Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan's Military, 500-1300In a government, military matters are the essential thing, said Japan's Heavenly Warrior, the Emperor Temmu, in 684. In the West, however, the story of the origins and development of Japan's warrior class has remained largely untold. Misled by analogies to European knighthood, Western and late 19th-century Japanese scholarship wrongly assumed a feudal origin for the samurai and interpreted their place in Japanese history accordingly. Now, with Heavenly Warriors, Wayne Farris adopts a different perspective, tracing the evolutionary development of weaponry, horsemanship, military organizations and tactics from Japan's early conflicts with Korea to the full-blown system of the samurai. This study covering 800 years should be useful to students of both military history and Japanese political history. The text is enhanced by illustrations throughout, including maps of major battle sites. |
Contents
Japans Earliest Military Technology | 12 |
Japans Earliest Military Organization | 23 |
Conclusion | 30 |
Copyright | |
31 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan's Military, 500-1300 William Wayne Farris No preview available - 1995 |
Common terms and phrases
appointed army Azuma kagami barbarians battle capital Chinese Chinese-style chō Chūsei combat command conscription Court crossbow Dewa district magistrates early eastern Honshu eighth century eleventh century emishi Emperor Temmu Enryaku Enryakuji estates feudalism fighting foot soldiers forces Fujiwara Fukuda Go-Shirakawa governors gunji gunsei Heishi Hitachi Honshu horse horsemen Ibid imperial Ishii Susumu Jishō Kamakura Kanto kenkyū Kiyomori Kiyowara Kodai Korea Kōzuke kuni kuni no miyatsuko Kyoto martial Masakado military aristocrats Minamoto Mino Mino province Mongol month mounted archers Mutsu Nakamaro Nihon no rekishi Nihon shoki Nihongi ninth century NKBT northern Kyushu Ōchō Ōmi peasants political provincial headquarters rebellion Retired Emperor revolt Ritsuryō Sadamori Sagami samurai scholars Shimōsa shō Shogunate Shoku Nihongi Strong Fellows strongmen Sumitomo SZKT Tadatsune Taihō Codes taikei Taira Taira no Masakado Tameyoshi Temmu Tempyō Tohoku troops twelfth century vassals weapons western Japan Western-analogue theory Yamato Yorinobu Yoritomo Yoriyoshi Yoshiie Yoshitomo