The Samurai Art of War: as illustrated in Hōjō Godai ki

The Art of War as practised by Japan’s legendary samurai warriors has long been difficult to understand, but this groundbreaking book provides a unique insight into its complex processes. It presents for the first time in any language the illustrated version of one of the most important primary sources about the samurai. Hōjō Godai ki is the chronicle of the five generations of the Hōjō of Odawara. It was compiled around the year 1614 by a senior official of the Hōjō who is believed to have been an eye-witness to some of the events and battles he describes. The illustrated version was published in 1659 and contains 90 original woodblock printed pictures that cover every aspect of samurai life from individual weapons to the techniques of siege warfare.
These amazing illustrations convey in a unique way the original author’s vision of the Samurai Art of War from the point of view of someone who had just lived through it. There are sword fights and gunfire of course, but there are also battles by night, ambushes, massacres and celebrations. Religious rituals take place; martial arts students fight for supremacy; captives are taken and executed; daughters are sent off for marriage and pirates raid coastal settlements for slaves.
In this completely original work all 90 pictures depicting these topics (and more) are brought together for the first time in their true chronological order together with a detailed commentary by the world’s leading authority on samurai warfare. The result is a revelation about the true nature of the Samurai Art of War and the image of the samurai.