Samurai in 100 Objects

Author: Stephen Turnbull
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1473850398
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 362

Book Description
A journey through the world and culture of these elite Japanese warriors, filled with facts and photos. From lowly attendants (samurai literally means “those who serve”) to members one of the world’s most powerful military organizations, the samurai underwent a progression of changes to reach a preeminent position in Japanese society and culture. Even their eventual eclipse did not diminish their image as elite warriors, and they would live on in stories and films. This proud and enduring tradition is exemplified and explored by the carefully selected objects gathered here from Japanese locations and from museums around the world. These objects tell the story of the samurai, from acting as the frontier guards for the early emperors to being the inspiration for the kamikaze pilots. The artifacts, many of which are seen here for the first time, include castles, memorial statues, and paintings and prints associated with the rise of the samurai, along with their famous armor and weapons. The latter include the Japanese longbow, a thirteenth-century bomb, and the famous samurai sword—but not every artifact here is from the past. You’ll also discover a cute little blue duck—found in a Japanese souvenir shop—complete with helmet, spear, and surcoat, dressed authentically as the brutal samurai Kat Kiyomasa, who was responsible for a massacre at Hondo castle in 1589.

Samurai in 100 Objects

Author: Stephen Turnbull
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 9781473850385
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Book Description
From lowly attendants (samurai literally means 'those who serve') to members one of the world's most powerful military organizations, the samurai underwent a progression of changes to reach a preeminent position in Japanese society and culture. Even their eventual eclipse did not diminish their image as elite warriors, and they would live on in stories and films. This proud and enduring tradition is exemplified and explored by the carefully selected objects gathered here from Japanese locations and from museums around the world. These objects tell the story of the samurai from acting as the frontier guards for the early emperors to being the inspiration for the kamikaze pilots. The artifacts, many of which are seen here for the first time, include castles, memorial statues, paintings and prints associated with the rise of the samurai along with their famous armor and weapons. The latter include the Japanese longbow, a thirteenth century bomb and the famous samurai sword, but not every artifact here is from the past. In a Japanese souvenir shop was found a cute little blue duck dressed as a samurai complete with helmet, spear and surcoat, dressed authentically as the brutal samurai Katō Kiyomasa, who was responsible for a massacre at Hondo castle in 1589!

Things Japanese

Author: Nicholas Bornoff
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462913814
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Book Description
Traditional Japanese design imbues objects with a sense of history and artistry that easily reaches across cultural boundaries. In Things Japanese: Everyday Objects of Extraordinary Beauty and Significance, author Nicholas Bornoff and photographer Michael Freeman examine over 60 traditional objects that are uniquely Japanese, deftly illustrating their beauty and significance. Beautifully crafted samurai swords Elegant wooden tansu chests Elaborate tea ceremony implements Exquisitely carved netsuke toggles Fabulous silk-and-gold embroidered kimonos Each item is described in loving detail alongside lovely full-color photographs that highlight the great artistry and craftsmanship in everyday items used by real people in traditional Japan. Things Japanese is the perfect book for Japanese antique collectors or anyone interested in Japanese art and the culture and history of Japan.

Art of the Samurai

Author: 原田一敏
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN: 1588393453
Category : Armor
Languages : en
Pages : 358

Book Description
"This extensively illustrated catalogue is published in conjunction with the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the arts of the samurai, including the finest examples of swords - the spirit of the samurai - as well as sword mountings and fittings, armor and helmets, saddles, textiles, and paintings. The works in the catalogue, drawn from public and private collections in Japan, include 34 officially designated National Treasures and 64 Important Cultural Properties, the largest number ever to be shown together at one time. Dating from the 5th to the early 20th century, these majestic objects offer a complete picture of samurai culture and its unique blend of the martial and the refined." "Many of the greatest Japanese swordsmiths are represented in this volume, from early masters such as Yasuie (12th century) and Tomomitsu (14th century) to the Edo-period smiths Nagasone Kotetsu and Kiyomaro. The blades by these and other masters, cherished as much for their beauty as for their cutting efficiency, were equipped with elaborate hilts and scabbards prized for their exquisite craftsmanship and fine materials such as silk, rayskin, gold, lacquer, and certain alloys unique to Japan. Japanese armor is also fully surveyed, from the rarest iron armor of the Kofun period (5th century) to the inventive ceremonial helmets made toward the end of the age of the samurai." --Book Jacket.

Lethal Elegance

Author: Joe Earle
Publisher: MFA Publications
ISBN: 9780878467754
Category : Samurai
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
As the "soul of the samurai," the sword is famously both the symbol and instrument of Japanese military prowess. Less known, at least in the west, is its role as a fashion accessory or status symbol. More than the weapon itself, it was the sword's metal fittings--from the hand guard to the small decorative plates on the hilt--that reflected the complexities of samurai life. Some fittings were meant to convey the honor and self-control expected of a samurai, while other, more flamboyant fittings reflected the samurai's leisure-time persona as "man about town." Later, when the wearing of swords spread beyond the samurai class, both the decorative function of the fittings and the variety of their designs increased, leading to some of the most accomplished metalwork ever created. Now in paperback for the first time, Lethal Elegance presents 150 of these remarkable sword fittings, and is one of the few books to focus on their styles and techniques. It discusses the visual effects achieved with different alloys, the evolution of fittings following changes in warfare, symbolism and standards for connoisseurship. Though these objects were created for violent ends, their variety and beauty also reveal them as wonders of self-expression.

