Legends of the Samurai cover art

Legends of the Samurai

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £16.80

Buy Now for £16.80

About this listen

Over the decades, the reputation of the samurai has grown to mythical proportions, owing to such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, as well as works such as James Clavell's epic Shogun.

In Legends of the Samurai, Hiroaki Sato confronts both the history and the legend of the samurai, untangling the two to present an authentic picture of these legendary warriors.

Through his masterful translations of original samurai tales, laws, dicta, reports, and arguments accompanied by insightful commentary, Sato chronicles the changing ethos of the Japanese warrior from the samurai's historical origins to his rise to political power.

A fascinating look at Japanese history as seen through the evolution of the samurai, Legends of the Samurai stands as the ultimate authority on its subject.

©1995 Hiroaki Sato (P)2016 Gildan Media LLC Asia Combat Sports & Self-Defense Japan Martial Arts Military Samurai World Imperial Japan China
All stars
Most relevant
I struggled to finish this book. Whether it's just the translation of the original text, I felt it lacked pace and very few of the characters held any interest. The subject would have been much better if the author refrained from stating ad nausea that so and so was a captain of the outer palace guards left division 3rd class, which constant repetition slowed down the story. This book is sadly one best avoided.

Tedious and lacks pace

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.