Underdogs of Japanese History: 11 tales of iconic characters who prevailed against the odds... or didn’t

by Kyota Ko

A samurai prison guard who saw the humanity in even the most savage prisoners,
An untalented warlord relentlessly obsessed with protecting his people,
A lady-in-waiting of an ancient Japanese court who turned herself from a single-mom bookworm into a best-selling author and savior of the ruler of Japan,
An impoverished samurai clan that overthrew two centuries of oppression…

Japanese history is full of noteworthy individuals, each with a fascinating story that remains untold.
Let us embark on a journey to relive eleven life stories of eleven remarkable underdogs.

Chapters

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Japan, Japanese Literature

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 23, 2023

Reviews

[Gin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I have read the other two in the series, and while I really enjoyed them, this one was my personal favourite. Ko-san is great at story-telling, and this collection of stories is a great introduction to the culture and history of Japan if you are just starting out. Yet it would also appeal to those who are familiar with things Japan. Some of these characters I had never encountered before or if I did, was encountered because of their proximity to more famous figures. All the stories are wonderfully written and narrated, with a rich set of footnotes that goes into detail particular aspects of the story in question. I felt that the two most outstanding ones were on Oda Ujiharu and the penultimate one on Sengoku Hidehisa. I was chuckling at the same time as I was full of admiration for the first one, and marvelled at the resilience of the second one. The final one on the Satsuma Samurai was one of the best overview of how the age of the Samurai came to an end (from the time Commodore Perry came to the Meiji Restoration), and how the samurai from that province played a pivotal role. People familiar with the Bakumatsu era would still find something there, particularly towards the end when Ko-san covered the relation between Takamori Saigo and Okubo Toshimichi.

[Alex Bertoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muito feliz pela existência desse livro por ser, até onde eu saiba, a única fonte em inglês que coloca uma luz sobre a vida de Imagawa Ujizane e Oda Ujiharu, duas figuras históricas do período Sengoku que são ofuscadas pelos grandes personagens do período.

Ujizane é lembrado hoje em dia como o grande responsável pela queda do então grande clã Imagawa e por ser um incompetente senhor da guerra. A questão é que Ujizane nunca se propôs a isso, ele foi colocado como chefe do clã a força após a morte do pai. Ele era um intelectual, um artista, grande jogador de kemari, e alguém que tinha outras aspirações. Sim, aconteceu do clã Imagawa ser dissolvido por certa responsabilidade dele, mas é irônico o fato de que ele acabou vivendo em paz após isso, vendo cair Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, e finalmente presenciando o fim das guerras.

Ujiharu também é outro personagem interessantíssimo. Ele entra no imaginário popular como o mais fraco senhor da guerra do período Sengoku, mas quanto mais pesquisava sobre ele, via que era justamente o contrário! Ele de fato não era um grande senhor, só que ele sempre foi persistente e fez de tudo para dar a volta por cima mesmo que tudo estivesse contra ele. Ele perdeu o castelo para os inimigos NOVE VEZES, conseguindo recuperá-lo nessas oito vezes. De fato, ele não era um grande general, fez muitas cagadas e sofreu muitas derrotas, no entanto, quando seu território era atacado, ele fazia o impensável: saia da segurança do castelo para evitar que o inimigo atacasse o seu povo, mesmo sabendo que isso era uma grande desvantagem para ele. E foi com o apoio do seu povo que ele conseguiu recuperar o mesmo castelo tantas vezes, pois apesar de tudo, existia uma admiração por Ujiharu. Além disso, ele também era um artista e na única pintura que temos dele, ele está acompanhado de um gatinho de estimação, sendo provavelmente um amante de gatos.

Gosto que o autor é apaixonado por período Sengoku e muitas vezes deixa essa paixão transbordar através de grandes e empolgadas explicações, ou gigantescas notas de rodapé. O livro também conta a história de outros personagens de outros períodos do Japão, se encerrando com um extenso capítulo sobre os samurais de Satsuma.

Foi uma leitura gostosa.

[Anne Awaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book deserves multiple readings. I'm usually a fiction reader, and although the author categorizes the book as historical fiction, it is more dense with historical facts than what I am used to. To generalize, many of the stories center about shogun that span across the Sengoku period to the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. It is fun to read about the different military strategies, and relationships between the shogun. There are also a few stand-alone stories, like the trusting prison guard of the prisoners of Kodenmachi during the Edo Period, the first novelist Murasaki Shikibu, and the lady-in-waiting at Ooku (all-female department at Edo Castle) named Ejima.

I especially found it interesting to read about the self-imposed isolation of Japan, and the gradual transition through many battles from Tokugawa shogunate rule to Imperial rule, through the aid of smaller but powerful clans like the Satsuma and Choshu clans.

I hope to continue using this book for reference, and shoutout to the author Kyota Ko for doing the research, as well as posting entertaining videos about Japanese culture on Instagram.

[JD · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're wanting to learn about some Japanese historical figures, but don't know where to start, this is a great book to pick up.

Each chapter is focused on a new person and whilst some chapters are much shorter than others, they are all very interesting.

I only rate it 4/5 because I felt one or two of the chapters were a bit lacking in information, but that doesn't matter too much to me, because it encourages me to go and do my own research into the people I'm reading about.

Wonderful book, the way the author tells these stories at times had me smiling and other times had me feeling sad. Earnest and passionate voice can't wait for future books!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you want to know how the age of samurai ended?

Simply and engagingly expressed, this slim volume tells stories of individuals to express the rise and fall of samurai culture and government in Japan up until the beginning of the Meiji restoration. For me, there were more battles than I wanted, but other than this minor criticism I feel I can recommend this book to readers who want to know more about the background to their favourite anime, manga, tourism and other interests in Japanese culture.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books on Japanese history I have read in English. Each story is long enough to learn the context and develop a relationship with the people involved. The author clearly loves his subject and enjoys sharing it.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nicely done, more informal than academic as might be expected if you watch this writer’s online video accounts—very digestible until the last chapter, which is a doozy. I may still be more than a little lost with all the battles and who fought whom. Ahem.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author makes amusing video clips on Japanese culture and history so I thought I’d support the man. The book is an easy read and filled in some historical gaps for me as I struggle to learn Japanese. The downside was that it reads like a video clip. Very conversational but on the written page I cringed a bit. Kyotasan’s English is outstanding but I had to reread several sections as it was a tad clunky. A+ for content, a few strikes against it from the bungaku lens.