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Campaign 198
?Stephen Turnbull, a renowned expert on the history of Japan, examines the samurai invasion of Korea, the first step in an ambitious Japanese plan to conquer China. Examining the various stages of the war, from the pitched battles of the early war years, to the great naval encounters, the dramatic sieges and the bitter trench warfare that characterized the end of the war, Turnbull provides a concise analysis of the conflict. Highly illustrated with contemporary photographs, full colour battlescene artwork, detailed maps and bird’s-eye views, this is a concise history of a unique and exciting campaign, which not only involved huge numbers of men, differing terrain and tactics but was also the only time that the legendary samurai were pitched against a foreign nation.
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Elite 23
Perhaps the greatest warriors in history, the Samurai were a product of a social system totally geared to war. The Samurai became expert in fighting both on horseback and on the ground. Their way of life was dictated by the code of Bushido or 'way of the warrior' and clad in their magnificent, multi-coloured armour they were perfectly suited to the violent clan and dynastic warfare that dominated medieval Japan as the most powerful families vied for supremacy. In this title Anthony J Bryant presents a fascinating overview of these truly élite warriors.
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Elite 35
War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled much of the country. The wars were usually about land, the struggle for control of which eventually gave rise to perhaps the most formidable warriors of all time: the Samurai. Ancient Yayoi warriors developed weapons, armour and a code during the ensuing centuries that became the centrepiece for the Japanese Samurai. Anthony Bryant chronicles the history, arms and armour of these truly élite warriors, from the rise of the Yayoi through the Genpei War between the Minamoto and Taira clans to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century.
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Elite 82
The dazzling spectacle presented by the armies of medieval Japan owed much to the highly developed family and personal heraldry of samurai society. From simple personal banners, this evolved over centuries of warfare into a complex system of flags worn or carried into battle, together with the striking 'great standards' of leading warlords. While not regulated in the Western sense, Japanese heraldry developed as a series of widely followed practices, while remaining flexible enough to embrace constant innovation. Scores of examples, in monochrome and full colour, illustrate this fascinating explanation of the subject by a respected expert on all aspects of samurai culture.
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Elite 125
The samurai were the military elite of medieval and early modern Japan, and the men who led them were hailed as the very greatest, most heroic and most honourable of all samurai warriors. This first of two books examines the lives, equipment, battles and wider roles of the samurai commanders between 940 and 1576, the period from the emergence of the samurai to the triumph of Oda Nobunaga, who set Japan on the road to reunification. The styles of armour and weaponry of the samurai changed considerably during this time and this book visually recreates some of the most famous samurai commanders.
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Elite 128
This second volume about Japan's samurai commanders covers the generals of the later years of the Age of the Warring States, a period when only the most able leaders survived. This was a time when the prowess of a commander was measured as much by his strategic and organizational abilities as by his individual fighting skills and he was expected to give as great a show of strength in the council chamber as on the battlefield. This book discusses the lives, battles and wider roles of talented commanders such as Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi - great men who stood out prominently due to their elaborate suits of armour and helmets, their stunning personal heraldry and their great armies.
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General Military
The world of the samurai - the legendary elite warrior cult of old Japan - has for too long been associated solely with military history and has remained a mystery to the general reader. In this exciting new book, Stephen Turnbull, the world's leading authority on the samurai, goes beyond the battlefield to paint a picture of the samurai as they really were. Familiar topics such as the cult of suicide, ritualised revenge and the lore of the samurai sword are seen in the context of an all-encompassing warrior culture that was expressed through art and poetry as much as through violence. Using themed chapters, the book studies the samurai through their historical development and their relationship to the world around them - relationships that are shown to persist in Japan even today.
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General Military
In this paperback edition, Stephen Turnbull, the world's leading authority on the samurai, goes beyond the battlefield to paint a picture of the samurai as they really were. This book explores the samurai within the context of an all-encompassing warrior culture that was expressed through art and poetry as much as through violence. Using themed chapters, Turnbull illuminates the samurai through their historical development and their relationship to the world around them – relationships that are shown to persist in Japan even today.
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General Military
The fierce loyalty and self-sacrificing attitude of the Samurai have made them both a legend and a cult. Yet although their military prowess and skills in the martial arts have been studied exhaustively, an understanding of their belief system still eludes many. This original and exciting work examines the spiritual world of the samurai, from their attachment to Japan's mainstream religions of Shinto and Buddhism, to their involvement in Confucianism, Christianity and Folk Religion. Samurai expert Stephen Turnbull examines important topics such as Zen and the martial arts, modern militarism, the cult of the sword, revenge and suicide, hara kiri and the kamikaze pilots - the suicide bombers of their day. He also looks at the fascinating issue of Japanese religious terrorism, as well as the growing cult status of the Samurai both in Japan and in the West.
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Men-at-Arms 86
In 1543 three Portuguese merchants entered a turbulent Japan, bringing with them the first firearms the Japanese had ever seen: simple matchlock muskets called arquebuses. They proved a decisive addition to the Japanese armoury, as for centuries the samurai had fought only with bow, sword and spear. In 1575, one of the greatest original thinkers in the history of samurai, Oda Nobunaga, arranged his arquebusiers in ranks three deep behind a palisade and proceeded, quite literally, to blow his opponent’s cavalry to pieces, marking the beginning of a new era in Japanese military history.