The ashigaru were the foot soldiers of old Japan. Although recruited first to swell an army's numbers and paid only by loot, the samurai began to realise their worth, particularly with arquebuses and spears, until well-trained ashigaru made up a vital part of any samurai army. This book tells the st[...]

The most familiar characteristics of the traditional Japanese castle are the huge sloping stone walls and the graceful yet militarily sophisticated structures built on top of them. This title covers the entire period of Japanese castle development from the first introduction of stone walls and tower[...]

The most extensive and famous example of fortification in the world, the Great Wall of China stretches for more than 4,000 miles across inhospitable terrain. Charting its development from construction in the 7th century BC through to the present day, this account reveals the true history of the wall[...]

The invasions of Korea launched by the dictator Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1592-1593 and 1597-1598) are unique in Japanese history for being the only time that the samurai assaulted a foreign country. Hideyoshi planned to invade and conquer China, ruled at the time by the Ming dynasty, and when the Korean [...]

Young samurai, do you wish to obtain the martial skills to master the Way of the Warrior? The strategic know-how to lay siege to a castle? The Zenlike composure to conduct a tea ceremony? This witty, informative and unique guide to the samurai class of early modern Japan is presented in the guise of[...]

By 1400 the long running conflict between the Teutonic Knights and the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom was coming to a head. In June 1410 Ladislos II of Lithuania invaded the Order's territory with an army of 10,000. It included many of the Teutonic Knights enemies - Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Tartars [...]

The Mongol warriors were one of the great success stories of world military history. Under the leadership of Genghis Khan and his successors the Mongols conquered much of the known world, fighting in territory ranging from the frozen steppes, the wilderness of Palestine, the jungles of Java and the [...]

Osprey's examination of Samurai commanders during the Gempei Wars (1180-1185), the Onin War (1467-1477), and the early Sengoku period. The samurai were the military elite of medieval and early modern Japan, and the men who led them were hailed as the very greatest, most heroic and most honourable of[...]

It has been said in China that a city without a wall would be as inconceivable as a house without a roof. Even the smallest village invariably had some form of defensive wall, while the Great Wall of China was an attempt to build a barrier along the most vulnerable border of the entire country. Yet [...]

The Samurai sword of Japan is probably the finest edged weapon ever made. This volume by leading Samurai expert Stephen Turnbull reveals the story of how and why it achieved this distinction. Particular attention is paid to the development of the familiar curved blade from the original straight blad[...]

"The Samurai Swordsman: Master of War" brings to life the history behind the courageous and highly disciplined fighting men of early Japan with detailed writing and hundreds of stunning Japanese woodblock prints, illustrations and photographs.
The most enduring traditional image of the samurai i[...]

From the 10th century onwards the great monastic foundations of Nara and Mount Hiei maintained large armies of warlike monks, a practice that was later followed by other institutions. The tempestuous political rivalries that developed between the different orders of monks, and even factions within t[...]