The Victoria Cross in 100 Objects

Author: Brian Best
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1526730774
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 856

Book Description
It was the events of the Crimean War that changed everything. Until that time, those serving in Britain’s army or navy had been expected to do their duty without thought of recognition or reward, particularly the men in the lower ranks. Fueled by reports from the first ever war correspondents, which were read by an increasingly literate public, the mumblings of discontent over how the gallantry and valor of the ordinary man was recognized rapidly grew into a national outcry. Questions were asked in Parliament, answers were demanded by the press – why were the heroes of the Alma, Inkerman and the Charge of the Light Brigade not being officially acknowledged? Something had to be done. That something was the introduction of an award that would be of such prestige it would be sought by all men from the most junior private to a Field Marshal. It would be the highest possible award for valor in the face of the enemy and it bore the name of the Queen for whom the men fought – The Victoria Cross. Since the VC was instituted in January 1856, it has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Those men were thrown into wars and campaigns around the globe, from the seas and skies around the UK to the deserts of Africa and the sweltering jungles of the Far East. The two world wars saw the most VCs awarded – 628 in the First and 182 in the Second. Only fifteen medals, eleven to members of the British Army, and four to the Australian Army, have been awarded since the Second World War. In this highly-illustrated work, the renowned Victoria Cross historian and author Brian Best examines the introduction and evolution of the VC, along with some of the fascinating individuals and remarkable acts of valor associated with it, through an intriguing collection of 100 objects.

Samurai

Author: Mitsuo Kure
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 146291490X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 613

Book Description
Samurai: An Illustrated History brings the violent, tumultuous, and, at the same time, elegant world of the medieval Japanese samurai to life. This book of Japanese history traces the story of a unique historical phenomenon: a period of 700 years--equivalent to the entire stretch of Western history between the reigns of the Crusader king Richard the Lionhearted and of Queen Victoria at the height of the British Empire--during which an enclosed civilization was dominated by a single warrior caste. The historical narrative of samurai history is supported by explanations of samurai armor, weapons, fortifications, tactics, and customs, and illustrated with nearly 800 fascinating color photographs, maps, and sketches, including ancient scroll paintings and surviving suits of armor preserved for centuries in Japanese shrines. From the 12th to the 19th centuries the history of Japan was effectively the history of the samurai--the class of professional fighting men. At first, they were no more than lowly soldiery employed by the court aristocracy of Kyoto, but the growing power of the provincial warrior clans soon enabled them to brush aside the executive power of the imperial court and to form their own parallel military government. Though individual dynasties came and went in cycles of vigor and decadence, the dominance of the samurai as a class proved uniquely resilient.

Ninja

Author: Stephen Turnbull
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1473850436
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 361

Book Description
This history of the ninja uncovers the truth behind the image—from the exploits of medieval ninjas to their modern incarnation as pop culture icons. The ninja is a legendary figure in Japanese military culture, a fighter widely regarded as the world’s greatest expert in secret warfare. The word alone conjures the image of a masked assassin dressed in black, capable of extraordinary feats of daring; a mercenary who disposes of enemies by sending sharp iron stars spinning towards them. This is, of course, a popular myth, based on exaggerations and Hollywood movies. But the truth, as Stephen Turnbull explains in Ninja, is even more fascinating. A leading expert on samurai culture, Turnbull presents an authoritative study of ninja history based on original Japanese sources, many of which have never been translated before. These include accounts of castle attacks, assassinations and espionage, as well as the last great ninja manual, which reveals the spiritual and religious ideals that were believed to lie behind the ninja’s arts. Turnbull’s critical examination of the ninja phenomenon ranges from undercover operations during the age of Japan’s civil wars to the modern emergence of the superman ninja as a comic book character. The book concludes with a detailed investigation of the ninja in popular culture.

A History Of The First World War In 100 Objects

Author: John Hughes-Wilson
Publisher: Cassell
ISBN: 1844037606
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1205

Book Description
A History of the First World War in 100 Objects narrates the causes, progress and outcome of the First World War by telling the stories behind 100 items of material evidence of that cataclysmic and shattering conflict. From weapons that created carnage to affectionate letters home and from unexpected items of trench decoration to the paintings of official war artists, the objects are as extraordinary in their diversity and story-telling power as they are devastating in their poignancy. Each object is depicted on a full page and is the subject of a short chapter that 'fans out' from the item itself to describe the context, the people and the events associated with it. Distinctive and original, A History of the First World War in 100 Objects is a unique commemoration of 'the war to end all wars'.

The Last Samurai

Author: Helen DeWitt
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 0811225518
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 371

Book Description
Called “remarkable” (The Wall Street Journal) and “an ambitious, colossal debut novel” (Publishers Weekly), Helen DeWitt’s The Last Samurai is back in print at last Helen DeWitt’s 2000 debut, The Last Samurai, was “destined to become a cult classic” (Miramax). The enterprising publisher sold the rights in twenty countries, so “Why not just, ‘destined to become a classic?’” (Garth Risk Hallberg) And why must cultists tell the uninitiated it has nothing to do with Tom Cruise? Sibylla, an American-at-Oxford turned loose on London, finds herself trapped as a single mother after a misguided one-night stand. High-minded principles of child-rearing work disastrously well. J. S. Mill (taught Greek at three) and Yo Yo Ma (Bach at two) claimed the methods would work with any child; when these succeed with the boy Ludo, he causes havoc at school and is home again in a month. (Is he a prodigy, a genius? Readers looking over Ludo’s shoulder find themselves easily reading Greek and more.) Lacking male role models for a fatherless boy, Sibylla turns to endless replays of Kurosawa’s masterpiece Seven Samurai. But Ludo is obsessed with the one thing he wants and doesn’t know: his father’s name. At eleven, inspired by his own take on the classic film, he sets out on a secret quest for the father he never knew. He’ll be punched, sliced, and threatened with retribution. He may not live to see twelve. Or he may find a real samurai and save a mother who thinks boredom a fate worse than death.