Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949-1603 [Paperback]

Stephen Turnbull (Author), Wayne Reynolds (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Warrior | Publication Date: May 20, 2003

From the 10th to the mid-17th century, religious organisations played an important part in the social, political and military life in Japan. Known as sohei ('monk warriors') or yamabushi ('mountain warriors'), the warrior monks were anything but peaceful and meditative, and were a formidable enemy, armed with their distinctive, long-bladed naginata. The fortified cathedrals of the Ikko-ikki rivalled Samurai castles, and withstood long sieges. This title follows the daily life, training, motivation and combat experiences of the warrior monks from their first mention in AD 949 through to their suppression by the Shogunate in the years following the Sengoku-jidai period.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Insights into the real lives of history's fighting men, packed with full colour illustrations, highly detailed cutaways, exploded artwork of weaponry and armour, and action-packed battle scenes.

About the Author

Stephen Turnbull is the world's leading English language authority on medieval Japan and samurai warfare. He has travelled extensively in the Far East, particularly in Japan and Korea and is the author of numerous titles, including Men-at-Arms 86: ‘Samurai Armies 1550-1615’, and Campaign 69: ‘Nagashino 1575’.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (May 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841765732
• ISBN-13: 978-1841765730
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars thin, one of two books in English, August 25, 2005

By 

cocktail sage "cocktail sage" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949-1603 (Paperback)

Well illustrated, overview, but "not much meat on the bones", I would only recommend you buy it since it is one of the only two books I know of in English on the topic.

If you wish a Very Scholarly treatment read "The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha: Monastic Warriors and Sohei in Japanese History" by Mikael S. Adolphson. Very dense, extensively footnoted. Apparently the very word 'sohei' wasn't coined until the 1600s, and most modern writing is based on that 17th & 18th century perspective (bias) rather than looking back carefully at the actual periods of greatest activity (AD ~900- ~1600). Adolphson talks extensively about the biases of these Japanese historians (and contemporary Japanese historians)

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Even the priests of Japan were warriors, April 5, 2005

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Eric Oppen (Iowa Falls, IA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949-1603 (Paperback)

I had known, in a vague way, about the warrior-monks of Japan, but this is the first book I'd ever seen that concentrated on them. Had things gone just a little differently in a few battles, it could have been them, rather than the samurai, who effectively ruled Japan, with unknowable consequences. Many of these "monks" were as fierce, brave and stark warriors as any samurai; in fact, many samurai joined the warrior-monks' monasteries.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sohei, April 2, 2007

By 

K. Murphy "Fortune favors the Bold" (The thriving metropolis of Masury, OH) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949-1603 (Paperback)

As the previous reviewer stated, this book is the only even remotely thorough treatment the sohei have recieved in English. Like most books by Stephen Turnbull, it is well-written and researched, but also tells a captivating and heroic story (read the stories of Gochin no Tajima and Tsutsui Jomyo Meishu on pages 52-53).