Modern Sammyrai

A slang term used by students of Japanese history to refer to Westerners (typically teenage boys) who claim to follow the tenets of Bushido, and assign mythic status to the Japanese Samurai. Often they are martial artists who have picked up on the Samurai lore taught to them by thier equally unknowledgeable martial arts instructors. The beliefs which they tend to espouse on internet forums usually follow the "Honorable Samurai" line of thought - that they were "always honorable", "hated guns", "never took advantage of an opponent", etc. Their main sources for these beliefs aside from what they glean from thier martial arts classes tend to be the well known book, Hagakure, and the movie Ghost Dog, Way of the Samurai.