Legends of the Samurai
by Hiroaki Sato
List Price:
Our Price: $16.30
You Save: $23.70 (59%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $9.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Hiroaki SatoEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); Japanese (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1995-11-01
ISBN: 0879516194
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Overlook Hardcover
Book Reviews of Legends of the Samurai
Book Review: A Wonderful Insight
Summary: 5 Stars
Going by the last reviewer's tirade, one would be forgiven for avoiding this book as another example of Japanese right wing nationalism. Sadly, their review had little, if anything, to with the book "Legends of the Samurai" itself. There is not one whiff of nationalistic parading in the entire book, and Hiroaki Sato avoids anything even hinting at it. Rather than call the Eastern Sea "The Sea of Japan", Sato uses "Eastern Sea", (see the chapter on Oda Nobunaga).
The book itself is divided into 4 broad sections, each containing excerpts and sections dealing with the broad theme at hand. These themes include martial prowess, samurai in battle and war, samurai as they viewed themselves and so on. Although the arrangements come from a large array of sources, they are not as disjointed as they could have been. In fact, Sato has done exceptionally well to blend them as much as he has.
All of the translations come from primary sources, providing a rare insight into a lot of events from people living much closer in time. The translation into English was handled well, and Sato has to be one of the more pleasurable translators to read. I enjoyed the translation for its ease and structure very much.
Sections of particular interest to me were extracts dating to around the end of the Kamakura Bakufu, especially Kusunoki Masashige. Also, the trouble between Minamoto brothers, Yoritomo and Yoshitsune, made for absorbing reading. Having read about Takeda Shingen in novels, it was with relish that I read some primary sources that mentioned him.
Sato provides commentary and explanatory footnotes throughout, and these prove both insightful and helpful in understanding the situation in which the events occurred. Sato's love of Japanese poetry shines through, as he does emphasise it in places and mention it passing when relevant.
Rather than right wing, nationalistic yearning for the past, I found "Legends of the Samurai" to be an excellent foray into the history of one of the most iconic symbols of Japan's history. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I utterly loved reading it, and learned a huge amount about the samurai, their history, and their views on themselves, the world and more. An interest in the samurai almost makes this book a must-have addition to your library.
Japan Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Japan Books
Three Years in Tibet; With the Original Japanese Illustrationsby Ekai Kawaguchi
General Books LLC; Published: 2012-01-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $26.34
Price in other shops:
Ancestor-Worship and Japanese Lawby Nobushige Hozumi
General Books LLC; Published: 2010-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.13
Price in other shops:
The Japanese Economyby David Flath
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2000-04-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $129.64
Japanese Imperialism 1894-1945by W. G. Beasley
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1987-05-21; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Allies of a kind: The United States, Britain, and the war against Japan, 1941-1945by Christopher G Thorne
Oxford University Press; Published: 1978; Hardcover; Book
The Emperor's Codes: The Breaking of Japan's Secret Ciphersby Michael Smith
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2002-11-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.85
Price in other shops:
Tokugawa Religionby Robert N. Bellah
Free Press; Published: 1985-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.51
Price in other shops:
Nagasaki; The Necessary Bomb?by Joseph Laurance Marx
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1971-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.95
Price in other shops:
The Rape Of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust Of World War IIby Iris Chang
Basic Books; Published: 1997-11-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.23
Price in other shops:
Through the Valley of the Kwaiby Ernest Gordon
Greenwood Pub Group; Published: 1983-06; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Hagakure: The Book of the Samuraiby Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Kodansha USA; Published: 1992-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.67
Price in other shops:
Bushido: The Soul of Japanby Inazo Nitobe
CreateSpace; Published: 2010-01-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.69
Price in other shops:
Giving Up the Gun: Japan's Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879by Noel Perrin
David R. Godine; Published: 1988-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
The Book of Five Rings (Shambhala Classics)by Miyamoto Musashi
Shambhala; Published: 2000-12-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.81
Price in other shops:
Hagakure: The Book of the Samuraiby Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Kodansha USA; Published: 2002-08-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $43.84
Patriotism (Second Edition) (New Directions Pearls)by Yukio Mishima
New Directions; Published: 2010-02-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.92
Price in other shops:
The Japanese Art of War: Understanding the Culture of Strategy (Shambhala Classics)by Thomas Cleary
Random House; Shambhala; Published: 2005-05-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.67
Price in other shops:
Chushingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers): A Puppet Playby Takeda Izumo, Miyoshi Shoraku, Namiki Senryu
Columbia University Press; Published: 1971; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.95
Price in other shops:
The Taming of the Samurai: Honorific Individualism and the Making of Modern Japanby Eiko Ikegami
Harvard University Press; Published: 1997-03-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $26.25
Price in other shops:
Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samuraiby Katsu Kokichi, Teruko Craig
University of Arizona Press; Published: 1991-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.90
Price in other shops: