Japanese literature about samurai has a long and rich history, and includes written works such. List of books and articles about samurai online research. The life and legend of the warrior rebel, taira masakado. In this video, we shall do our best to correct this, and cover the even more fascinating roles and perceptions of the samurai in japanese society from the earliest days all the way to the modern day. But there are a few very unique and very awesome people who have pioneered the japanese history podcast world. Clements also looks at the samurai wars that tore japan apart in the 17th and 18th centuries and how the caste was finally demolished in the advent of the mechanized world. For those interested in japanese history, samurai culture and the role this military class played in shaping japan is a fascinating one. From samurai to geisha and feudalism to philosophy, japan s history is brimming with intrigue. The best books on the samurai, japans warrior caste, as recommended by michael wert, professor of japanese history and author of samurai. A brief history of samurai homosexuality when you hear the word samurai im sure the first thing that springs to your mind isnt anything remotely related to homosexuality, but love between two male samurai was not only widespread throughout japan s history but also encouraged. Elite and highlytrained soldiers adept at using both the bow and sword, the samurai were an essential component of japans medieval armies.
Japan historical fiction, historical fiction, books. Due to the difficulty of translating from japanese to english, code of the samurai took its time to reach the west. Samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval japan by. Jonathan clements is the author of christs samurai. History of the samurai sword based on my dublin city university lecture series samurai culture and history an introduction based on my experience japan lecture series. Im about twothirds of the way through the book, but thus far hes been examining one major religion of medieval japan in each chapter, pretty much giving an outline of japanese history in general, in the process. The book of five rings and other works, miyamoto musashi. Lastly, the final section includes related resources that may. Although samurai no longer exist, the influence of these great warriors still manifests itself deeply in japanese culture and samurai heritage can be seen all over japan be it a great castle, a carefully.
Shogun by james clavell, taiko by eiji yoshikawa, and the heike story also by eiji yoshikawa. Id rather read nonfiction, since i already got lots of fictional works as reference. The best japanese history books that will feed your brain. Books this covers the early transition period from heian society when the samurai were first emerging as a power bloc 940 ad. The history of japanese armor illustration book vol 2. The dawn of modern japan seen through the eyes of the shoguns last samurai, romulus hillsborough. The samurai were originally servants of the ruling japanese nobility, tasked with military duties. The following list includes five of the best fictional tales that explore different aspects of that history. Japan has a history that dates back thousands of years. This book is about the samurai specifically, their history, custom and weapons but the history of japan at the. The englishman who opened japan by giles milton i was hoping to get some inside perspective from an english speaker who was present in the sengoku period, but there wasnt much. The samurai emerged as a warrior caste in medieval japan and would have a powerful influence on the history and culture of the country from the next 500 years. One of the most warlike of nations in the early 20th century, japan today often serves as a voice of pacifism and restraint on the international stage.
This aristocratic warrior class arose during the 12thcentury wars between the taira and minamoto clans and was consolidated in the tokugawa period. Now, japan is also been that major part of history having so many of those different occurrences which made it to become what it is today. So, while it holds a tremendous amount of detailed information, it isnt meant for the average reader. Looking for books about the samurai and japanese history. A later chinese work of history, the wei zhi, states that by 240 ad, one powerful kingdom had gained ascendancy over the others.
Its mostly covering his journey at sea, life on the boat and in captivity as well as other journeys at sea in search of or to japan. The true story of the shimabara rebellion, a brief history of the samurai, modern japan. Samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval japan by karl f. This is a fascinating account of the period from the forced opening of japan to the outside world in 1853, through the fall of the tokugawa shogunate and on to the failure of the satsuma rebellion against the restored imperial government and the end of the world of the samurai. The best books on samurai five books expert recommendations. The term samurai was originally used to denote the aristocratic warriors, but it came to apply to all the members of the warrior class that rose to power in the 12th century and dominated the japanese government until the meiji restoration in 1868. He has been a willing student of japan for over two decades and has spent several years living there. Japanese historical novels books metropolis magazine japan. A history, and biographies of admiral togo and prince saionji kinmochi. The sixth section includes information about influential samurai in japanese history and related books. His real skil lies in his ability to condense yet still portray the richness of samurai culture. The samurai, members of a powerful military caste in feudal japan, began as provincial warriors before rising to power in the 12th century with the beginning of the countrys first military dictatorship, known as the shogunate. The book kicks off in earnest from the early years of.
