Samurai: Bushido, der Weg des Kriegers

by Mitsuo Kure

An Illustrated History brings the violent, tumultuous, and, at the same time, elegant world of the medieval Japanese samurai to life. With a general introduction that examines the origins of the samurai and their rise to power, Samurai presents a chronological coverage of samurai history detailing the main battles, personnel, and general themes. Additional chapters are studies of samurai armor and weaponry, fortifications, and the changes in strategy and armor upon the introduction of firearms and cannon. All chapters are illustrated by photographs of battle re-enactments meticulously conducted by the enthusiastic historical re-enactment societies of Japan, and by line drawings of fortifications and armor. Samurai vividly details the long bloody era of the samurai, when sons killed their fathers, brothers attacked their brothers, wives betrayed their husbands and hosts their guests, and the forces of the samurai rulers destroyed those of the emperors and the monasteries. The samurai fought for property, lands, and money, and only rarely for honor--Samurai tells that compelling story with vigor.

Genres: Japan, History, Nonfiction, Japanese History, Military Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

One unique aspect of this volume is that many of the photos are of Japanese reenactors in historical costume. The other illustrations are run of the mill, you see the same ones in other books and some of the illustrations seem a bit off. A good costume reference, especially since there are some female and young persons present.

[Nova... · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's surprising to know Japanese troops were having wars with such a heavy costume.
their loyalty to their master and pride to be people of Japan...wow..
it makes me wondering no more how Japan can be one of the great countries in the world just like now..

[MR A O NOTARIANNI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly insightful

Although some of the final chapters are hard to follow, the first part of the book follows a nice chronological study of samurai and the evolution of armor. I came at this as a relative novice but was able to glean a lot of understanding for just one book. I expect I will return to this book in the future both as reference and to dive deeper into some of the specifics around individuals and their campaigns.

[Paul A · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are quite nice, especially the reenactment costumes, however the written content is quite sorely lacking and uninspired. Often, the illustrations actually have no relation to what's being discussed, which is especially apparent when discussing anything after the Sengoku Jidai period.

[Melany Kaasik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very historiaric. So nice to see how they used to wear armor and make them.

[Nawasandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samurai dan bangkitnya kekuasaan bersenjata di Jepang dimulai pada abad 12 dan berakhir di abad 19. Tujuh ratus tahun penuh dengan peperangan, pengkhianatan, dan invasi antar sesama penduduk provinsi di Jepang. Baru abad 15, ada pemimpin yang punya visi mempersatukan Jepang (dalam satu kepemimpinan tunggal yg totaliter), yaitu Oda Nobunaga diteruskan Toyotomi Hideyoshi dan akhirnya Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Bandingkan dengan peradaban di Barat, atau Arabia dan Asia lain pada abad 12-19.

[Florian · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the material that is presented in this book is excellent, the author does sadly lose the proverbial red thread very soon after the first couple of chapters. The majority of what then follows feels rather haphazard and there is a lot of jumping back and forth between the various regions and centuries which could have been handled better. Rather disappointing.