The Book of Bushido: The Complete Guide to Real Samurai Chivalry

by Antony Cummins

Overview

Dive into Japanese history—and discover who the samurai really were—in this fascinating study that reveals the flawed human warriors behind the idealistic myths.

This is the go-to volume on bushido (“the way of the warrior”), drawing on a wide range of historical sources to paint a vivid picture of the samurai in action and separating the truth from the myth of samurai chivalry. It offers a long-overdue update to the attractive but inaccurate portrait of the samurai painted in Bushido: The Soul of Japan, which has been a bestseller ever since its publication in 1905, and the equally idealistic Hagakure (c.1716). 

The Book of Bushido explores the reality of warrior behavior versus the idealistic depiction created for an Edwardian audience by the author of Bushido: The Soul of Japan. It reveals the truth of how the samurai really behaved and of what they considered to be a warrior ethos. The image of the perfect eastern warrior is replaced with a much more interesting reality: hardened, bloodstained military leaders with human failings and a complex set of ideas about the world; men who engaged in ritual, magic and ceremony . . . who led their followers in war and peace . . . and who fought a battle between addiction to power and morality.
 
This is the story of bushido—the way of the samurai.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786786050
Publisher:	Watkins Media
Publication date:	02/08/2022
Pages:	496
Sales rank:	527,449
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Antony Cummins is the author of The Ultimate Art of War and many other books on Eastern martial culture. He is the founder of the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team, which has previously published The Book of Ninja and The Book of Samurai series (Watkins), and is spearheading a project to resurrect the authentic 17th-century samurai school Natori-Ryu. The Official Tourism Ambassador for Wakayama, Antony has been recognized by peers as a leading expert in the discovery of military arts of medieval Japan. Find out more at:
www.natori.co.uk

Table of Contents

Introduction: An Outline of Samurai Honour vii

The Myth of Bushido 1

1 What is Chivalry? 3

2 Sources of Confusion 8

The Samurai World 23

3 Foundations of Society 25

4 Hierarchy 54

Personal Honour 71

5 The Qualities of a Samurai 73

6 Loyalty 92

7 Reputation 106

8 Social Customs 121

9 Dishonourable Behaviour 140

Military Honour 153

10 Military Gear 155

11 Swords 189

12 Honour in Violence 213

13 Deception, Dark Deeds and the Dead 254

14 Ritual Suicide 283

Bushido in Context 297

15 Great Samurai Through the Ages 299

16 The Fall of the Samurai and the Rise of Romance 317

Balancing Bushido 329

About the Author 351

Bibliography 352

Index 358