During the Dark Ages, there were three main periods, the Asuka period, the Nara period, and the Heian period ("Japan in the Middle Ages"). At this time, empire dynasties rose and Buddhism became the central religion and a major part of the culture ("Early Japan"). Throughout the entire fourteenth century, Minamoto Yoritomo the leader of the Minamoto clan reigned as the first shogun, ruling Japan as a military state ("Minamoto Yoritomo"). Also in this “dark” period, from the 1200s to the 1800s were the samurai, who were Japanese warriors that valued honor and respect ("Samurai and Bushido"). These warriors lived by the Bushido, which was unwritten laws, which was their military code ("Samurai and Bushido"). The Bushido was a good thing because it focused the warriors on their country’s needs and concerns, not only on their own problems. Other countries, without a military code, had huge problems with their unstructured fighters causing them major losses in battle at this time ("Samurai and Bushido"). The Dark Ages can be seen during this time through the violence in war and in their…