1. Samurai warriors would burn incense in their helmets so if their heads were severed they wouldn’t smell.
2. The way to test a Samurai sword was to make 16 cuts through a dead body hanging from a tree.
3. Samurai women did exist. They were referred to as “Onna-Bugeisha” and fought alongside male samurai.
4. Most Samurai were actually quite short, averaging around 5’3” to 5’5” in height and a very thin frame. European knights of the same era were averaging 6’ to 6’5”.
5. Samurai were open-minded with sexual relations and homosexuality was not only widely accepted, but encouraged – usually between a samurai and a young boy he was training.
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