The Samurai: Swords, Shoguns and Seppuku
Author(s): Ben Hubbard
The true nature of the Japanese samurai warrior is an elusive and endlessly fascinating enigma for those in the West. From their inauspicious beginnings as barbarian-subduing soldiers, the samurai lived according to a code known as bushido - , or 'way of the warrior'. Bushido- advocated loyalty, honour, pride and fearlessness in combat. Those who broke the code were expected to perform seppuku, or suicide through stomach-cutting. By its very design, seppuku aimed to restore honour to disgraced warriors by ensuring the most painful of deaths. However, the bushido- virtues of loyalty and honour fell into question as the samurai grew powerful enough to wrest control from the emperor himself. Accompanied by vivid colour illustrations, The Samurai offers a complete, concise account of samurai history and culture. It tells the story of the rise of the samurai as a martial elite, the warriors' centuries long struggle for power and their long slide into obsolescence
Product Information
Ben Hubbard is the author of" Medieval Castle."
General Fields
- :
- : History Press Limited, The
- : History Press Limited, The
- : 0.290299
- : 01 June 2014
- : 234mm X 156mm
- : United Kingdom
- : 01 June 2014
- : books
Special Fields
- : Ben Hubbard
- : Paperback
- : English
- : 952.02
- : 160
- : Illustrations (colour)