Samurai Books

Here are some links and information on suitable books for anyone interested in the samurai.

A good starting place is the books by Stephen Turnbull. Most of these are published by Osprey in their various series. The Samurai - A Military History provides a good solid history of Feudal Japan whilst The Samurai Sourcebook (Arms and Armour Press) is packed with invaluable information and case studies. A more recent title in the Essential Histories series is War in Japan 1467–1615. For a complete list of Mr. Turnbull's books, check out his web site.

Osprey Publications. Many books by Stephen Turnbull and Anthony J Bryant. Too many to list here. Mr Bryant's books are particularly useful for armour and equipment. In the Campaign series, three titles are currently available; Sekigahara 1600, Nagashino 1575 and Kawanakajima 1553-64. Recent titles have also covered siege and naval matters.

Daisho Publications. The Two Dragons people. Three clan titles available - The Takeda, The Uesugi and The Ii. These are booklets of around 40 pages packed with information about the relevant clan. The 4 centre pages have lots of colour banner illustrations - ideal for painting those sashimonos!

Saga of the Samurai. Two books available at the moment; Volumes 1 and 2 of "The Kai Takeda", Takeda Rises to Power and Takeda Nobutora. The third in the series, Takeda Shingen, will be available shortly.