In the 14th century, Samurai really started to develop into what we know them as today. At this time an amazing innovation came into the hands of these warriors, and it was all because of a blacksmith named Masamune. He had developed a two layered structure of both soft and hard steel to use in his swords. This led to improved cutting power and life. This production technique also led to the recognition of Japanese swords as the most powerful weapons of East Asia. In the 14th century, another amazing thing occurred, the Samurai creed as written. This creed was written by an anonymous warrior and contained Confucian, Shinto, Buddhist and Zen principles.

During this time, the practice of primogeniture was also prevalent. Primogeniture was the practice of giving the entire estate heritance to only the first born son. At this time fighting between samurai classes was also common, although unfortunate. This was seen between the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates. The Kamakura were a feudal military dictatorship, that derived from Kamakura Japan. The Ashikaga were a feudal military dictatorship from the Ashikaga family. Power struggles between classes were all too common in the 14th century.

Mainly, in the 14th century, the system of ethics that derived from the warriors creed, were put in place. This included Loyalty, honor, courage, refinement, and excellence. This creed of course and its strictness also led to some unfavorable occurrences of Japan. By this I am referring to the ritual suicide known as seppuku, or Hara Kiri. This practice became more and more common during this century, which was mostly due to the strong sense of pride these warrior had, the “never back down” feeling was mutual.