Battles of the Samurai

by Stephen Turnbull, Arms & Armour (Editor)

Stephen Turnbull is one of the most knowledgeable scholars on the Samurai Warrior of Japan and this is just one of his books on the Japanese Warrior. 126 pages with line drawing and full color etchings show and demonstrate exactly these most important battles of the Samurai Warrior.

Genres: History, Japan, Military History

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Stephen Richard Turnbull is British a historian specializing in eastern military history, especially the samurai of Japan. His books are mainly on Japanese and Mongolian subjects. He attended Cambridge University where he gained his first degree. He currently holds an MA in Theology, MA in Military History and a PhD from the University of Leeds where he is currently a lecturer in Far Eastern Religions. He has also written a number of books on other medieval topics. He is semi-retired but still holds the post of Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University in Japan.

Reviews

[Rindis]

While it is exactly what the title implies, a study of nine battles from Japanese history (ranging from Kurikara in 1183 to Sekigahara in 1600), it is also a good primer of Japanese history from the 12th through 16th Centuries. Writing in 1987, Turnbull assumes his audience has no more than the sketchiest knowledge of Japanese history, and gives extensive backgrounds to each battle.

As such, it is very readable and enjoyable, and establishes a few points in history which further readings can attach themselves to. In my case, it helps tie in the The Tale of the Heike (which I just started rereading), Nobunaga's Ambition II (which was playing about when this was published), and of course, Sekigahara: Unification of Japan. In addition, there are a number of photographs of the (then-)current condition of the battlefields, and monuments, along with commentary of how best to visit the sites.