My exposure to Asia while growing up in rural Quebec was Saturday morning Japanese anime dubbed in French, my mum’s not-so-Chinese eggrolls and fried rice, pop music that mentioned Asian cities or had Japanese words in their lyrics, and the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.
In the 1980s Japan loomed large, and it intrigued me, but it was not until university that I managed to find a course on Asian art. It was an amazing class, and I wrote my term paper on Japanese temple architecture. I was eager to learn more about Japan; opportunities were few and far between, but I seized as many as I could. (I even got my orange belt in aikido!)
Curating an exhibition on the samurai stems from this early interest and aligns with the Museum’s 2020–25 strategic plan goal to highlight multiple, diverse histories, voices, and perspectives. In the West we are taught very little about Asian history, and what we know often relates to food, pop culture, and international events. Upon hearing the word samurai almost everybody will think “Japanese warrior.” Most of us, however, won’t know much about the historical, political, or cultural context associated with them. Through my discussions with the armor collector who lent his holdings to Samurai: The Making of a Warrior, consulting scholars, and Japanese community partners as well as my research for the exhibition I realized how true this is.
Samurai culture and history are complex and nuanced. As an archaeologist who studies ancient Egypt and Sudan, I was not surprised, but it was even more complex than I thought, and it was something I wanted to showcase in the exhibition. I wanted to go beyond the man, his armor, and his sword—typically the focus of samurai exhibitions—and present the samurai as multifaceted and evolving. A whole lot more than military training went into the making of a samurai warrior.

I found the cultural aspect of samurai life really interesting. We can easily imagine a samurai wielding a sword, but it’s harder to visualize a warrior hosting a tea ceremony or thoughtfully creating a floral arrangement. Deeply rooted in Buddhism, many of these cultural practices were a way for samurai to compete in the social sphere, seeking distinction from their peers away from the battlefield. Both chanoyu (the tea ceremony) and ikebana (the art of floral arrangement) are discussed and illustrated with objects like tea bowls and Ming vases of the type collected by wealthy samurai for these cultural pursuits. These broader patterns of politics and social competition are integral parts of what made a samurai warrior.
Another aspect of samurai life that I wanted to showcase is the role of women. The samurai tradition was organized not around heroic individuals but families, and women played significant—if largely hidden—roles in the careers of famous male samurai leaders. Women were instrumental in the perpetuation of lineage and not only managed the household but also saw to its protection. Indeed, women of samurai families were trained in hand-to-hand combat to defend their homes. Some were also warriors in their own right and bravely fought alongside men on the battlefield. A rare few were extremely powerful and influential. Visitors will be able to discover some of these samurai women in the digital label found alongside objects in a thematic display, one of six deep dives that bring more nuance to the four main sections.
Samurai: The Making of a Warrior is thus an invitation to explore something with which we’re broadly familiar—the samurai warrior—and to expand our knowledge and gain a better understanding of samurai life and culture.

Samurai off the Battlefield
Champions on the battlefield ... and in the cultural sphere. UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate Jack Snyder clarifies samurai's underexamined contributions as ...
Were There Women Samurai?
Technically, no, but that didn't mean women from samurai families didn't take up arms. Megan McClory explains.
Who Could Become a Samurai?
Not just anyone. However, as PhD student Jason Castro explains, the samurai warrior didn't always fit the wealthy and powerful ...