The Ways of the Samurai

The Ways of the Samurai
Carol Gaskin & Vince Hawkins

The samurai existed from the 12th century until the 19th century. That's a very long time! But, how then is this book, The Ways of the Samurai, just a little over 140 pages long (or short)? The Ways of the Samurai gives the reader just enough information about the samurai in easily understood language to whet the appetite. It does not overwhelm the reader with confusing names and terms, and complicated facts and events.

If you're curious about the samurai, then this is a good book to start your journey.

An awesome discovery for me was that one of the stories included in the book, The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima, has very familiar names. This historic event, which happened in 1561, involves the Takeda Clan, the Sanada Clan, and Kaizu Castle. These are not really well-known to foreigners, unlike the names Nobunaga, Ieyasu, and Hideyoshi (these names are also mentioned in the book), but Takeda and Sanada sounded very familiar to me. It turns out Matsushiro, a place off the international tourist radar I had visited almost three years ago (Yumiko, who I follow in IG and would not meet in person until a year later, recommended this place and all I knew was that it was a samurai town) was the place mentioned (though not in name) in the book: Matsushiro was where I visited the Sanada Residence and the Matsushiro Castle (Kaizu Castle), among others.


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