The Armchair Historian traces the fall of the samurai, the hereditary Japanese military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan until the 1870s. Curiously, owing to the relative peace in Japan from the early 1600s to the mid-1850s with no warfare since the early 17th century, samurai gradually lost their military function contributing to their decline as they increasingly became courtiers, bureaucrats, and administrators rather than warriors. As modern militaries emerged in the 19th century, the samurai were rendered increasingly obsolete and very expensive to maintain compared to the average conscript soldier. The Meiji Restoration ended their feudal roles, and they moved into professional and entrepreneurial roles.
—Anonymous