Over the decades the reputation of the samurai has grown to mythical proportions, owing to such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Yojimbo as well as works such as James Clavell's epic Shogun. In Legends of the Samurai, Hiroaki Sato confronts both the history and the legend of the samurai, untangling the two to present an authentic picture of these legendary warriors. Through his masterful translations of original samurai tales, laws, dicta, reports, and arguments accompanied by insightful commentary, Sato chronicles the changing ethos of the Japanese warrior from the samurai's historical origins to his rise to political power. A fascinating look at Japanese history as seen through the evolution of the samurai, Legends of the Samurai stands as the ultimate authority on its subject. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHRONOLOGY GENEALOGY OF THE MINAMOTO CLAN PART ONE. SAMURAI PROWESS YAMATO TAKERU: LOSER AS HERO YOROZU: “I WANTED TO SHOW MY BRAVERY!” TOMO NO YAKAMOCHI: TO DIE BY OUR SOVEREIGN’S SIDE MINAMOTO NO MITSURU AND TAIRA NO YOSHTFUMI: THE DUEL MINAMOTO NO MITSUNAKA: WARRIOR’S CONVERSION FUJIWARA NO YASUMASA AND HAKAMADARE: PRESENCE OF MIND MURAOKA NO GORO AND HAKAMADARE: TO KNOW WHEN TO BE ALERT TAIRA NO KOREMOCHI, A.K.A. GENERAL YOGO: “DID YOU BRING HIS HEAD?” KANETADA AND KOREMOCHI: MEANING OF REVENGE TACHIBANA NO NORIMITSU: “WHAT SPLENDID SWORDSMANSHIP!” SAKANOUE NO HARUZUMI: A WARRIOR’S SHAME MINAMOTO NO RAIKO: ALERT AND PENETRATING GUARDIAN KINGS AND THE OXCART: A COMIC INTERLUDE MINAMOTO NO YORINOBU: “LET YOUR LITTLE KID BE STABBED TO DEATH!” RAIKO AND OTHERS: TALES OF ARCHERY TAIRA NO MUNETSUNE THE SILENT ONE TAIRA NO SADATSUNA: WHEN NOT TO RISK YOUR LIFE PART TWO. BATTLES JOINED MINAMOTO NO YOSHIIE: “THE SAMURAI OF THE GREATEST BRAVERY UNDER HEAVEN” MINAMOTO NO YOSHITSUNE: A HERO HOUNDED KUSUNOKI MASASHIGE: A GUERRILLA OF UNFLINCHING LOYALTY KONO MORONAO: WHEN A WARRIOR FALLS IN LOVE TAKEDA SHINGEN AND UESUGI KENSHIN: TWO WARLORDS ODANOBUNAGA: THE WARLORD AND POETRY PART THREE. THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR HOJO SOUN: “LORD SOUN’S TWENTY-ONE ARTICLES” MIYAMOTO MUSASHI: GORIN NO SHO (BOOK OF FIVE ELEMENTS) ARAI HAKUSEKI: “MY FATHER” YAMAMOTO TSUNETOMO: HAGAKURE (HIDDEN IN LEAVES) THE FORTY-SEVEN SAMURAI AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT, WITH ARGUMENTS PART FOUR. A MODERN RETELLING “THE ABE FAMILY” BY MORI OGAI
