Character dictionary

These are old-fashioned Japanese expressions that were used by the samurai. Used in anime and manga with samurai or ninja as the main characters. Samurai were at the very top of Japan's old shinoukoushou (warrior/farmer/artisan/merchant hierarchy) class system. Therefore etiquette was taken very seriously and so they spoke in a polite manner using honorific expressions such as 「～gozaru」 or 「～mousu」 (is～). However, the expressions used varied according to the samurai's rank, and rude or violent outbursts were also common amongst bad characters. The Edo dialect also gives rise to variations in pronunciation.