Samurai History

Hi everyone, i'm new here and i would gladly read all of your
messages but time is against me on that!

Can someone please give me a BRIEF history of the Samurai Culture:
their origins, their purpose and their downfall? if its not too much
b/c i'm not so keen on it. N yes, i'm doing a research essay on them
or, you could just give me a few helpful sites, anything would
do..Please and thank you! ^_^

KonnichiWa and Welcome fs--Here are a few sites we have found useful in
following Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X animes:-
HagaKure-www.hut.fi/~renko/hwg.html
http://kenshin.gamesurf.it/english/gen_info.php#storia
www.ospreysamurai.com
www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Pagoda/5770
And don't forget this Samurai history Site as well as www.japan.com/history

Hope this helps some--Keiman and Kei.

>From: "forgotten_shadow2003" <piyo23piyo@...>
>Reply-To: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
>To: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [samuraihistory] Samurai History
>Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 08:02:48 -0000
>
>Hi everyone, i'm new here and i would gladly read all of your
>messages but time is against me on that!
>
>Can someone please give me a BRIEF history of the Samurai Culture:
>their origins, their purpose and their downfall? if its not too much
>b/c i'm not so keen on it. N yes, i'm doing a research essay on them
>or, you could just give me a few helpful sites, anything would
>do..Please and thank you! ^_^
>

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Thank you very much, with your help, i'm almost done my research, i'm
just concluding my essay research at the moment...as the Japs say,
Arigatou!! ^_^

>
>
> >From: "forgotten_shadow2003"
> >Reply-To: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
> >To: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
> >Subject: [samuraihistory] Samurai History
> >Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 08:02:48 -0000
> >
> >Hi everyone, i'm new here and i would gladly read all of your
> >messages but time is against me on that!
> >
> >Can someone please give me a BRIEF history of the Samurai Culture:
> >their origins, their purpose and their downfall? if its not too

much

> >b/c i'm not so keen on it. N yes, i'm doing a research essay on

them

> >or, you could just give me a few helpful sites, anything would
> >do..Please and thank you! ^_^
> >
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Has one of the new viruses infected your computer? Find out with a

FREE

> online computer virus scan from McAfee. Take the FreeScan now!
> http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

Hello,

I joined this group to assist with a paper I am researching regarding
Samurai history. Any websites or books to aid in an accurate
portrayal of the life of the Samurai would be most helpful. Thank
you for your assistance.

Gail

You can try http://www.historicalweapons.com/samuraiwarrior.html, or to get a lot of results, go to google and type in anything related to the samurai.


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Samuraikensahix@... wrote:Hello,
I am looking for samurai fighting and sword techniques canyou tell me where to find them.



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paul sattelberger wrote:

>
> Samuraikensahix@... wrote:Hello,
> I am looking for samurai fighting and sword techniques canyou tell me where to find them.

Yes. Grab your phonebook, look up "kendo/aikido/iado" and look for a dojo.

You can't learn this stuff without a teacher.


Tony

Go to www.samurai-archives.com and check out the
suggested reading/bibliography page. Tons of books,
most of which are absolutely fabulous.

I'm currently reading one right now by Louis Frederic,
Life of the Samurai. Good, though I wouldn't trust
everything he says--very general in some places.

Nate

--- horses4her <horses4her@...> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I joined this group to assist with a paper I am
> researching regarding
> Samurai history. Any websites or books to aid in an
> accurate
> portrayal of the life of the Samurai would be most
> helpful. Thank
> you for your assistance.
>
> Gail
>
>
>

__________________________________
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For something about 'everyday samurai,' I always suggest Katsu Koichi's
"Musui's Story, the autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai." Some parts of
Fukuzawa Yukichi's autobiography are very enlightening as well.

For a general overview I suggest:
- William Farris' "Heavenly Warriors"
- Eiko Ikegami's "The Taming of the Samurai"
- Paul Varley's "Warriors of Japan" - this one deals with how warriors
were portrayed in tales.

Steve Turnbull and Karl Friday have written a few easily approachable
comprehensive books, but their work is a bit too mainstream, and
historically I found them less reliable of the three above.

For weapons and fighting technique, of course the Osprey's are
unmatched.

Finally, avoid "Bushid�" and "Hagakure," as they are read as holy
scriptures, but they are about the "myth" of the Samurai, NOT about
real Samurai life. Just like "A Book of Five Rings," these original
treaties are understandable only after one has a good grasp on Japanese
history. I am not saying that these books are not good, but some people
read ONLY them, and think they 'know' about Samurai then... In case, is
easier to watch "Shogun," or "The Last Samurai."

These are the books, anyway I hope you listen to what Tony said as
well, as I agree 100% with him. NOTHING about East Asia can be really
understood without direct practice, since the Way in which knowledge is
transmitted in Japan (and China, etc.) is never limited to texts.

Hope it helped,

Cepo
Graduate Assistant
History Department
University of Hawai'i

On Apr 25, 2004, at 4:49 AM, horses4her wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I joined this group to assist with a paper I am researching regarding
> Samurai history.� Any websites or books to aid in an accurate
> portrayal of the life of the Samurai would be most helpful.� Thank
> you for your assistance.
>
> Gail
>
>
>
>
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