Dimensions
189 x 245 x 20mm
The essentials of samurai warfare, weaponry and tradition are all explained in this comprehensive work of reference on the samurai culture.
The introduction outlines samurai history, and a detailed section on arms and armour includes the evolution and construction of samurai armour, the Japanese bow, the samurai sword and polearms - plus the technology and deployment of explosives and gunpowder weapons, including the fire lance and arquebus. Strategy and tactics details include command structures, the raising of armies, campaign life, the role of the castle, the characteristics of Japanese battles and the rituals and other consequences of battle.
Includes a catalogue of every major battle and siege from 940 to 1638, followed by specific case studies examining such subjects as personal combat and guerilla warfare, and sections covering religion and the samurai, bushido and hara-kiri, and samurai heraldry.
More than 175 maps, diagrams and illustrations, most unpublished outside Japan, add greatly to the text, and some forty anecdotes illuminate the traditions and heroic events of Japanese military history during the samurai period.
