Samurai
The Samurai are a group in Shin Megami Tensei IV and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse. They are the sworn defenders of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado chosen by a yearly Gauntlet Rite.
Profile
The Samurai are the military force of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado originally founded by the Aquila, first king of Mikado. While Mikado has no rival or enemy nations, the threat of demons emerging from Naraku is a constant threat to the population, requiring the Samurai to do battle with them. To this purpose Mikado Castle was built around the entrance to Naraku and designed not to defend from forces attacking from outside the castle but from within.[1][2]
The Samurai are selected through the Gauntlet Rite, a ceremony that occurs every year where those that have turned 18 since the last ceremony come from across the kingdom to be tested. Should a Gauntlet react to the contender when they put it on, they will be elevated to a Samurai regardless of their social standing and given the privileges of a Luxuror.
List of Members
Game Appearances
Shin Megami Tensei IV
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Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
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Nomenclature
The Samurai are named for a warrior caste in feudal-era Japan.
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 English
|
Samurai | |
 Japanese
|
サムライ | Samurai |
Trivia
- The overall designs of the Samurai were heavily inspired by Star Wars.[3]
- Originally the Samurai uniform would have had a black colour scheme, however this was changed to the blue and white seen in the game to better contrast with the Black Samurai.[4]
Notes
References
- ↑ "The whole place is a fortress town, so of course there has to be fighting of some sort going on, but the people within the Kingdom of Mikado don't fight amongst themselves. The stronghold isn't meant to protect from outside attacks either, though; rather, it's there to contain demons that emerge from Naruku. Way back when, demons were threatening the people, so the castle structure was built to seal them up. Settlements then sprang up around the castle." Shin Megami Tensei IV Official Artworks. Published by UDON. English. Page 11.
- ↑ "You'll notice that the arrow slits on the walls in [1] face inwards. That's just one striking piece of evidence to show that Mikado Castle was built as a structure to contain demons." Shin Megami Tensei IV Official Artworks. Published by UDON. English. Page 13.
- ↑ Blending Realism and Fantasy – Insight Into SMT IV’s Character Design
- ↑ "With those images in mind, I was originally going to make the Samurai uniforms black. But then we have a character explicitly called the "Black Samurai", so if all the Samurai were dressed in black anyway, why would they find her conspicuous at all? (laughs) So I went back to the drawing board and came up with the blue and white scheme: blue to reference traditional Japanese style and white to symbolize the Samurai's preparedness for death." Shin Megami Tensei IV Official Artworks. Published by UDON. English. Page 92.