Shogun Books

[Omar Mena]

Can anyone inform me of any badass books on Feudal Japan?
I want book like this: At this great battle in 1525 Takeda Shingen annnihlated Lord Hojo.

[bighairyman]

go on google for free information http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif .

if you want the books, check ur local book store or go on ebay, or amazon

hope that helps http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Omar Mena]

At least you replied........ http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Omar Mena]

Actually the reason why I asked this question here and not anywhere else is because I thought out of a community of 4,000 Total War fans someone would have a good answer.(No offense hairy man) A straight answer somebody would be ighly appreciated. All i'm asking for is for a name of a book.....

[ToranagaSama]

Hmmm...baddass...is that Fiction or non-fiction?

[Shahed]

Greetings and Welcome Aboard http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Non-Fiction books I'd recommend:

This is a general work for starters, it covers pretty much everything in varying detail and provides a good base from which to work from.
The Samurai Sourcebook (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1854095234/qid=1063692045/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-6339513-9475139?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

This is more on a personal combat level and delves specifically into the Samurai martial arts.
Secrets of the Samurai (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785810730/qid=1063692153/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-6339513-9475139)

[Bevan of Hertfordshire]

How about Musashi its a novel about Miyamoto Musashi who was apparently the greatest swordsman that ever lived, he also fought at sekigahara against Tokugawa.

[Shahed]

Try this online resource:

The Samurai Archives. (http://www.samurai-archives.com/)

[Shahed]

I found this list (http://www.samurai-archives.com/rec.html) at the samurai archives:

Berry, Mary Elizabeth. The Culture of Civil War in Kyôto Berkely, CA.: University of California Press, 1994

Berry, Mary Elizabeth. Hideyoshi Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1982 [Very useful; Mary E. Berry is one of the best authors on medieval Japan]

Bottemly, I. & A. P. Hopson Arms and Armor of the Samurai Crescent 1991

Bryant, Anthony Sekigahara 1600 Osprey Military 1995 [An interesting description of the Sekigahara Campaign graced with excellant maps]

Cooper, Michael They Came To Japan University of California 1981

Elison, George Deus Destroyed Harvard 1991 [A fascinating work by one of the top names in the field]

Ellison, George and Bardwell L. Smith, eds. Warlords, Artists, and Commoners Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, 1982

Hall, John Whitney. Government and Local Power in Japan, 500 - 1700 New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1966

Hall, John Whitney. Japan from Prehistory to Modern Times New York: Delacorte Press, 1970

Hall, John Whitney and Toyoda Takeshi. Japan in the Muromachi Age Berkely: University of California Press, 1977

Hall, John Whitney, Nagahara Keiji and Kozo Yamamura, eds. Japan Before Tokugawa Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1981 [A highly valuable book - a must-have for the serious student]

Hall, John W. and Marius B. Jansen (ed.) Studies in the Institutional History of Early Modern Japan Princeton 1968

Hane, Mikiso. Japan, a Historical Survey New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1972

Hane, Mikiso. Modern Japan, a Historical Survey Colorado: Westview Press, 1992

Latourette, Kenneth Scott. The History of Japan New York: MacMillan Co., 1968

Leonard, Jonathan Norton. Early Japan New Jersey: Time-Life Books, 1974 of The Great Ages of Man

Lu, David John. Sources of Japanese History USA: McGraw-Hill Inc., 1974 [A priceless reference for the english-speaking student]

McCullough, Helen C. The Tale of the Heike Stanford 1988

Mass, Jeffery P. (ed.) Court and Bakufu in Japan Stanford 1995

Mass, Jeffery P. and William B. Hauser (ed.) The Bakufu in Japanese History Stanford 1985 [Another 'must-have' for the serious student]

Mosher, Gouverneur Kyoto: A Contemplative Guide Tuttle 1964

Nish, Ian. A Short History of Japan New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., 1968

Parker, Geoffrey. The Millitary Revolution, 2nd Ed. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1996 [An excellent book on military history in general, focusing on European military history in particular, but with references to Oda Nobunaga and Hideyoshi as well]

Perry, Commodore M. C. Narrative of the Expedition to the China Seas and Japan Dover Publications, 2000 [A recent reprint of the original 1856 text - fascinating]

Reischauer, Edwin O. The Japanese Today USA: Harvard University Press, 1988

Reischauer, Edwin O. Japan, The Story of a Nation, 4th Ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1990

Reps, Paul. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones Rutland, Vermont: Doubleday, 1989 [Excellent Zen stories, with some interesting historical samurai references]

Sadler, A. L. The Maker of Modern Japan Tuttle 1989 [A classic that continues to stand the test of time]

Sansom, George. A History of Japan to 1334 California: Stanford University Press, 1999 [The better of Sansom's works]

Sansom, George. A History of Japan, 1334 - 1615 California: Stanford University Press, 1996 [An entertaining read, if dated and at times inaccurate]

Sato, Hiroaki. Legends of the Samurai Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press, 1995

Shiba, Ryotaro The Last Shogun: The Life of Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kodansha 1998 [A great read definatly worth checking out]

