Tokugawa Ieyasu

Command #24

by Stephen Turnbull

Towards the end of the 16th century three outstanding commanders brought Japan’s century of civil wars to an end, but it was Tokugawa Leyasu who was to ensure a lasting peace. In terms of his strategic and political achievements Leyasu ranks as Japan’s greatest samurai commander. Leyasu possessed the rare wisdom of knowing who should be an ally and who was an enemy, a key skill for a successful military leader. Leyasu’s crowning victory at Sekigahara depended on the defection to his side of Kobayakawa Hideaki, and the absence from the scene of Ieyasu’s son Hidetada serves to illustrate how just once there was a failure in Ieyasu’s otherwise classic strategic vision. To establish his family as the ruling clan in Japan for the next two and a half centuries was abundant proof of his true greatness.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Military History, Japanese History, War

64 pages, Kindle Edition

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

[Aoi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated by this enigmatic man who managed to unify a nation ruled by fragmented political goals and constant civil wars. In this book, Turnbull analyses Tokugawa Ieyasu's military and political career to determine the qualities of the commander who can accomplish all this

While I enjoyed reading about the nitty gritties of the shifting alliances and war strategies, at first glance, they tend to come across as a bombardment of facts,names and dates without any goal. I wish the author would have added more photographs (especially in a book that talks about so many castle layouts and geographical features) to provide a sense of time and place.

[Davy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd expected more from this, honestly.
It does have a lot of ground to cover in too few pages, but even so, it just reads as a long list of names , places and dates, not providing nearly enough context.

[chvang · Rating 2 out of 5]

At less than a hundred pages, it is no surprise that it is lacking in details. Despite that, it is not a quick read, because it is tedious. I do not recommend reading this unless you already have a grasp of who the major historical figures are and where the places are. At most they get a sentence of explanation before moving on to a summary of events. If you are new to this, you will lack context for who is doing what where. This biography is also overly obsequious of Ieyasu and yet lacking in details of how he is as a commander and a leader.

I will include an addendum and alternative if I read a better biography of Tokugawa Ieyasu (and if future me remember this review).

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 2 out of 5]

En bredpenslad översikt. Min enda anteckning: "VEM är bilden av en man", vilket kom i relation till Ieyasu propagandastycken.

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I have come across many mentions of Tokugawa Ieyasu in dramas and movies to date, this is the first time I've read a book specially dedicated to him. There were some new facts I discovered through this book which were really interesting. However, there was too much detail about the battles he went through and the part about Sekigahara was kind of hard to read. I would have preferred the book to talk more about Ieyasu as a person including his family and friends rather than just his deeds on the battlefield.