Stephen TurnbullThe Samurai Art of War: as illustrated in Hōjō Godai ki

In 1659 an illustrated version was produced of the samurai chronicle Hojo Godai ki with 90 highly detailed pictures of samurai life and war. Amazingly, this new book by Stephen Turnbull is the first time these pictures have been seen together in a book since that year of 1659! Turnbull has to be thanked for this, not only for the pictures but for the detailed commentary. The scenes include siege warfare, pirate raids, sea battles, sword duels, bribery and even a mermaid! Model makers and wargamers will love it, and it will also appeal to anyone interested in Japanese art. A brilliant book and so original!

Wow! What a good idea. Stephen Turnbull has collected all 90 pictures from a very important source about the samurai and put them in one book for the first time since the original was published in 1651.It is such an original book and so well presentedEvery military enthusiast, modeller and wargamer will want a copy. There are picture of battles, weapons, armour, costumes together with unusual topics like bribery, slave-raiding and a mermaid!This is together with Stephen Turnbull's learned commentary - a must have for any samurai fan.

In 1651 an illustrated version of Hojo Godai ki was published containing ninety pictures of samurai in action. They have never before been published in a modern work. Stephen Turnbull has added a brief history and detailed commentary for each. Samurai enthusiasts will love it. I really liked the martial arts pictures. A really superb addition to what we know about samurai.

A really nice in-depth look at some of the pivotal moments of the Hojo clan history. Not to mention some great reads on the local folklore of the time.