Totman, Conrad. Tokugawa Ieyasu, SHÔGUN Union City, California: Heian International Inc., 1990

Tsunoda, Ryusaku, Wm. Theodore De Bary, Donald Keene. Sources of Japanese Tradition New York: Columbia University Press, 1965

Turnbull, Stephen. The Samurai - A Military History Japan Library, 1996

Turnbull, Stephen. Samurai Warfare Arms and Armour Press, 1996

Turnbull, Stephen. Samurai Warlords Blandford, 1992

Turnbull, Stephen Samurai Warriors Blandford 1987

Tyler, Royall (ed.) Japanese Noh Dramas Penguin 1992

Varley, H. Paul. The Ônin War New York: Columbia University Press, 1967 [THE source in English for info on the Ônin War - unfortunately it is no longer in print, but is available from a few online booksellers - if you are willing to pay the price]

Yamamoto Tsunetomo The Hagakure Kodansha 1983

Yoshikawa, Eiji. Taikô USA: Kodansha International, Ltd., 1992

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[frogbeastegg]

Here's my Samurai library. I have read most of these books but some are new and have only been skim read before I go back and read in depth. If you notice most of these books are by Stephan Turnbull don't be shocked, he is one of very few historians writing about Samurai in English. He was also the historical consultant for Shogun: TW by the way. In the case of the Osprey books you can get them nicely discounted if you order them from the publisher. Amazon.co.uk has most of these books (it's where I got a lot of the non- Ospreys from) and they sell them discounted. You may have a little trouble finding the non Osprey Stephan Turnbull books on Amazon - I did, for months they said they didn't have any books by him and then suddenly poof a whole horde of them appear. It was a good thing they got the books at long last, but it also killed off my finances as I bought the whole set in one go in case the books vanished back into the mists

-The Samurai: A military History by Stephan Turnbull. I am on chapter 3 and so far it is very good. Turnbull is a good author as he writes in as very readable manner and he makes the Japanese names and terms easy to understand and remember. This is a general history going from pre-Samurai Japan to the end of the Samurai in 1877.

-The Samurai recreated in colour photographs by Mitsuo Kure and Ghislaine Kruit. This is a valuable reference volume as it contains good photos of assorted suits of samurai equipment being worn, along with more general pictures like clothing and horse furniture. Definitely worth finding as it enables the reader to understand how the armour etc works and looks. I have had this book for nearly a year, if you are in the UK try ordering it from the publishers for a discount. (Write to Crowood Press, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 2HR, UK) I think they will ship abroad if you really want the book but can't get it elsewhere.

-Samurai heraldry by Stephan Turnbull. This one is an Osprey book so it has a set of illustrated plates as well as 64 pages of text. It is a good in depth essay on a specific subject so you won't find a general history here. However if you have already read a few books then this one is fascinating. It will be the last one I read.

-War in Japan 1467-1615 by Stephan Turnbull. This one might as well be called Shogun: Total War the real story. It is a complete history of the Sengoku period and a very good one at that. This is next on my reading list.

-Samurai warfare by Stephan Turnbull. Again this is an excellent volume covering warfare from the beginning to the end of the Samurai period. It is well illustrated but I found that I needed to reference Samurai in colour pictures to understand the armour descriptions properly. It has some wonderful colour photos and several colour reconstruction paintings by Richard Hook, these help to clarify the text but I found that more pictures were needed next to the descriptions of armour. Maybe when I read it in full it will be less confusing. I would recommend this book for intermediate historians, when you know your basics move to this book.

-The Samurai Sourcebook by Stephan Turnbull. This is a one-stop reference to everything and as such it is very recommendable. It doesn't cover the basic history as well as some of the others but I have found it invaluable for looking up names, battles, equipment and Japanese military terms.

-Ninja 1460-1650 by Stephan Turnbull. Another interesting volume from Osprey with all the usual features and disadvantages (colour plates, rather short, a good introduction etc), it is worth a look as it is one of the better Ospreys.

-Samurai armies 1550-1615 by Stephan Turnbull. A very good overview of the Sengoku armies from Osprey. It is very good and certainly helps give a basic grounding in the subject.

-Ashigaru 1467-1649 by Stephan Turnbull. Once again it's from Osprey and once again it is very good. I would say that this is my favourite out of all the Osprey in Japan books. After reading through this you will have some sympathy and a lot of respect for the ashigaru.

-Japanese warrior monks 949-1603 by Stephan Turnbull. This is very similar to the ashigaru book only it is on warrior monks http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif Again it is one of Ospreys better books and worth the money if you have a thing for mad monks with naginata.

-The Samurai by Anthony J. Bryant. This is then 'worst' Osprey on Japan I have, that doesn't mean that it is bad though. I feel that the author had too few pages to write what he needed, the poor man had to fit an entire history of the Samurai into 64 pages He does much better than you would think but you will need to read other books before you get much of an understanding.

I also recommend Eiji Yoshikawa’s two novels, Mushashi and Taiko. They have already been mentioned in this thread and you can find more by looking in the Sword Dojo.

[Omar Mena]

Thanks You guys are all a big help I mean't non-fiction in case you are wondering. Any more contributions will be highly appreciated http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif