Rōnin

A rōnin (浪人) was a samurai with no lord or master during the feudal period (1185–1868) of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege.

In modern Japanese usage, the term also describes a salaryman who is "between employers" or a secondary school graduate who has not yet been admitted to university.

Etymology

The word rōnin literally means "wave man". It is an idiomatic expression for "vagrant" or "wandering man", someone who is without a home. The term originated in the Nara and Heian periods, when it referred to a serf who had fled or deserted his master's land. It then came to be used for a samurai who had no master. (Hence, the term "wave man" illustrating one who is socially adrift.)

The word "浪人" means a "drifter" or a "wanderer", i.e. "he who drifts/wanders".

Status

According to the Bushido Shoshinshu (the Code of the Samurai), a samurai was supposed to commit seppuku (also "hara kiri" — ritual suicide) upon the loss of his master. One who chose not to honor the code was "on his own" and was meant to suffer great shame. The undesirability of rōnin status was mainly a discrimination imposed by other samurai and by daimyo, the feudal lords.

Ronin (comics)

Ronin, in comics, may refer to:

See also

Ronin (disambiguation)

A rōnin is a samurai without a master.

Ronin may also refer to:

In entertainment

Companies

Gunge

Gunge as it is known in the British Isles, or slime as it is known in America and most English-speaking areas of the world, is a thick, gooey, yet runny substance with a consistency somewhere between that of paint and custard. It has been a feature on many children's programmes for many years around the world and has made appearances in game shows as well as other programming. While gunge mostly appears on television, it can also be used as a fundraising tool for charities, youth and religious groups. Gunge tanks have appeared at nightclubs and Fun Days. The British charities Comic Relief and Children in Need, supported by the BBC, have used gunge for fundraising in the past. In America, slime is sometimes associated with Nickelodeon, even having several game shows revolving around it, such as Slime Time Live. In most countries, being gunged is seen as a forfeit with the aim to cause embarrassment. In contrast, being slimed in America can be a good thing as well as a bad thing. Overall the main point of being gunged or slimed is to cause mess.

Slime (brand)

Slime is a publicly owned American business known for its tire sealant and other tire care products. Its headquarters are in the Central Coast of California.

History

In 1989 on the central coast of California, Steve Cegelski began blending and bottling tire sealants by hand with a power drill and drywall blade in his garage. Focused on aiding local mountain bikers and off-roaders, the sealant was often referred to as “that green slimy stuff.” The Slime name stuck and the green color became an intentional statement of the company's commitment to creating an environmentally safe product. The product line developed to include automotive applications and tire care accessories, and now comprises a wide variety of products.

In 2010, Friend Skoler & Company sold their majority share of Slime to Illinois Tool Works. Slime is now managed under ITW's Accessories Marketing business unit. Along with Genuine Innovations, Slime is the only bicycle related business that ITW owns.

Products

Slime is primarily known for their green tire sealant, composed of fibers, binders, and proprietary clogging agents that build up and intertwine to seal punctures in inner tubes and tires. Fibro-Seal Technology is the basis of the sealant. When a puncture occurs, sealant is carried to the puncture site by the escaping air, forming a plug that stops air loss.

Slime (video game)

Slime is a 1982 video game for the Atari 8-bit series written by Steve Hales and distributed by Synapse Software. The player attempts to protect their ship from a rain of enormous drops of slime by deflecting them into huge canisters, while fending off attacks by an alien flying saucer.

Slime, under the title Super Storm, was one of a number of titles Atari ported to other platforms under their Atarisoft brand. A number of Super Storm game cartridges for the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A were manufactured, but were not released after the company was purchased by Jack Tramiel.

History

Synapse Softare's first success was 1981's Protector, and quickly followed by a number of games written by a small number of programmers. Slime was one of the many games released during this earlier period. The basic concept was developed by Synapse's president, Ihor Wolosenko.

The project was originally given to a new member of the Synapse team and some progress was made, but the programmer decided to leave the company. Hales had been working on another game, Fort Apocalypse, but was pulled off its development to finish Slime. The resulting delay meant Brøderbund's Choplifter reached the market first, and Fort Apocalypse was often considered a me-too effort.