History of Samurai

[sarathy]

can anyone post a link here where I can read about History of Samurai warriors?

Thanks

[babayaga]

Er . . . a link? It's kind of a broad topic. ;)

How about starting with the Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai)? Usual Wikipedia caveats apply.

-Beth

[Kagemusha]

Do some reading over at http://www.samurai-archives.com/.

Or you know... read a book.

[yoda-waza]

I don't have links but the following are a few paperback books you can find on-line (Amazon) or at a local hobby store that sells military models and games.

Books by Dr. Stephen Turnbull:
Samurai Warfare (Sterling Publishing)
Samurai Warriors (Sterling Publishing)
Samurai Armies 1550-1615 (Osprey Publishing)

Books by Anthony J. Bryant (Osprey Publishing):
The Samurai
Early Samurai 200-1500 AD
Samurai 1550-1600

Here are a couple of hardcover books I recommend (try Amazon):
Samurai - An Illustrated History by Mitsuo Kure (Tuttle Publishing)
Arms and Armor Of The Samurai by Bottomley & Hopson (Crescent Books)

[sam.i.am]

If you can bear reading an actual book, you should definitely check out William Wayne Farris's Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan's Military, 500-1300, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995). Farris deals primarily with the early stages of Japanese warrior/military system just prior to the advent of what historians consider "samurai."

[Kagemusha]

That definately sounds like an interesting read!

However, I have already read all the books yoda listed... I'm such a nerd :nervous:

[yoda-waza]

How about "Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan" by Karl Friday? Anyone read this? I'm considering doing so and would value the opinion of those here.

[Kenzan]

On of the books in my collection which I especially like is this one. (http://www.amazon.com/Samurai-Illustrated-History-Mitsuo-Kure/dp/0804832870/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-0709089-7447951?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178311831&sr=8-2)
It's good for a primer.

Edited becuase Yoda-Waza beat me to it!
:P

[Oroshi]

If you can bear reading an actual book, you should definitely check out William Wayne Farris's Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan's Military, 500-1300, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995). Farris deals primarily with the early stages of Japanese warrior/military system just prior to the advent of what historians consider "samurai."
Wow, I'm definitely getting hold of that for the essay I'm writing!

[sam.i.am]

How about "Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan" by Karl Friday? Anyone read this? I'm considering doing so and would value the opinion of those here.

Karl Friday is another respectable scholar.

While I don't want to start a flame war here but Stephen Turnbull's works should be read as "pop" history if this makes any sense. A friend of mine (a Ph.D. from a very prestigeous US university) once refer to him as a hack. However, I do see some use in these pop books as they can and often do get people to search and read more about the topics.

[yoda-waza]

Karl Friday is another respectable scholar.

While I don't want to start a flame war here but Stephen Turnbull's works should be read as "pop" history if this makes any sense. A friend of mine (a Ph.D. from a very prestigeous US university) once refer to him as a hack. However, I do see some use in these pop books as they can and often do get people to search and read more about the topics.

Yes, I'd already figured the works by Bryant and Turnbull, thin paperbacks with color illustrations targeted to the hobbyist, could be considered "pop" history, however, they focused on details (armor, weapons, tactics, etc.) perhaps not deemed worthy of attention in the more scholarly tomes that expound on the bigger historical picture.

As you mentioned, pop works can trigger further interest. I read James Clavell's "Shogun" 30 years ago (before the TV mini-series) and was subsequently inspired to read more on the historical background of that fictional work. That lead me to Sir George Sansom's 3-volume "History Of Japan" (Stanford University Press) which I read with keen interest. I have been reading more current works on Japanese history and culture ever since, including some pop stuff. My personal interests in Japanese architecture, gardens, chado and kendo came about this way.

[Oroshi]

I think more populist writing can serve as an excellent introduction to many areas of study. As with many things, diving in at the deep end with some of the more difficult and in-depth works on Japanese history can be daunting. 'Pop' history books, whilst they may not be as comprehensive or detailed, can give a solid grounding to work from - as long as they're accurate in what they describe.

[ZealUK]

Karl Friday makes a good point in his 'Legacies of the Sword' in that very few serious historians in the West have ever looked at the martial arts training that the samurai caste involved themselves in.

Problem is to be able to understand the workings of any given classical ryuha you pretty much have to practice it. Looking at it from the outside, reading books, watching embu is all well and good, but it doesn't lead to any degree of true comprehension.

I have read a few of Turnbull's books. He covers a range of interesting topics which stand as a good introduction to further study.

[Dervish]

This isn't a book or an article, but it is an interesting History Channel special about the History of Samurai.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulnx19ebkQA&mode=related&search=

Demonstrations of modern Kendo are shown at the end of part 4 and the beginning of part 5.

