Samurai: The Japanese Warrior's [Unofficial] Manual

Ancient Warrior Guide

by Stephen Turnbull

So you think you d like to be a samurai?

It 's 1615 and the samurai, Japan 's elite fighting class, are at the zenith of their powers. Trained in every manner of combat, from sword fighting and archery to karate and jujitsu, the samurai warrior is the emperor 's last line of defense against the lewd and sordid barbarians of Japan and beyond.

This handy manual tells you everything you need to know about maintaining the honor of the samurai class both on and off the battlefield. How to master the Way of the Warrior Whom you should kill, and what to do with the heads afterward What the cultured samurai does between battles How to storm or lay siege to a castle How to conduct a tea ceremony with Zen-like composure How to prepare for entry into the White Jade Pavilion after your death

Genres: History, Japan, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Stephen Richard Turnbull is British a historian specializing in eastern military history, especially the samurai of Japan. His books are mainly on Japanese and Mongolian subjects. He attended Cambridge University where he gained his first degree. He currently holds an MA in Theology, MA in Military History and a PhD from the University of Leeds where he is currently a lecturer in Far Eastern Religions. He has also written a number of books on other medieval topics. He is semi-retired but still holds the post of Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University in Japan.

Reviews

[Timothy Finucane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a slightly humorous, but quality overview of what life was like for a samurai during this period of medieval Japanese history. It's not detailed look at the history, so don't go into it expecting a complex view of this period, but if you'd just like to get some sense of what it was like to be a samurai then this is as good a book as any.

[Aet Altement · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kirjas oli, et tegu on humoorika teosega samuraidest. Kuna ma samurai sõdalastest suurt midagi ei tea, otsustasin proovida.
Mulle tundub, et raamat on mõeldud pisut noorematele inimestele kui mina. Samas ei tee paha alustada millegi lihtsaga ja minna keerulisemate raamatutega edasi kui huvi jätkub. Samuraide käsiraamat oleks võinud mulle ehk aimu anda, et tegu on sina vormis kirjutatud raamatuga. Mind nii häiris see, et tee sina nii ja ole sina see, kelle kohta nii öeldakse, ole tubli samurai. See ei lasknud mul üldse teemasse süveneda. Huh.
Pisut häirib ka see jumaldamine ja alandlikus aga teisiti ei oskagi jaapanlast ette kujutada. Samas teeb see nad ka huvitavaks. Näiteks võrdlusmomendid - minu tähelepanekuid Tema Ülima Kõrgeaususega võrrelda on kui sõjaratsu pööraseid hingetõmbeid mustusevedaja setuka kõhutuulega võrrelda.
No ilmselgelt ei olnud see raamat mulle mõeldud, nõudis suurt pingutust et see läbi lugeda. Üht teist siiski teada sain aga see oli pigem selline kiirülevaade, samas andis inspiratsiooni millest võiks veel lugeda. Pildid ja fotod meeldisid. Lugemist ma pigem ei soovitaks. Kindlasti leidub paremaid raamatuid, kus samuraide elu lühidalt kokkuvõetud ja kui huvi suurem siis on kindlasti ka sisukamaid raamatuid.

[Laura Maté · Rating 4 out of 5]

Está súper bien. Explica de forma bastante llana y divertida cómo debe ser un samurái real (uno de 1615, que no acaba de coincidir al 100% con todos los modelos de samuráis que existieron, obviamente). Pero está muy bien documentado, todo explicado de forma simple y clara pero nunca cayendo en la forma aburrida de los libros de texto de historia. Me ha resultado bastante entretenida y, a su vez, educativa.

