pillaging.
What would happen if the two met in combat?
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions – the channel that brings you
answers to a wide breadth of questions, from science, politics, pop culture, history and
even altered reality I am your host, Rebecca Felgate and today I am asking – what if
a samurai fought a Viking?
Before we slash our way into this video – I just want to ask you who you would put your
money on?
Let me know in the comments section down below.
Also while you are down there why don’t you leave a thumbs up on this video and share
it with a friend who loves a good battle to the death.
Okay!
Samurais were the key fighters of the East, and Vikings were the major players of the
West.
What would happen if these lads met in the battle field – would their be a clear winner?
Samurais were basically born into their status.
Rather than just meaning warrior, Samurai’s were a class of people.
If your parents were Samurai’s then you would be too.
Basically this would mean that you would be trained to fight from birth.
Viking era social structures were less rigid, but the warriors also enjoyed an elevated
status as hunters, invaders and explorers.
Male children born to Viking warriors would be trained in battle from a young age, with
a bigger focus on training from the age of ten.
Therefore we can basically assume that, while the Samurais and Vikings would have been trained
in different battle styles, they would have had similar years to prepare…perhaps with
the Samurais just having the edge.
It is a common misconception that Samurais just had swords – they did have the famous
Katana sword, a sharp, thin sword with a high carbon steel outer casting and softer lower
carbon steel core.
These were great swords for slicing open an enemy, but not great for anything else.
They also had a smaller sword, the Wakizashi, for close range stabbing.
Again, not all samurai had swords.
The rest would have longbows and spears – which were not the most effective killers.
Vikings had Swords, axes and spears and sometimes maces.
It seems that actually, the Viking sword may be better in combat than the Samurai sword
as it has the ability to be sharpened, whereas sharpening would ruin the Katana.
In terms of armour, wealthy Vikings had chainmail which would protect against the Katana, as
well as shields – a defensive armament that the Japanese Samurai’s simply didn’t have.
Both Samurai and Vikings had helmets, and wealthy Samurai warriors may have Kozane – a
rudimentary chain mail sometimes made out of iron, but more often made out of leather.
A samurai’s armour was weighty for them, at around 66lbs if wearing the iron.
While the body armour could be much of a much depending on how wealthy the warriors were,
the Viking shield would likely have vexed the samurai, and perhaps could have given
the norsemen the edge.
Samurai mainly trained to fight against people with their own fighting styles, which may
confuse them when they met an axe wielding Viking who was trained to fight whatever crosses
his path.
Vikings were notoriously big and bulky – often around 6 foot tall and muscular, whereas Japanese
Samurai were smaller and more lithe.
Each of these physical attributes have their advantages, with the samurai known for their
skill, speed and precision and the Vikings known for simply losing it in a frantic and
disordered style of fighting known as Berserkergang – which is where the term Beserk, going
beserk comes from.
It is also theorised that Vikings may have taken hallucinogenic and drank copious amounts
of alcohol to get them through their battles.
Who would win in a battle of skill and precision verses crazed brute strength – honestly
may come down to the day… who is more focused.
Focus and intention are interesting concepts when considering the Samurai and the Viking
Warriors.
Samurai were generally programmed to the Zen buddhist way of thinking and approached battles
with calmness and clarity, whereas Vikings were basically agents of bloodshed and chaos.
Maybe it would come down to who wanted it the most – Samurai’s fought for their
masters and had huge pride in serving them with the utmost fealty.
If they lost a battle, they would feel a shame and sometimes commit acts of Seppuku – suicide
that allowed them to keep their honour.
Vikings fought for themselves and for their gods, and they wouldn’t be judged until
they reached the afterlife.
What is a better motivator – pleasing your master or pleasing the gods Thor and Odin
and reaching Valhalla?
On the battlefield it seems as if the Viking may just have the edge, but they were known
for their wild parties and village raids as much as they were known for hand to hand combat.
The Samurai were perhaps more tactical and could strike while the Viking was passed out
drunk or engaging in cardinal acts with any number of women…Samurai’s didn’t have
those kinds of distractions – their women were away from the battlefield and while they
were able to take select concubines, codes of ethics stopped them raping like the Vikings
did.
Interesting side note though – Vikings women had a lot more freedom and enjoyed more equality
than Samurai wives, who were considered inferior beings.
Ultimately, who is to truly say who would win in a fight against a Samurai and a Viking
without knowing the warriors and without having an historical comparisons.
Perhaps if the pair, who did share a small slice of history between the 8th to 10th centuries,
did meet – the worldwide politics that have come from battles and invasions over time
may look a little different.
What would have happened, for example, if the Norsemen invaded further east rather than
west?
The furthest they ever got was Russia.
Well… as we broach a whole other question, it is time to draw this one to a close!
Why don’t you guys let me know who you think would win in a fight –
a Samauri or a Viking….I look forward to reading your comments!
Thumbs up.
Out.