Street Samurai

Street Samurai are a disorganized group of mercenaries and other "swords for hire" who variably follow the code of Yuushido. The term is much like "gangster", encompassing many different kinds of people with many different motivations but all having a few commonly associated traits. Much like gangster or thug, the term is usually applied by others onto a person manifesting traits mimetically associated with the street samurai ideal. They are sometimes called "Ronin of the Road", owing that "their" code of Yuushido is based around an ideology originally for improving the conduct of mercenaries, making them less like samurai than they are like ronin.

The concept has had some evolution since its inception decades ago. The core idea is still there, but there is a much less strict adherence and interpretation to things in this era. Some sociologists who have commented on the phenomenon of "purists" liken it to a spiritual fulfillment in an era devoid of spiritual pursuits.

Like any loosely defined group, it is rather difficult to typify "street samurai" and encompass enough "subscribers" to make it a valid definition. One person may be a paragon of the general idea but never refer to himself as such, while another may loudly proclaim himself a true "Ronin of the Road" but be little more than an unreliable thug with a gun for hire. See the traits section for more information.

History
Author's Note: My mindset regarding this group and this setting in general has shifted, and the history of these guys are going to draw on a few kinda nerdy subcultures I've rubbed shoulders with, with much less of an emphasis on one guy managing to hand-make an entire movement like this.

The Street Samurai of the modern age owes its existence to one Tsumamoto Yanetomo (2291-2382). A mercenary from the age of 17, he composed a book late in his life that recounted his experiences and set forth a number of guidelines for mercenaries (and by extension all other kinds of hired help) to conduct themselves by. The book did not sell well, but is still published and still read by thousands each year. A consummate reader, art appreciator and martial artist, Tsumamoto Yanetomo has long since passed on, but his ideas survive inside of some.

Interestingly, the author never used the word Street Samurai. He simply referred to his audience as mercenaries or hired guns, and those who followed his way as "Ronin of the Road". The origin of the term is uncertain.

Though the whole "lifestyle" was never immensely popular, it did have a considerable following on Earth for a decade or so. Self-proclaimed street samurai (or groups of them) still exist on earth and on some of the colonies, but the mindset is far less popular than others.

Culture
Street Samurai have a martial culture. They are mercenaries, bodyguards and bounty hunters in the modern age (otherwise they're armchair), people who typically practice violence as a trade. Yuushido was very big on pushing the martial culture (the author was a killer for a living), and a Street Samurai should ideally be competent with a wide range of weapons, from firearms to knives to unarmed combat (Tsumamoto was an accomplished iaijutsu practitioner and spoke highly of his art and of the sword). The book also espoused literature, writing and the arts as a method of keeping one's humanity intact through all the killing. It favored more "mobile" works of art like writing over visual arts or musical mastery, but stressed appreciation for all modes of expression. How well this catches on with individual Road-Ronin varies. For some, this speaks loudly to them. Others, not so much.

Street Samurai are typically not in regular retainment, barely qualifying (if at all) samurai in the traditional sense - they often drift from one job to another, with a focus on loyalty to your current paymaster, the job and the idea of being dependable (P.I.'s who stick hard to the case until closed, mercenaries loyal to their contract to the death). Some are, however, outright retainers, loyal to their boss and doing all they can for them until otherwise informed (dedicated security guards, loyal gangsters like the Yakuza, personal body guards with long term contracts). They're essentially people who are not the type to screw over the one they've pledged themselves to.

Yuushido
Yuushido means "The Way of the Wanderer", and was originally written as a way of life in which a person is to conduct themselves - particularly, mercenaries. It was somewhat more invasive than a simple code of conduct for how one should be a mercenary, going into what one should be like "off the job". It embraced complete dedication - even when off duty, one should work at becoming better than being on duty and always being available to one's hirerer for further duties until the contract has ended. It is more "do and be your job" than "do what is right" - honorable in the sense that you can be depended on to remain a loyal person.

Traits
Street Samurai are a varied lot (like any given group of people). They range from psychopathic killers to armchair, couch-potato pacifists calling themselves such because it's cool. They may or may not be aware of Yuushido, or schooled on it's finer points. They might not even call themselves by the name. But, as a whole of what is collectively ascribed to "street samurai" (in the book of Yuushido and in popular literature), they are:


 * Of Bushido stock, but resigned to a lack of permanent master.
 * Skilled fighters, often with multiple weapons in otherwise unfavorable situations.
 * Honorable, making themselves dependable and never abandoning a contract or agreement.
 * Frugal, never wasting their hard-earned money.
 * Compassionate, never shedding blood without need.
 * Humane, never taking contracts with those who seek to harm the weak.

Then again, a so-called Street Samurai may be a bloodthirsty spendthrift with no sense of respect. It's a very gray area, as the movement is based around a single book open to personal interpretation, without any real guidelines on establishing hard "yes or no" distinctions. How strictly one conducts themselves is highly variable - there isn't exacting an overarching body there to enforce behavior.

Activity
Modern street samurai are not very common individuals amongst the Colonial Sphere. There is no body of leadership that organizes these so-called and self-styled. There is, however, one scantly known organization of them called the Tonokai, which seeks to collect these individuals to use them towards a higher purpose.