Aunque es verdad que pasa muy por encima ciertos detalles y ciertos hechos históricos. No entra mucho en detalle y lo que hace es dar una visión genérica, tocando muchos temas distintos, sobre la vida de un samurái estándar. No está mal pero lo he leído buscando resolver algunas dudas que tenía al respecto y no se han tocado esos temas. Es bastante concreto en cuanto a ver la vida del mismo samurái en ese período concreto haciendo referencias a hechos históricos previos. Me gustaría haber visto la historia de los samuráis, ver la decadencia y saber de dónde salen y por qué aparece esa figura en la historia de Japón.
Supongo que para resolver esa clase de dudas más de historia que de la figura en sí del samurái de principios de Tokugawa, tendré que leer otros libros o buscar artículos. Aunque para lo que está enfocado, está súper bien y es divertido, entretenido y con una buena base de documentación previa. (Según he visto el autor es experto en la materia (historia japonesa, más concretamente el arte de la guerra, creo) y ha realizado algunas asesorías para la realización de algunas películas de la temática sobre la guerra japonesa).

[Zack McCullough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Turnbull provides a fun little read about the life and times of the Samurai around the the beginning of the Togugawa Shogunate in the form of an a manual written by a fictional advisor to the Shogun. This fictional advisor is based on several real historical people that Turnbull is familiar with. Likewise, the information contained in this manual is based on accurate information and Turnbull provides his sources of inspiration for the fictional author of the manual and the information contained within it.
The book is easy to read, though sometimes the names of people and places are thrown around in a way that is difficult to comprehend for those unfamiliar with Japanese history. Some of the tongue-in-cheek jokes that Turnbull throws in are a little cheesy, but they also provide a little chuckle here and there. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, the best word to sum up this book is "fun." It is not academic or a heavy read, but it can serve two purposes. First, for someone who is interested in Samurai or history in general, it is entertaining and can provide information in an accessible way. This leads to the second use, which is that it provides a starting point for further reading if you want to really understand the life and times of the Samurai. Turnbull provides recommended further reading for the different subjects covered by his semi-fictional manual.

[Harrison Large ラージ • ハリソン · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written from the point of view of the Shogun's great advisor, this book examines how samurai should conduct themselves and aspects of their lives that they considered important.

It's important to note the POV is that of around 1616, meaning that the wars are fresh in the memory of samurai but not the two centuries of peace that was to come just after.

It's enjoyable. It's not history-dense, so not exactly a historical source. It reads a lot like Horrible Histories, so probably great for kids around 12 if they're interested in samurai at all.

[Marcus de Babilonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simulando un manual para los jóvenes samuráis, el libro es entretenido y muy fácil de leer, explicando conceptos del mundo japonés de la época, asociados a la guerra y en especial al samurái como guerrero, para aquellos que no tengan ningún conocimiento es muy educativo gracias al toque humorístico y sus ilustraciones, pero para mi gusto demasiado simple

[Shawn Mcdowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samurai

This book is worth the time to read. I loved the way it is written and the lessons that a young samurai would need to learn.

[Chili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adding this again because Goodreads apparently thinks I've read it twice

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[林雅君 · Rating 4 out of 5]

ช่วงนี้บ้าเล่นโอโตเมะเกมสุดๆ โดยเฉพาะแนวย้อนยุคทั้งหลาย กำลังหาหนังสือแนวนี้อ่านอยู่ ซึ่งเล่มนี้อ่านแล้วชอบมาก รู้สึกสนุกและอ่านได้ยาวๆ ด้วยความที่ใช้ภาษาเป็นกันเองสุดๆ เข้าใจง่ายม๊ากกกก ไม่ได้มาแบบวิชาการจ๋าแบบเล่มอื่น เหมาะสำหรับสายหลับคาหนังสือเรียนแบบเรา 😂 ตอนอ่านจะให้ความรู้สึกเหมือนเราเป็นซามูไรฝึกหัด ละมีรุ่นพี่มาคอยแนะแนวให้ฟังอะไรแบบนั้น อ่านละอินตาม มีภาพประกอบตลอดทั้งเล่มยิ่งเพิ่มความน่าอ่านเข้าไปใหญ่ แถมมีหน้าที่เป็นภาพสีด้วยนะเออ ชอบบบบ
สรุป คนที่อยากอ่านอะไรที่สนุกและมีสาระ และสนใจเรื่องซามูไร แนะนำเล่มนี้จ้า 👍

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edited to add after second reading ::

I had forgotten that I'd actually written this before until I saw the prior review I wrote. In retrospect, the book is better than I'd originally thought. I think some of the complaints I had before were due to reading other books in this series immediately before. Next to them, it does still pale a bit, as it's not as fun or humorous. But it is still a fun read and well worth the time.

