List of Famous Samurai

Reference
Updated June 20, 2017105 items

List of famous samurais, with photos, bios, and other information when available. Who are the top samurais in the world? This includes the most prominent samurais, living and dead, both in America and abroad. This list of notable samurais is ordered by their level of prominence, and can be sorted for various bits of information, such as where these historic samurais were born and what their nationality is. The people on this list are from different countries, but what they all have in common is that they're all renowned samurais.

This list is made up of a variety of people, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi and ลŒkubo Toshimichi.

From reputable, prominent, and well known samurais to the lesser known samurais of today, these are some of the best professionals in the samurai field. If you want to answer the questions, "Who are the most famous samurais ever?" and "What are the names of famous samurais?" then you're in the right place. {#nodes}
Ranked by
  • Oda Nobuyuki
    Oda Nobuyuki (็น”็”ฐ ไฟก่กŒ, 1536 โ€“ November 22, 1557), also known as Oda Nobukatsu (็น”็”ฐ ไฟกๅ‹), was the son of Oda Nobuhide and younger brother of Oda Nobunaga, who lived during the Sengoku period of Japan. Nobuyuki conspired against his brother Nobunaga with the Hayashi clan (Owari), which Nobunaga viewed as treason. Nobuyuki's Suemori Castle was reduced by Ikeda Nobuteru, and Nobuyuki was killed.
  • ลŒkubo Toshimichi
    ลŒkubo Toshimichi (ๅคงไน…ไฟ ๅˆฉ้€š, September 26, 1830 โ€“ May 14, 1878) was a Japanese statesman, a samurai of Satsuma, and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. He was regarded as one of the main founders of modern Japan.
  • Hasekura Tsunenaga
    Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga (or Philip Francis Faxicura, baptized as Francisco Felipe Faxicura, in Spain, also spelled Faxecura Rocuyemon in period European sources, reflecting the contemporary pronunciation of Japanese; Japanese: ๆ”ฏๅ€‰ๅ…ญๅณ่ก›้–€ๅธธ้•ท; 1571โ€“1622) was a Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyล of Sendai of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. In the years 1613 through 1620, Hasekura headed a diplomatic mission to Spain and Rome, traveling through New Spain (arriving in Acapulco and departing from Veracruz) and visiting various ports-of-call in Europe. This historic mission is called the Keichล Embassy (ๆ…ถ้•ทไฝฟ็ฏ€), and follows the Tenshล embassy (ๅคฉๆญฃไฝฟ็ฏ€) of 1582. On the return trip, Hasekura and his companions re-traced their route across New Spain in 1619, sailing from Acapulco for Manila, and then sailing north to Japan in 1620. He is conventionally considered the first Japanese ambassador in the Americas and in Spain.Although Hasekura's embassy was cordially received in Spain and Rome, it happened at a time when Japan was moving toward the suppression of Christianity. European monarchs such as the King of Spain thus refused the trade agreements Hasekura had been seeking. Hasekura returned to Japan in 1620 and died of illness a year later, his embassy seemingly ending with few results in an increasingly isolationist Japan. Japan's next embassy to Europe would only occur more than 200 years later, following two centuries of isolation, with the "First Japanese Embassy to Europe" in 1862.
  • Toyotomi Hideyoshi
    File:Toyotomi Hideyoshi Kaou.svg Toyotomi Hideyoshi (่ฑŠ่‡ฃ ็ง€ๅ‰, March 17, 1537 โ€“ September 18, 1598) was a preeminent daimyล, warrior, general, samurai, and politician of the Sengoku period who is regarded as Japan's second "great unifier". He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle. After his death, his young son Hideyori was displaced by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hideyoshi is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the restriction that only members of the samurai class could bear arms. He financed the construction, restoration and rebuilding of many temples standing today in Kyoto. He is also known for ordering the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592โ€“1598).
  • Matsudaira Tadaaki
    Matsudaira Tadaaki (ๆพๅนณ ๅฟ ๆ˜Ž, 1583 โ€“ May 1, 1644) was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period through early Edo period. He was a retainer and relative of the Tokugawa clan.
  • Matsudaira Katamori
    Matsudaira Katamori (ๆพๅนณ ๅฎนไฟ, February 15, 1836 โ€“ December 5, 1893) was a samurai who lived in the last days of the Edo period and the early to mid Meiji period. He was the 9th daimyล of the Aizu han and the Military Commissioner of Kyoto during the Bakumatsu period. During the Boshin War, Katamori and the Aizu han fought against the Meiji Government armies, but were severely defeated. Katamori's life was spared, and he later became the Chief of the Tลshลgลซ Shrine. He, along with his three brothers Sadaaki, Yoshikatsu, and Mochiharu, had highly influential roles during the Meiji Restoration and were called the four Takasu brothers (Takasu yon-kyลdai ้ซ˜้ ˆๅ››ๅ…„ๅผŸ).