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Hand-colored photograph of samurai in armor, Japan, late 19th century
(upload.wikimedia.org)
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this post was submitted on 27 May 2026
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Ackshually, there weren't any of what we would think of as samurai left in Japan at that time so these are just cosplayers.
The samurai class wasn't formally abolished until 1876, and many of the men who had grown and trained as members of that aristocracy would have still been alive even at the turn of the century.
They would still have been alive but those guys in the picture are pretty young. Even if they were using dad's or grandpa's armour, I'd still consider that cosplaying.
If this was taken in, say, 1890, it would have only been 14 years since the samurai were formally abolished, and numerous young men would have been training for most of their adolescence in that tradition. These fellows could easily be in their 30s - even old enough to have been in the role of a samurai in their 20s.
It could also just be folks posing, like you suggest, but the possibility that they are genuinely samurai, or ex-samurai, is not particularly unlikely.
Alright alright. You got me. Guess I'll have to commit Sudoku now.
A samurai faxed a letter to Abraham Lincoln.
They say. Because all of those existed at the same time.