the meaning of to be Samurai

Hi there,I want to ask a questions to you about Samuraiys.
I know Japanese culture and Samuraiys very well.You know some foreign people (me too)really admire the Samurais and their cultures.
So I'm wondering a thing so much.It's really important a question for me!!!

What is the meaning of the come from a Samurai family at the present? or Is there any meaning come from a Samurai family in Japan?Do they still keeps some cultural things at the present? Is there any difference from other familys?Do they keep somethings about some life rules,about consideration,child rearing and world view at the present?

Or can you say everybody is Samurai in Japan so there is no meaning at the present.

Is it like to be Superman in Crypton? =)
(Because everybody like the Superman in there...)

Thank you so much!

"What is the meaning of the come from a Samurai family at the present?"

Nothing really.

"Is there any meaning come from a Samurai family in Japan?"

Not really. Except that the Samurai class were considered the top or 2nd top caste during the ancient Edo Period, so some families may be proud of their heritage.

"Do they still keeps some cultural things at the present?"

In extremely conservative families, they might. Otherwise there are small festivals, just as there are festivals about ancient kings and queens and legends in Europe.

"Is there any difference from other familys?"

Not at all.

"Do they keep somethings about some life rules,about consideration,child rearing and world view at the present?"

Hopefully no.

"Or can you say everybody is Samurai in Japan so there is no meaning at the present."

Everybody is considered a commoner in Japan.

"Is it like to be Superman in Crypton? =)"

Samurai is not Superman. They are ancient warriors. So being a samurai is like saying you're being a knight in shining armor, which sounds outdated, but can be romantic or metaphoric.

I am a bit surprised by Ucco answer..
in Europe there still are quite a few families that were once the ruling aristocratic warrior caste (similar to samourais). . They still have titles (Count Duke, Prince etc.) and live in castles that are many centuries old, full of old furniture, paintings, armours etc. many of them are politicians and/ or chairmen of various companies..They definitely aren't seen as "average" by other people. beeing an aristocrat in Europe is still a prestige position. I know that there are several Tokugawas living in Japan and at least one of them is involved in big businesses.

Sensei 2,

Yes, that is true about Europe. But in Japan, aristocracy was banned by the G.H.Q upon the end of WW2, and today the more you have the more taxes you must pay. Tokugawa guys may be running big business, but that's quite coinsidential. It's not that ex-samurai classes can benefit on certain things.

My wife's family from her mother's side is from a samurai family and it means nothing these days; they're having an apple orchard now and do live in the old samurai house which they really consider to be a hassle as it costs so much to keep and is pretty run-down now.

Note that samurai in the Edo period were quite often nothing more that small time administrators and that many of the stories of heroism have been invented during that time to romanticise their past.

Also, please note that respectful Japanese people are expected to take pride in being modest and humble. Being a commoner is nothing to be pitied about. On the contrary. People shouldn't be showing off their heritage here. I saw the Tokugawa heir on TV once, and he was a nice funny fellow who respects the longer history of families in Kyoto.

But there is a lot of aspects of the Japaneses culture fond in one of the old way of the samurai the Bushido. Wen you look at the Japaneses people you see a lot of aspects of the Bushido( the way of the worrier) in the Japaneses culture like honour respect modesty and a lot of odder things small exemple why Japanese copolle don't kiss in public come from the Bushido samurai did not show emotion in public so those roots did keep on in japan dose day! If you know Bushido well you will be able to see it in the Japanese peoples and culture of modern Japan ! !lol Have fun studying . Ja matane

Hmm, possibly Japanese modesty comes from the way of the warrior (worrier means someone who worries a lot!), but that doesn't explain why most other Asian cultures have the same or similar taboos on kissing in public for example- that's particularly strong in India, among other countries, and they have no samurai tradition.

Any thoughts on that?

You'll find that lots of things in the Bushidō are influenced by the works of Confucius and you'll find his influence all over Asia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius

No Confucian influence on India that I know of, although I agree that his influence is quite strong in East Asian countries.

It's hard to tell whether it was the samurai culture that influenced other things or vice versa. The samurai class did have some unique modesty due to the fact that they needed to leave their wives home during battle (just as ancient European ladies wives wore chastity belts), but I doubt that Japan would have been filled with public kissers if there were only farmers and craftsmen.

take Canada and the usa It is two country that have being populated 400 years a go buy farmers and public kissing is seen a lot there so i would think it makes a small difference but its not just the kissing its the hole aspect of the showing emotion in public i was just making a example about the kissing

re the last post: public kissing in North America is much less common than in Europe. One hardly sees men kissing and hugging in public for example (unless it is on a sportfield after someone scores!). I grew up in Europe and if I -as a teenager-- had not kissed my dad and his buddies when meeting then in a cafe my dad would have been hurt and humiliated and people would have thought there was something wrong with me. Funny enough after living in North America for years I went back to Europe for a funeral and after beeing kissed by several dozen strangers, with more to come, I wanted to scream and run away ..
To go back to the samurais ethics, in the early Middle Ages in Europe the aristocratic warriors had to swear to live by a code of honour that included being humble, protecting the poors, helping the widows and the orphans, etc. it is only after there was a general peace within each country that the aristocrats became more ostentatious in their life style. I should add too that many current aristocrats live relatively frugal lives as they spend lots of money maintaining their old family castle that belongs, in a way, more to the whole country than to themselves.