The samurai are perhaps the most iconic warrior symbol of Japan—a katana-carrying warrior-class dating back to the 10th century. Samurai were an image of traditionalism, cloaked in kimono, maintaining a code of ethics established sometime around the 11th century. They’ve garnered enough attention from all over to create their own genre of dramatic action films, and can easily be considered the cowboys of Japan. For many Westerners, they’re one of the most enduring symbols of Japanese culture. So, what happened to them? In short, the Meiji era, which destroyed the samurai class in an effort to Westernize. The small oligarchy banned swords and replaced payment with government bonds; eventually the remaining samurai were slaughtered in a Japanese civil war. This is probably why the Meiji period is so seldom romanticized in popular culture.