eBook
Related collections and offers
Overview
From lowly attendants (samurai literally means “those who serve”) to members one of the world’s most powerful military organizations, the samurai underwent a progression of changes to reach a preeminent position in Japanese society and culture. Even their eventual eclipse did not diminish their image as elite warriors, and they would live on in stories and films.
This proud and enduring tradition is exemplified and explored by the carefully selected objects gathered here from Japanese locations and from museums around the world. These objects tell the story of the samurai, from acting as the frontier guards for the early emperors to being the inspiration for the kamikaze pilots. The artifacts, many of which are seen here for the first time, include castles, memorial statues, and paintings and prints associated with the rise of the samurai, along with their famous armor and weapons. The latter include the Japanese longbow, a thirteenth-century bomb, and the famous samurai sword—but not every artifact here is from the past. You’ll also discover a cute little blue duck—found in a Japanese souvenir shop—complete with helmet, spear, and surcoat, dressed authentically as the brutal samurai Kat Kiyomasa, who was responsible for a massacre at Hondo castle in 1589.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781473850392 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Pen & Sword Books Limited |
| Publication date: | 01/31/2020 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 216 |
| Sales rank: | 476,662 |
| File size: | 42 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Introduction viii
1 The Eastern Gate of Fort Akita 2
2 An Ivory Carving of Samurai 4
3 An ebira or Quiver 6
4 A Samurai Helmet 8
5 Picture Scroll of the Later Three Years' War 10
6 Sword of the tachi Style 12
7 Spiritual Guardian Nio 14
8 Head Inspection 16
9 Itsukushima Shrine 18
10 Minamoto Yoshitsune's Helmet 20
11 Tomoe Gozen 22
12 A Heike Crab 24
13 A Mongol Bomb 26
14 The 'Chrysanthemum on the Water' Crest 28
15 The Temple Door of the Nyoirinji 30
16 Wooden Statue of Ashikaga Takauji 32
17 The Scroll Boki Ekotoba 34
18 A wakizashi Sword 36
19 The wako 38
20 The Temple of the Golden Pavilion 40
21 Marishiten 42
22 Helmet Crest of Fudo Myo-o 44
23 Sword of katana Style 46
24 Castle Tower of the Sengoku Period 48
25 Spear 50
26 Arquebus 52
27 Hanging Scroll of Uesugi Kenshin 54
28 Hanging Scroll of Kosaka Masanobu 56
29 Wooden Statue of Matsu Hime 58
30 Itagaki Nobukata's War Fan 60
31 An ashigaru's okegawa-do 62
32 Painted Screen of the Battle of the Anegawa 64
33 The War Drum of Hamamatsu Castle 66
34 Torii Sune'emon 68
35 Battle Standard in the Form of a gohei 70
36 Stone with the Face of a Devil 72
37 Cannon of Otomo Sorin 74
38 Battle Map of Tanaka Castle 76
39 The Kai Shrine and Yufu Korekiyo's Grave 78
40 The Red-Walled Temple 80
41 Bronze Statue of Bernardo Nagasaki 82
42 Kato Yoshiaki 84
43 Konishi Yukinaga 86
44 The Siege of Haengju 88
45 Armour of Kobayakawa Takakage 90
46 Statue of a Siamese War Elephant 92
47 Matsumoto Castle 94
48 Painted Screen of the Siege of Ulsan 96
49 The Fujito Rock 98
50 The Bloody Ceiling of the Hosen-In 100
51 Painted Screen of the Battle of Sekigahara 102
52 Red Armour of the li Family of Hikone 104
53 Armour of Tachibana Muneshige 106
54 Statue of Arima Harunobu 108
55 Samurai and Cherry Blossom 110
56 The Ehon Ryukyu Gunki 112
57 Nakijin Gusuku 114
58 Silver Catfish Tail Helmet of Maeda Toshinaga 116
59 Nam ban Helmets of the Tachibana Family 118
60 The Uto Tower of Kumamoto Castle 120
61 Battle Standard in the Form of a shakujo 122
62 Miyamoto Musashi 124
63 Nimai-do Armour of King James I 126
64 The kokka anko Bell of the Hokoji 128
65 Statue of Tomura Yoshikuni 130
66 Ema of Sanada Yukimura 132
67 The Hachisuka Navy 134
68 Surcoat and Armour for a daimyo 136
69 Shoki, The Queller of Demons 138
70 Armour of yukinoshita-do Style 140
71 Ema of Yamada Nagamasa 142
72 Secret Christian Tea Bowl 144
73 Grave of Matsukura Shigemasa 146
74 'Strange Helmets' 148
75 The Art of Swimming in Armour 150
76 Ainu Ear Mound 152
77 Mansenshukai and the Water Spider 154
78 Hanging Scroll of the Matsuura Army 156
79 Oishi Yoshio's Baton of Command 158
80 Fire Helmet 160
81 Sword Guards 162
82 A Conch Shell Trumpet 164
83 Helmets with Antlers 166
84 Helmet in the Style of a Human Head 168
85 Horse Armour 170
86 The Training Pole of the Jigen-ryu 172
87 Hayashi' Picture of a Catapult 174
88 The Torture Rope of the Shinsengumi 176
89 Statue of Katsura Kogoro of Choshu 178
90 An Imperial Activist from Tosa 180
91 Armourof the Satake Family 182
92 Photograph of Ikoma Chikayuki 184
93 A Boshin War Graveyard 186
94 The Statues of the Omura Drummer Boy 188
95 A Bullet Hole 190
96 Oka Castle in Oita prefecture 192
97 An Armour of mogarni haramaki Style 194
98 'Cherry blossom' Suicide Plane 196
99 Akechi Mitsuhide and Fukuchiyama Castle 198
100 A Cute Samurai 200
Picture Credits and Locations 203