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…
Some samurai need no introduction. Oda Nobunaga, for example, is one of the most famous people dead or alive in Japan, and I would expect anyone reading this article to at the very least have heard his name. Other samurai need a considerable introduction. One such warrior is Oda Ujiharu, the man attributed with the title of weakest samurai of all of Sengoku. That’s right……
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…
