I finished the last half of Shōgun, James Clavell’s 1200-page 1975 historical novel, on my recent vacation, riveted the enti ...

The book is regarded as a martial classic and ... which in 1867 led to the abolition of the samurai class and Japan’s rapid drive towards modernisation. Ironically, the men behind the revolution ...

He believed that the samurai ethic was behind the Japanese fondness for ... He wrote several works related to Japan, most notably the book Things Japanese, first published in 1890. This short essay ...

Samurai strength rested on strong group loyalty and discipline. These bands managed large areas of rice land in eastern Japan, around modern Tōkyō. In 1185 a new government was founded by the Minamoto ...