Samurai: An Encyclopedia of Japan's Cultured Warriors

(Hardback)

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Alphabetically arranged entries along with primary source documents provide a comprehensive examination of the lives of Japan's samurai during the Tokugawa or Edo period, 16031868, a time when Japan transitioned from civil war to extended peace. The samurai were an aristocratic class of warriors who imposed and maintained peace in Japan for more than two centuries during the Tokugawa or Edo period, 16031868. While they maintained a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence, as a result of the peace the samurai themselves were transformed over time into an educated, cultured eliteone that remained fiercely proud of its military legacy and hyper-sensitive in defending their individual honor. This book provides detailed information about the samurai, beginning with a timeline and narrative historical overview of the samurai. This is followed by more than 100 alphabetically arranged entries on topics related to the samurai, such as ritual suicide, castles, weapons, housing, clothing, samurai women, and more. The entries cite works for further reading and often include sidebars linking the samurai to popular culture, tourist sites, and other information. A selection of primary source documents offers firsthand accounts from the era, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography.

Reviews

This comprehensive collection of information on the history of Samurai will be a welcome addition to academic and public libraries. * Booklist Online *
Vaporis has assembled an enormous amount of informationmuch of it heretofore unavailable in Englishand presented it in an engaging and accessible format. academic historians and other scholars will also find the volume to be an invaluable reference to have on hand when writing lectures or answering students' questions. * Monumenta Nipponica *

Author Bio

Constantine Nomikos Vaporis,, PhD, is professor of history at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is author of several books, including Voices of Early Modern Japan.