Japans samurai past is riddled with stories of great fighting prowess and deeply ingrained systems of honor and discipline. But behind the stern demeanor was a society coming apart at the seams. Clashes in class systems and the need for a nation to come together threaten to break up the old ways of warring samurai--these are tales of such struggles. This is the story of Japans history, and the beginning of the end of the samurai era.