The Samurai : Swords, Shoguns and Seppuku Paperback / softback

The true nature of the Japanese samurai warrior is an elusive and endlessly fascinating enigma for those in the West.

From their inauspicious beginnings as barbarian-subduing soldiers, the samurai lived according to a code known as bushido - or ‘way of the warrior’.

Bushido- advocated loyalty, honour, pride and fearlessness in combat.

Those who broke the code were expected to perform seppuku, or suicide through stomach-cutting.

By its very design, seppuku aimed to restore honour to disgraced warriors by ensuring the most painful of deaths.

However, the bushido- virtues of loyalty and honour fell into question as the samurai grew powerful enough to wrest control from the emperor himself.

Accompanied by vivid colour illustrations, The Samurai offers a complete, concise account of samurai history and culture.

It tells the story of the rise of the samurai as a martial elite, the warriors’ centuries long struggle for power and their long slide into obsolescence.