Interesting. Lots of stuff that I didn’t know.

Samurai names changed a couple times, even a few times, over the course of their lives.
Allegiances shifted, families divided. There were conversions and apostasies, adoptions and betrayals. Clans were moved like pawns from one end of Japan to the other.
Place names have changed, capitals have moved, castles and temples have been razed and rebuilt.

This is the first book I've encountered crafted to manage this confusion, and joyously so. Clements does a great job of harnessing the propaganda, gossip, and art of the time to build memorable personality and emotion around people and events. His introduces major historical figures into crowds of players, into crowded and chaotic story lines, and makes them distinct by merrily weaving in popular anecdotes or fictions of their rowdy, cunning, noble, or craven behavior. Even when these names pop up into the text again after decades and scores of other characters and events, they are vividly summoned by way of a quick joke or other reference to these colorful tales.

Clements has a stated interest and focus on the edges of Japan's power and influence through the age of the samurai, so he covers many lesser-known battles and power struggles. The reportage on Japan's various conflicts with Korea is particularly fascinating and enlightening. He also brings fresh light to even the most famous and oft-told narratives, including the attempted Mongol invasions and the Battle of Sekigahara, which he details with cinematic excitement and suspense.

A Brief History of the Samurai sets a good foundation for understanding Japanese history. I read it in parts, while exploring Japan, and it was a delightful companion that broadened my appreciation for the land around me.

Audio

THE STORIES WE TELL OURSELVES

I do not intend it as a mean compliment to say that as "a brief history of the Samurai" is highly serviceable. Clocking in at 320 pages and scanning more than a thousand years of military history, it seems to successfully stand as a summary of the most important battles, warriors, and political leaders (whether emperors or shoguns or regents) of Japan's history. As one ferries from battle to battle in the reading of Clements' book, the manners and the reasons in which samurai warlords and clan leaders alternately embrace and, sometimes, stunningly, at the drop of a dime, abandon allegiances, is dizzyingly and even fantastically entertaining. Does the clan leader or warlord fight for the emperor? For the retired emperor? For the idea of the emperor? For the shogun? Against foreign invasion? It does seem a labor of mighty cohesion to have made of all this a highly readable account.

Still, where do the histories our author consulted come from? Jonathan Clements is above board about the various Japanese historical sources he consults and about the likely biases that informed their production. It is fascinating, in its own right, to consider how untrue the saying "history is written by the conquerors" is in regard to this history and what it might reveal about the Japanese culture. But that is not within this book's purview. And neither does Clements provide us with an overall assessment of the extent of the Japanese written historical record. Is it much less so than, say, European history? All too often, as I teased out how selective the histories seemed to be, I felt Clements' narrative to be on shaky ground.

And perhaps, in the end, what seemed to be most unsatisfying, is my inability to form any strong sense of why the various warriors fought? I suspect those who go into battle tell themselves stories about why they fight. Whether the real, most base, reason for going into war is filthy self-interest, what we tell ourselves, not just others, but ourselves, is that we're putting our lives in danger for something higher than ourselves--for God, for Country, for family, etc. As riveting a history as this sometimes was, this reader got little sense, given how purported allegiances seemed always as fragile as a house of cards, what stories these warriors told themselves.

Ok so this is a difficult book to rate. Covering 700 years of history or so, this focuses more on the ancient periods than the modern period of Japan (i.e. post Meiji Restoration). The modern period gets about 2 chapters in the end and tees off a fascination with this period perfectly.

Being an introductory text, as the title suggests, this is a whirlwind of a book and till chapter 3 at least, I found it very difficult to get through. I had to keep stopping and rereading as the names were confusing along with the chronology. This is not a book of context but of events and dates - sort of like high school history books which lay out the facts but provide very little editorialization (at least mine did). Be forewarned - google is your friend while reading this book. Be prepared to stop and research. It makes for a meandering, wonderful read if you embrace it. The rabbit holes you go down are probably the most interesting thing about this.

Despite this need for supplementary research as a companion, I still rate this book as a 5 stars. It's not the most enjoyable book but I don't think that was its intent. It's meant to provide a taste of this fascinating subject and hook you into a period and culture you may know nothing about. If you are an expert in the topic you probably wont like this book but as a beginner (at best), I thought it hit the right level. It's detailed but doesn't stop at one period for too long so that you feel lost. I think the book was highly successful in it's stated goal and therefore, makes it "amazing". As a side note, the non-fiction genre doesn't lend itself well to the stat rating system on GR. So, for me, a non-fiction book which is informative and fits into its goals gets my higher rating.

I like this style as an introductory work so I will be checking out more of the suggested reading (my TBR does NOT thank Mr. Clements) as well as more of the "Brief History" series.

Lastly, on a related side note, for those who want to learn more about the period I would recommend checking out Extra Credits brief YouTube videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDsdkoln59A

They pick up (only?!) a 100 year of the period covered in this book but are, as always, lots of fun. There is also a couple of videos on the Korean Admiral Yi which are tell the story of the Japanese invasion of Korea from the other side. Worth listening too.

In telling the story of Japan, one is in fact telling the story of its samurai..


Print picturing a battle during the Boshin War (1868-1869)

Jonathan Clement’s entry in the “Brief History..” series delivers precisely what it says on the tin: a concise, for the layman not overly elaborate survey of the 700 (!) year-long de facto reign of the samurai, Japan’s illustrious elite warrior class.

Within these boundaries, the author executes his gargantuan task exceedingly well, as he covers the major events of the island’s tumultuous history, yet without losing sight of the personal lives affected by them. As such, it is an ideal stepping stone to more detailed - perhaps more engrossing – works operating in a smaller timeframe or touching on one specific aspect, which the author thoughtfully makes ample reference to.

Quite the sobering read though, especially if popular culture has somehow instilled in you romantic notions of the “way of the samurai”. With even a cursory reading, such a naive view is quickly laid to rest. Small, isolated acts of moving kindness and ethical integrity are drowned out by a suffocating deluge of acts of petty envy, cowardly betrayal, pointless tribalism, cold-blooded murder and indiscriminate mass slaughter of women and children.

Severely flawed and ever corruptible human beings these samurai were, but fascinating folk nonetheless.