Are feudal Japan's samurai military prowess overrated?

A question like this is very broad and can encourage different answers as can be seen by the various responses elicited below. By many measures the Japanese warrior culture would be severely tested in collision with other cultures. read more

Samurai forces are not effective because despite their "individual prowess"(maybe), they are a crappy army. They simply don't work together as one. They were terribly vulberable to Ming's well-executed tactical manuevers and superior fire power. read more

They were Japan’s military, political, social, and economic elite. A feudal hierarchy of land ownership meant each samurai owed military service to another, right up to the Emperor. In battle, samurai provided the elite core of fighters in most armies and shock troops for cavalry and infantry charges. read more