Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.

The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushid?. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kend?, meaning the way of the sword.

Oiran (?梢?) were the courtesans of Edo period Japan. The oiran were considered a type of y贖jo (???戊) 'woman of pleasure' or prostitute. However, they were distinguished from the y贖jo in that they were entertainers, and many became celebrities of their times outside the pleasure districts. Their art and fashions often set trends among the wealthy and, because of this, cultural aspects of oiran traditions continue to be preserved to this day.