Quote Originally Posted by Lawless III View Post
a) Given that most DnD games are fantasies, not period pieces, a "samurai" is no longer a slave to historical accuracy. So,IMHO, Samurai Jack and Samurai Champloo are both legitimate places to draw inspiration for a samurai in your DnD game.
They are decently accurate for late era, non-soldier mercenaries in Japan anyway, so it's not as though that matters.

b) Even arguing for historical accuracy, many Samurai were Buddhists, so perfecting oneself would be a realistic ideal for them. (Not to mention the romanticizing of Ronin and that whole approach to Samurai.)
They were mostly Shinto for most of their history.

PRC mashup of wild plains outrider, order of the bow initiate and cavalier is probably the best representation. Any class to get in would be fine.