As somebody who studied Japanese and Japanese history in college, I'd say this is a good summary of the life of samurai during the Tokugawa era (with some looks back) and what would be expected of people in that class. There's a lot that didn't get covered, or got covered lightly, but for the brevity of the book there is a lot of quality content here.

::


I love Turnbull's works, and I've really enjoyed the other "Unofficial Manuals", but this combination was more potato chips and chewing gum than chocolate and peanut butter. The historical information is good, and I managed to learn a few new things even after decades of reading on the subject, but this was not as humorous and enjoyable as the other books in this series that I've read.

[Chris Bull · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished reading the"unofficial manual" for vikings and found it a good read. However, Samurai is written in halting English style and doesn't read as well. So far, it hasn't answered some of my long standing questions especially about those Samurai at the bottom of the scale (in many movies, they become heroes). What percentage of the Samurai population are they and just how wealthy/poor are they?. I realize that Turnbull is a scholar and publishes a great deal about Samurai. I have read another book by him and was still looking for that missing information.
Overall he does a good job, but some of the basics are missing - As where did the samurai pop-up from?

He mentions armor, but there is little in the way of explanation about status of armor and just how wealthy one had to be in ordered to be outfitted (I am still wondering about the retainers).

[Joshua Mooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samurai was a very nice review of a favorite topic of mine that would also be a great little excursion for anyone interested in the topic of these Japanese warriors. The writing is entertaining and addresses many cultural aspects of the period through the narrative of Turnbull's own Lord Umawatari Bogyu, an amusing fictional 'tour-guide' inspired by real-life Tokugawa Shogun advisers. I can definitely see this series being a useful learning aid for middle school and high school classes as it can be read quickly and is much less dry than a history textbook.

For me, it was just as fun as the Viking 'manual.' I look forward to perusing this series further.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an entertaining look at the lives and culture of Tokugawa era Samurai, written in the form of an instructional manual. There is a good amount of historical information here, delivered with a wry sense of humor. Turnbull's fictional author has somehow experienced all aspects of elite life in 17th Century Japan and embodies the values and prejudices of his class. If you are looking for an introductory work on the philosophy and social milieu that shaped samurai warriors, with a heavy dose of ironic meta humor, this is an enjoyable place to start.

[amaldae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have said this so many times before, but I still didn't expect much from this book (either). Almost everything told in it, I knew beforehand because of my, probably former, love for medieval fantasy.

So, I'm not sure what I got from reading it. Expect, of course, some smiles Turnbull's humour made on my lips. I almost added this to my 'lllight' self but then I realized it contains too much death for that.

Lol, she doesn't have anything to say?

[In-Genius · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book has a nonchalant attitude and a nice kind of humor.
I take my example from the "Fourteen Interesting Ways to Commit Suicide": "10 Drowning whilst being weighed down by an anchor. The famous instance is Taira Tomommori at the battle of Dannoura in 1185. It really dosen't get much better than this, particularly when you haunt the locality for centuries to come."

[Simon Curling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is one of a series in a similar vein - it reads as a manual for the aspiring samaurai - with information on what and what not to do. In doing so it covers history and culture (not too in depth) in a very accessible and readable way. I think p prefered the Viking and Knight titles in the series but Samurai is certainly a good and informative read

[Augustus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny book presenting a look at a fascinating period in Japanese history.

[Timothy D. Cook, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and informative

An entertaining and informative book. A lot of interesting insight into how the samurai lived (and died). Good info in a very easy to read narrative.

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, albeit shallow, overview of the samurai. Very good as a jumping-off point for more in-depth research. Turnbull knows what he is talking about.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a good book will read again