Legends of the Samurai

Looking beyond the image of the almost superhuman swordsmen promoted in modern film and literature, 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 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 in the 18th century.