By the early 1100s, Japan was in trouble. Powerful landlords refused to pay their taxes or give the emperor soldiers for his army.
The government became so weak that officials could not keep order. Bands of robbers roamed the roads. Rich landowners began to create their own armies. Many of their soldiers were peasant farmers, who gave their loyalty to landowners instead of the distant emperor. The private armies of the most powerful clans fought one another. The soldiers in these armies promised complete loyalty to the clan leader. These warriors called themselves samurai, or “those who serve.” Soon, samurai armies became the most powerful fighting forces in Japan.
