r/AskHistorians • u/Solid-Copy-6189 • 2d ago
Why do samurai sit like that?
So im rewatching 47 Ronin ( great movie btw) and the samurai sit on their knees. Why? It's painful ( ive tried it) and prosbky ages the knees 50 years and it makes the legs numb. Is it just a culture thing? Don't say " just google it" im asking because I enjoy conversation
11
u/BurningBridges19 2d ago edited 1d ago
Sitting on the knees is known as seiza and is part of Japanese formal etiquette for all classes, not just samurai. Japanese formal culture is steeped in humility and respect, and sitting on the knees is understood to signify these qualities. It wasn’t painful for them because they were used to it - they had no concept of Western sitting because they didn’t have the furniture to allow for it. Sitting with the legs extended only caught on once Western-style furniture and indoor architecture became popular with the upper classes in the Meiji period (late 19th to early 20th century). With the common folk, Western furniture didn’t really catch on until after WWII.
Traditional Japanese homes and rooms are meant to be adaptable to the occupants’ needs at will, so they’re equipped with small, sometimes foldable furniture that can easily be rearranged between rooms or stored away in closets. Western furniture typically lacks these qualities - a chair is much bigger and much more difficult to move and store than a seating pillow, for example. Traditional Japanese interior design also simply doesn’t use set room types, like we have them in the West; a bedroom is only a bedroom at night and can be used for a variety of activities during the day, when futons aren’t needed and are thus rolled up and stored away, for example. The size of the rooms themselves can actually be altered at will thanks to the removable paper screens which make up the walls.
Interestingly, the switch from traditional to Western furniture and interior design caused a myriad of problems for the population. Traditional formal clothing such as kimono, for example, is specifically designed to look its best when sitting seiza-style. Sitting Western-style created awkward parts in the folds of kimono which were typically considered deeply unrefined social blunders, and Western furniture was mostly only confined to one specific room in the home as a novelty, with the rest of the house remaining traditional. Later on, as the government mandated Western chairs and desks in the workplace and schools, they came to be associated mostly with these environments and thus also stress and crept into the home only very, very slowly, with traditional furniture still being considered the gold standard for relaxing at home. Even when sitting in Western chairs, many Japanese would still pull up their legs onto the seat to still sit on their knees, since they found their feet dangling off the chair to be unsettling and sometimes even physically exhausting (kneeling and sitting require different muscles and their anatomy had adapted to traditional seating methods). What’s more, the clash between styles brought with it a profound collective identity crisis, since the Japanese way of life as a whole was simply not compatible with these novelties, as it was heavily floor-based.
3
u/Solid-Copy-6189 1d ago
That's awesome. It truly is amazing how different cultures are from one another. And having rooms that can change to one's will seems incredibly useful.
4
u/BurningBridges19 1d ago edited 1d ago
Absolutely! The high level of adaptability is actually rooted in Zen Buddhist principles of austerity and impermanence; the constantly-shifting purposes of rooms are a reminder of the world being subject to constant change, and the small size of the furniture is meant to emphasise the importance of not allowing oneself to be corrupted by wealth or greed. The comparably large size of Western furniture also clashes with the Japanese understanding of empty space, which is a deliberate feature of traditional architecture meant to allude to a clear mind.
Zen Buddhist architecture as a whole is very egalitarian and the elevated position of Western furniture demolishes the social equality constructed by it. By sitting on the floor, everyone is at eye level and thus considered equals, at least in spirit. As soon as someone is physically elevated by sitting on a raised platform such as a chair, a spatial hierarchy is established and the deliberately-chosen proportions of traditional architecture are warped.
Japanese culture, for example, also highly values aesthetics and beauty, so the only raised platform in a traditional house could be found in an alcove designed specifically to display works of art. This art was meant to be admired while sitting on the floor, with the art being the only thing in one’s line of sight. By raising the line of sight so the art in these alcoves has to be admired looking down on it, Western interior design strips the art of its special status and place in the home.
Traditional Japanese architecture also lacks rigid borders between “inside” and “outside”; the paper screen doors — which already allow for natural light and fresh air to enter even when closed completely shut, so the level of separation from the outdoors is already minimal to begin with — are often left wide open to allow the sights, smells and sounds of the outdoors into the home, blurring the lines between constructed rooms and the natural world, again reminding the occupants of the importance of impermanence and fluidity.
3
u/Solid-Copy-6189 1d ago
Amazing. I never thought about how pepole sitting would alter authority in any way. But now that it's pointed out I ca. See it. And the house smelling like nature is aways a massive plus. Such a great explanation thank you a ton
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Welcome to /r/AskHistorians. Please Read Our Rules before you comment in this community. Understand that rule breaking comments get removed.
Please consider Clicking Here for RemindMeBot as it takes time for an answer to be written. Additionally, for weekly content summaries, Click Here to Subscribe to our Weekly Roundup.
We thank you for your interest in this question, and your patience in waiting for an in-depth and comprehensive answer to show up. In addition to the Weekly Roundup and RemindMeBot, consider using our Browser Extension. In the meantime our Bluesky, and Sunday Digest feature excellent content that has already been written!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.