Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan (Warfare and History)

This comprehensive study of early medieval Japanese warfare by renowned historian Karl Friday offers a groundbreaking perspective on the period, challenging long-held stereotypes and providing a more nuanced understanding of the complex casual relationships among political power, technology, and battle tactics.

Drawing on nearly twenty years of research and incorporating new readings of primary sources and cutting-edge secondary scholarship, Friday's book provides an accessible and informative review of Heian -, Kamakura- and Nambokucho-period warfare from five thematic angles.

With a focus on the principles that justified armed conflict, mechanisms used to raise and deploy forces, weapons available to early medieval warriors, means of obtaining them, and techniques and customs of battle, this study is an essential resource for anyone interested in Japanese history or the broader field of military history.