Stephen Turnbull

A step-by-step guide to becoming and being a samurai. It is 1615, and the Samurai, Japan's elite fighting class, are at the zenith of their powers. Trained in every manner of combat, from sword-fighting and archery to karate and ju-jutsu, the Samurai warrior is the emperor's last line of defence against the barbarians of Japan and beyond. Take up your...

A compact, illustrated guide to a key battle that originated firearm warfare in Japan. When Portuguese traders took advantage of the constant violence in Japan to sell the Japanese their first firearms, one of the quickest to take advantage of this new technology was the powerful daimyo Oda Nobunaga. In 1575, the impetuous Takeda Katsuyori laid siege to Nagashino castle,...

The Samurai sword of Japan is probably the finest edged weapon ever made. This volume by leading Samurai expert Stephen Turnbull reveals the story of how and why it achieved this distinction. Particular attention is paid to the development of the familiar curved blade from the original straight blades, the associated development of Japan's famous steel-making techniques, and the challenges...

The history of the Mongol conquests is a catalogue of superlatives. No army in the world has ever conquered so much territory, and few armies have provoked such terror as the Mongol hordes. So vast was the extent of the Mongol Empire that the samurai of Japan and the Teutonic Knights of Prussia had each fought the same enemy while...

During the 16th century, Japan underwent a military revolution, characterised by the deployment of large armies, the introduction of firearms, and an eventual shift towards fighting on foot. This study encapsulates these great changes through an exploration of the experience on the ground at three key battles: Uedahara (1548), Mikata ga Hara (1573), and Nagashino (1575), in which two very...