LEGENDS OF THE SAMURAI

Product Information

He then traveled Japan in a warrior pilgrimage, or musha shugyo (武者修行) from 1605 to 1612, dueling masters of various schools and weapons.

Beyond being a superb warrior and strategist, Nobunaga was responsible for setting in motion the chain of events that would reunify the nation and end the Warring States Period. In the modern age, a best-selling novel, manga comic books, a television series, and more than 30 films have been made about his adventures. When Nobunaga was betrayed by Akechi Mitsuhide and forced to commit suicide at Honno-ji Temple in 1582, Yasuke was there, and battled Mitsuhide's forces. Hideyoshi himself did not survive to see the second campaign through, as he died in September 1598 with his troops still abroad. Leading up to the second Mongolian invasion, Kublai Khan continued to send emissaries to Japan, with five diplomats sent in September 1275 to Kyūshū.In 1637, he apparently fought at Hara Castle during a rebellion, where he was wounded several times.

He's also been placed on both sides of the Siege of Osaka (1614-1615), where the Tokugawa eliminated the last lingering threat to their rule. There are about nine theories about the end of the Sengoku Period, the earliest being the year 1568, when Oda Nobunaga marched on Kyoto, and the latest being the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1638. From the Nanboku-chō period to the Muromachi period, large groups of infantrymen became more active in battle, close combat became more important, and the naginata and tachi, which had been used since the Heian period, were used more.

Jumping to his feet, the samurai slashed at the youth with his short sword as the boy lunged forward, throwing the man over his shoulder. For this purpose, Sato has chosen to translate, wherever possible, writings closest in time to the actual event. However, after the war was won and Yoritomo founded the Kamakura Shogunate, he became suspicious of his half-brother, nullifying his titles and forcing him to go back into hiding in Hiraizumi in 1185. Brazen and reckless, Musashi won his first duel at the age of 12 or 13, accepting an open challenge from a traveling samurai whom he stunned with a sudden attack with a wooden pole, then beat to death on the ground.

A fascinating look at Japanese history as seen through the evolution of the samurai, Legends of the Samurai stands as the ultimate authority on its subject. Before the Meiji Period, Japanese craftsmen had been highly skilled carvers and metalworkers but mainly catered for the ruling class and the wealthy elite mercantile class. The samurai warrior sat in the middle of the dueling grounds in the village of Hirafuku, Japan, glaring at the spectators who had gathered around him.In 1645, he wrote Gorin no sho, whose chapters are based on the five elements of Buddhism: earth, water, fire, wind, and emptiness. Nobody is entirely sure where Yasuke was born, though it's been proposed he may have been from Mozambique, Angola or Ethiopia, or perhaps a European-born slave from Portugal.