While remembered today simply as the katana-wielding Japanese warriors of old, the life of a samurai was actually far more complex. For 700 years, the samurai were the ruling political power in Japan, serving as a noble military class, embracing their culture as a strict lifestyle on and off the battlefield. Experts in martial arts, swordsmanship, horseback riding, and archery, an honourable samurai was educated, brave, and ruthless, following their strict code of conduct to the last. The way of the warrior was one of loyalty, indifference to pain, fearlessness, and a desire to die with honour on the battlefield to a worthy opponent. Although the term samurai has existed since the 8th century, it was during the Shogunate Era, roughly from 1192 to 1868, that the samurai class truly emerged in society.