Japanese Fortified Temples and Monasteries AD 710-1602 (Fortress) [Paperback]

Stephen Turnbull (Author), Peter Dennis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2005

From the 10th century onwards the great Japanese monastic foundations of Nara and Mount Hiei maintained large armies of warlike monks. The tempestuous political rivalries that developed between the different orders of monks and religiously inspired laymen ensured that their temples and monasteries had to be securely sited and robustly defended. This books recreates these enormous fortified monasteries and temples, tracing their development from the 10th century through to the Sengoku Jidai period and the rise of the power of the shogunate under Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephen Turnbull is the world's leading English-language authority on medieval Japan and the samurai. He has travelled extensively in the Far East, particularly in Japan and Korea and is the author of almost 50 books including The Samurai – The World of the Warrior and Men-at-Arms 86: Samurai Armies 1550–1615, Campaign 69: Nagashino 1575 and Warrior 64: Ninja AD 1460–1650. He is currently lecturer in Japanese Religion at the University of Leeds.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (August 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184176826X
• ISBN-13: 978-1841768267
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.3 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #999,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introductionary coverage., January 17, 2006

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese Fortified Temples and Monasteries AD 710-1602 (Fortress) (Paperback)

I found this book to be an excellent companion book to Turnbull's earlier Osprey Fortress series book on Japanese castles. Although the title read "AD 710 to 1602", most of the core coverage of this book lies with Sen-joku period of Japan, basically between 1540 to 1600.

A short book of 64 pages, the book divides itself into three basic parts. First part dealt with the basic history of these warrior monks whose European counterparts might be the Knight Templars or Hussites depending on how you looked at it. Second part dealt with the designs and concepts of these fortified temples and monasteries. Finally, the third part dealt with military history behind these fortified locations.

The book proves to be well written, researched and well illustrated. The three map illustrations of the major fortified religious centers during the Sen-joku period can be compared with the one built prior to it. These illustrations proves to be very handy and useful in giving a great overall understanding to the subject at hand.

This book will be a welcomed addition to any library whose reader got a great interest in Japanese samurai history. For a book so short, its proves to be highly informative.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a little short, January 7, 2009

By 

S. Klepper (Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Japanese Fortified Temples and Monasteries AD 710-1602 (Fortress) (Paperback)

A good book. Short and to the point.(I felt as though it should have been a LITTLE longer.) If you also get the book on Japanese warrior monks it should be fine. Great illustrations & photos. (some of which are available as paintings or posters). Very informative for such a thin book.