Rinkya Keeps Alive the Japanese Samurai: The Forever Knights - The warrior class in medieval society has always been identified with the knight in armor. While the European knight was constrained in a small niche of history, in Japan the armored knight, known as a Samurai, transcended the medieval period. This has created a large and wonderful class of collectibles in Samurai armor and weapons.
The rise of the Samurai, as a class within Japanese society began in the Heian Period (794-1185), and continued through the effective end of feudalism in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Armor and weapons of different periods and motifs have been treasured by families and collected by avid collectors for almost thirteen hundred years.