Review
A wonderful book on the history of the Samurai! --Fightingspirit.com

Fantastic book. Very informative! --Risingsunproductions.net
Product Description
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.

Stephen Turnbull's BATTLES OF THE SAMURAI is an enthralling look at the history of Japan's 'Sengoku jidai', or 'warring states period.' Turnbull provides fascinating accounts of a number of important battles of the era, relating dramatic anecdotes of heroism, courage, and valor, as well as of betrayal and tragedy, while also describing the more technical aspects of the battles, such as the terrain, weather conditions, tactics, strategies, and weaponry. Turnbull's book is richly illustrated with maps and artwork, helping the reader to understand the geographical layout of the areas in which battles occurred and the paths taken by the troops of the various warring factions. In addition, Turnbull provides explanation of the political events and clan struggles taking place between the battles, which is very helpful in tying everything together. Turnbull's volume is also written in such a manner as to be a viable guide for travelers interested in visiting and exploring the sites of the various battles described.

I read this book some time ago and it was really a wonderful experience! I didn't have heard anything about the samurai history before and of course I did't know anything about the 'Golden Age' of samurai battles, which is the 16th century. Mr Turnbull has done a fine job here, analysing nine famous Japanese battles: Kurikara (1183), Kamakura (1333), Okehazama (1560), Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima (1561), Anegawa (1570), Mikata-ga-Hara (1572), Nagashino (1575), Shizugatake (1583) and Sekigahara (1600). In each one the narrative flows in an excellent way and the story is read like a novel, full of heroes, epic clashes, self-denial, traitors and strange war ethics. There are also many simple but fine maps which support the text and enough information of how those battlefields are still preserved today. The Japanese are really fond of their history and this is shown in the condition of their monuments! Don't miss this book!

What a shame this is out of print! Our family used this book extensively as a guide to our sightseeing of Japan this past summer as it offers not only historical background, portraits of great samurai personalities, and dramatic stories of the battles, but also information on visiting the battlefield sites today. Unable to obtain maps or directions to Sekigahara and Nagashino battlefields from the Japanese Tourist Organization (they told us 'nobody goes there - there is nothing to see!') we relied on directions and photos in this book to discover for ourselves that samurai battlefields (Kamakura, Sekigahara) can be toured with relative ease and offer much for the modern tourist. Of course, it was the book's excellent coverage of the battles that first made us want to walk in the footsteps of Tokugawa, Mitsunari, Yoshisada, etc. A valuable resource!

Contents

Introduction
1183: The Battle of Kurikara
The Gempei War
Kiso Yoshinaka
The March to Kurikara
The Battle of Kurikara
Kurikara today
1933: The Battle of Kamakura
The end of the Gempei War
Kamakura
The Kemmu Restoration
The fall of Kamakura
Kamakura today
1560: The Battle of Okehazama
The great road
The three clans
The march to Okehazama
Nobunaga's advance
The Battle of Okehazama
Okehazama today
1561: The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima
Takeda Shingen
Uesugi Kenshin
The early battles
The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima
Kawanakajima today
1570: The Battle of the Anegawa
Nobunaga the Conqueror
Nobunaga and the Asai
The Retreat from Echizen
The Battle of Anegawa
Anegawa today
1572: The Battleof Mikata-ga-Hara
Hamamatsu
Nobunagaga the Destroyer
The advance to Jikawa
The fighting retreat
The Battle of Saigadake
Mikata-ga-Hara today
1575: The Battle of Nagashino
Son of the fox-spirit
The Siege of Nagashino
Torii Suneemon
Shitarabara
Temmoku-zan
Nagashino today
1583: The Battle of Shizugatake
The Honno-ji Incident
Yamazaki
Shibata Katsuie
The rivals
The Shizugatake-Campaign
the Batle of Shizugatake
Shizugatake today
1600: The Battle of Sekigahara
The infant heir
The Sekigahara Campaign
The Siege of Fushimi
Sekigahara
Sekigahara today
Bibliography
Index