The samurai were always eager to be first into the fight, and the book speeds on into the fray, hitting all the high points such as the Gempei Wars and the invasion of Korea, of course general samurai book is complete without a chunk on the Sengoku jidai. Wonderful photographs of Japanese castles and a selection of Angus McBride artwork drawn from already published titles in Osprey’s samurai catalogue. Best of all this book is superbly illustrated with contemporary Japanese woodcut and paintings. Interspersed into the main text are interesting focus points that discuss, sword making, legends, and different points of interest. It captures the flavour of the authentic samurai, while at the same time losing nothing of the colour and entertainment one associates with feudal Japan. It’s full of swashbuckling tales of samurai, Daymios, castles and battles. Turnbull can probably write a book like this in his sleep. It’s small, so maybe a side table would be more appropriate but this seems to form a part of a new general hardback series by osprey, focusing on other famous warriors in history. It’s a showy number with a ferocious but colourful samurai on the cover and a book I would happily lay out on a coffee table. Put better it’s a richly illustrated romp. From their origins to the Meiji restoration. 2016)Īs the author lays out in the introduction, this is a romp through Samurai History.
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