Japanese history is littered with characters whose resumes are flooded with Herculean tasks so impressive and numerous that they force you to raise an eyebrow and ask the question ‘Were they real?’. In the case of Yamamoto Kansuke, tempting as it is to believe his accolades, the evidence supporting them is underwhelming to say the least. Arguably the second most famous general in all of…
Welcome to part three of this overview of the life of Oda Nobunaga. I never intended for this to be a trilogy, but I guess I was naïve to think I could condense the life of Japan’s greatest warrior into just two articles. If his life were to be made into a movie trilogy, I have no doubt it’d be one of the most epic…
Welcome to part two of this study of arguably the greatest samurai of all time. In this part, we’ll be looking at some of the reasons why he’s considered the greatest by so many. I hinted at one reason at the end of part one, where Oda Nobunaga dealt a devastating blow to the Imagawa at the battle of Okehazama―one of the three major upsets…
Some men need no introduction. In Japan’s case, no one man needs less of an introduction than Oda Nobunaga. I’m willing to bet more Japanese people know his name than the full name of the current prime minister. Undoubtedly the most famous samurai of all time, he ranks in the top three of virtually every samurai ranking that has been conducted in the modern age….
Welcome to part 2 of this overview of the Azuchi-Momoyama era. I really thought I’d be able to sum up this thirty-year period of Japanese history in one short article. How naïve I was. It turns out even two decently-lengthed articles isn’t enough to write half of what I want to say! Not to worry though; I plan on going into much greater detail on…
We’ve reached the 6th part of this overview of Japanese history. This part covers the Azuchi-Momoyama era, and that means the rise of Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful and, arguably, influential samurai of all time. When it comes to samurai, people tend to have a very specific image: lavish kabuto helmet decorated with gold ornaments, demonic masks, plated armour and long tachi swords. This is…
