William Ashcroft's
The Samurai
traces the long and storied history of Japan's famous warrior class, detailing the great battles, legendary figures, and key developments that shaped the samurai over the centuries, together with an exploration of
bushidō
(the Way of the Warrior) and the art of swordsmanship, drawing on works by Yamamoto Jōchō and Miyamoto Musashi.
Ashcroft's concise history expertly charts the emergence of the samurai during the early imperial age, their rise to national dominance, and their eventual dissolution upon the founding of the modern Japanese state. Traversing over a thousand years of history,
covers such subjects as
seppuku
, the daring feats of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the last stand of Kusunoki Masashige, the tumultuous
Sengoku Jidai
, the famed vendetta of the forty-seven
rōnin
, and the Satsuma Rebellion - the last samurai uprising and the last civil war in Japanese history.
The chapter on
and its historical development is accompanied by an extensive selection of insights from Yamamoto Jōchō's influential text concerning the samurai ethos,
The Hagakure
, with an original treatment by the author.
In the final section,
delves into the subject of
kenjutsu
(swordsmanship) and the life and works of renowned swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi. This includes an an original, abridged treatment of
The Book of Five Rings
, Musashi's discourse on swordsmanship, martial strategy, and philosophy.