Memoirs of a geisha 1997 is a somber novel about japan s geisha industry from japanophile and author, arthur golden. It originally read as saburai, the japanese pronunciation of a chinese word meaning, to serve. The historical narrative of samurai history is supported by explanations of samurai armor, weapons, fortifications, tactics, and customs, and illustrated with nearly 800 fascinating color photographs, maps, and sketches, including ancient scroll paintings and surviving suits of armor preserved for centuries in japanese shrines. Sekigahara was the greatest samurai battle in history. Looking for books about the samurai and japanese history in general im developing a short movie, inspired by samurai cinema chanbara and i want to know more about the actual samurai.
The reforms forced many small farmers to sell their land and work as tenant farmers. Questia read the fulltext online edition of samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval japan 2004. Curtis andressen has published widely on a variety of aspects of contemporary japanese society and is coauthor of escape from affluence. Books on the samurai, and medieval japan history forum. A brief guide to samurai culture insidejapan tours. Japanese illustrated history book bakumatsu shishi 199 199 japanese patriots at the end of the edo era. The code of the samurai code of the samurai is straight to the point guidelines on bushido. The samurai archives history page is an indepth research page on japanese samurai history, with details of the samurai warriors and battles of japanese history. What are some good nonfiction books on the samurai. Bakumatsu means the end of the edo samurai period, and shishi is a special word which can be translated as patriot, but in the context of japan, with its then highly fractured, provential make up, really has a meaning closer to a. Brief history of the samurai university of michigan. The last samurai blends over a decade of real history into a shorter narrative, while changing a french hero into an american one.
Varley is an expert on japan and brings a unique perspective to a difficult subject. In japanese, they are usually referred to as bushi, bi or buke. Books on japanese military history military history encyclopedia. Taking in folklore, history and the worlds first novel, here is some of the. Top samurai novels score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Samurai the samurai also bushi were a class of warriors which arose in the 10th century ce in japan and which performed military service until the 19th century ce. This is a more textbooklike choice for readers who want thorough coverage of japanese culture, history and modern society. Youd think thered be a lot of podcasts about japanese history, but there arent. Buddhism in particular was the focus of a wave of artistic expression coming from the japan ese elites expressed in architecture, sculpture, drawing and music. Not what id expected often portrayed as more of a philosophical guide to the life of the samurai. Japan had long been at civil war until brought under the rule of first oda nobunaga, and upon his death at the hands of a traitorous general, that of toyotomi hideyoshi, who completed the unification of japan and brought unknown peace. Settled by migrants from the asian mainland back in the mists of prehistory, japan has seen the rise and fall of emperors, rule by samurai warriors, isolation from the outside world, expansion over most of asia, defeat, and rebirth. There are thousands of books on japanese history but in this day and age some people dont want to read or just dont have the time.
Japanese students in australia and author of educational refugees. A brief history of samurai homosexuality katana swords. Brief history of the samurai courtesy of mark mcgee. It provides a good general overview on japans military history and has many gorgeous pictures and descriptions of samurai battles. Samurai were a class of highly skilled warriors that arose in japan after the taika reforms of a. Shogun is your basic white guy in japan story, told most recently by tom cruse in the last samurai. Claim your free samurai ebooks with when you join my free newsletter. It continues to be the most authoritative work on samurai life and warfare published outside japan. History, fighting techniques, battles, weapons, armour etc. According to wilson, an early reference to the word samurai appears in the kokin wakashu 905914, the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the first part of the 10th century. The fall of the samurai in late tokugawa japan guided history. Samurai were privileged to wear two swords, and at one time had the right to cut down any commoner who offended them.