[pgsmith]

I have read a few of Turnbull's books. He covers a range of interesting topics which stand as a good introduction to further study.
I agree. I have several of Mr. Turnbull's books. Karl Friday once said to me that they were "history lite". :)

[Oroshi]

I agree. I have several of Mr. Turnbull's books. Karl Friday once said to me that they were "history lite". :)

Having been taught by Dr. Turnbull, I imagine he sees his own books as serving mainly as introductions to more in-depth study. That's certainly how he uses them when he's teaching.

[Black Knight]

As a recipient of a Bachelor of Arts in history, I have noticed that the academics often take a dim view of so-called "popularizers" like Turnbull. I find the attitude to be just a tad snobbish (what's wrong with making history approachable to a wider audience?) and probably in no small part the manifestation of jeaolusy regarding the alleged popularizer's commerical success.

Since I have no intention of writing a dissertation about some obscure aspect of samurai life that no one has ever written about before, I don't really need the "serious" historical works at this point in my life. Plus, I love the pretty pictures. :)

Turnbull it is!

[Fred27]

I agree with the above statements: Turnbull writes great books aimed at introducing and stimulating an interest of Japanese history studies. I personally owe Turnbull for getting me interested in Japanese history which led me to take on a martial art...which today are actually 3 hehe :D

[pgsmith]

Turnbull writes great books aimed at introducing and stimulating an interest of Japanese history studies.
Absolutely. My statement above was not meant to demean Mr. Turnbull at all. The original conversation with Mr. Friday came about because I had read a couple of Mr. Turnbull's books. As he cited very little in the way of references, I was looking for verification of the accuracy of Mr. Turnbull's history. The answer I got was that Mr. Turnbull was fairly accurate in his books, but they were pretty much useless in academic circles because of their lack of citation. Hence the moniker of "history lite", made to appeal to the general population rather than historians. This is as opposed to Ratti and Westbrooke's "Secrets of the Samurai". While they didn't provide citations either, their book has much erroneous information in it. I believe this is why most historians take a very dim view of books written for the general population with no sources listed. It doesn't help the historians at all, and could very well be crapola since the average person has no way of checking to find out the truth of any statements made.

Just my views on it.

[Kenzan]

I've just started to read Ryoma: Life of a Renaissance Samurai (http://www.amazon.com/Ryoma-Renaissance-Samurai-Romulus-Hillsborough/dp/0966740173)( by Romulus Hillsborough) Hehehe..'Romulus' :D

At any rate, it's rather kick-ass.

[kurisu]

This is a nice reference:

http://www.amazon.ca/Secrets-Samurai-Martial-Feudal-Japan/dp/customer-reviews/0785810730

[sam.i.am]

I think it is safe to say that works done by Dr. Turnbull have a useful role in engaging your everyday reader to "exotic" but sometimes dull historical topics. I also think people are in general agreement that there are more serious works available on the topic in discussionm and people understands both the usefulness and limitations of Turnbull's works (for that matter any others). I've ran into people who seems to regard Turnbull's works as definitive on the subject and beyond reproach.

Anyway, I apologize for high-jacking this thread.

[pgsmith]

This is a nice reference:
http://www.amazon.ca/Secrets-Samurai...ews/0785810730 (http://www.amazon.ca/Secrets-Samurai...ews/0785810730)

As I mentioned in my earlier post, this book is NOT a good one to use as a reference. Ratti and Westbrook took everything they could find in English on the Samurai, and used it to create this volume. The problem is that, not being historians themselves, they had no way of knowing if what they used was valid or not. This resulted in many errors being promulgated in this book. Unless you are very knowledgeable about Japanese and their martial history, you've no way of knowing if the passage you just read is true, somewhat true, or totally incorrect. If you are knowledgeable enough to know, you have better books than this one in your library already. :)

[Galo]

I personally own this (http://www.amazon.com/Samurai-Story-Japans-Great-Warriors/dp/1856487032/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1915481-8956118?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178637768&sr=1-1)book, in its Spanish edition (hardcover).

As some have named it, it is also a "lite history" book, good for an overall idea of the Samurai history and development, never dedicating too much space for specific details on any person or event, but showing the "big picture" of changes in terms of tactics, equipment, concepts and ideals about the warrior class. On the down side, at least in the Spanish edition, it tends to "spanish" excessively the Japanese words/names (like "catana" instead of "katana"), but I´m pretty sure that's more a mistake coming from the translator instead of the original author.

It is also highly illustrated.

[kurisu]

As I mentioned in my earlier post, this book is NOT a good one to use as a reference. Ratti and Westbrook took everything they could find in English on the Samurai, and used it to create this volume.

Which is why I like to browse through it, mostly because they have a ton of other references in it. I'm no historian, but I like to think when that much work is put into something, not making the stuff up on thier own, it has some merit.