On the other end of the spectrum from the geisha was the samurai, the epitome, at least in the Western imagination, of Japanese masculinity. Beato posed men in “ancient armor” and practicing kendo, a form of fencing samurai used to keep fit and prepared for battle.
However, in the 1860s, the status of the samurai was changing. Samurai were in a constant battle to hang on to their military roles and social status. By Beato’s time, samurai rarely wore their armor, for it had become primarily a collectors’ item rather than a necessity of war.
In 1873, the Emperor abolished the samurai class altogether. So, Beato was in this case really showing something that was quickly disappearing from Japanese society.
