The Samurai Capture a King - Okinawa 1609 (Raid) [Paperback]

Stephen Turnbull (Author), Richard Hook (Illustrator), Donato Spedaliere (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Raid

A brilliant but little-known operation, the Shimazu clan raid on the independent kingdom of Rykkyu (modern Okinawa) in 1609 is one of the most extraordinary episodes in samurai history and the culmination of centuries of rivalry between the two powers. The defeat of the Shimazu at Sekigahara in 1600, and their need to win favor with the new ShMgun, led them to hatch an audacious plot to attack the islands on the ShMgun's behalf and bring back the king of Rykkyu as a hostage. Stephen Turnbull gives a blow-by-blow account of the operation, from the daring Shimazu amphibious landing, to their rapid advance overland, and the tactical feigned retreat that saw the Shimazu defeat the Okinawan army and kidnap their king in spectacular fashion. With a detailed background and specially commissioned artwork, the scene is set for a dramatic retelling of this fascinating raid.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Samurai and the way that they fought this short war -- Miniature Wargames

About the Author

Stephen Turnbull took his first degree at Cambridge University, and received a PhD from Leeds University for his work on Japanese religious history. He has travelled extensively in Europe and the Far East and also runs a well-used picture library. His work has been recognised by the awarding of the Canon Prize of the British Association for Japanese Studies and a Japan Festival Literary Award. He currently divides his time between lecturing in Japanese Religion at the University of Leeds and writing. The author lives in Leeds, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing; First Edition edition (November 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846034426
• ISBN-13: 978-1846034428
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #827,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great work on the Shimazu invasion of Okinawa, June 10, 2010

By 

Anibal Madeira (Lisboa Portugal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Samurai Capture a King - Okinawa 1609 (Raid) (Paperback)

Stephen Turnbull wrote this book on the subjugation of the kingdom of RyuKyu (Okinawa) by the Shimazu from Satsuma. Probably he is the greatest occidental scholar on the subject of Japanese warfare; this by itself is a very good reason to buy this work on a military action that is almost unknown in the western world.

Far from just describing the campaign (yes...this isn't just a raid, but a full invasion), the author analyses the sources methodically, the background from both points of view, including the important relations between Korea, China and RyuKyu or the reason for the invasion by the Shimazu family (this conquest is a "peace" offering to the Tokugawa shogunate, but also a trust statement from the shogunate to the Shimazu and the official recognition that those islands belonged to them).

Although not highly detailed, both armies and leaders are presented in a clear, concise and unbiased way, wich wasn't certainly easy considering the origin of the sources (that the author studied thouroughly).

The author's conclusion are extremely interesting, especially in the evaluation of Jana Teido's (Okinawas general in chief) actions and the concealment of the ocupation of the island from outside visitors and emissaries.

The interior art from Richard Hook is quite good, and the cover is a digital piece (unusual in Osprey) from Mariusz Kozic.

It includes a glossary and a further reading guide (unfortunately for me, most books are Japanese and they aren't translated).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars decent but brief overview of the topic, April 14, 2010

By 

cxlxmx - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Samurai Capture a King - Okinawa 1609 (Raid) (Paperback)

Turnbull's short book on the Japanese invasion of Okinawa in 1609 provides the reader with a short description of the available source materials, a narrative of events, and a lot of glossy graphics. At about 60 pages, the book took only a couple hours for a liesurely read.

Typical for a Turnbull book, we have a highly accessible, non-academic presentation that is still highly sourced. I appreciate this aspect of Turnbull's work, as he often presents material that it would be impossible for an amateur writer/researcher to find.

The book is part of a series on "Raids". There isn't much analysis here on the raid qua raid, and I'm not sure what an armchair general would get from the book. I was interested in the book as it might relate to Okinawan martial arts, and it did not disappoint, including reproductions of period depictions of Okinawan armor and weapons.

Not a great work of history, but good for what it is.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice little reference, July 31, 2010

By 

Andrew O. Brien "Author of The Little Bubishi" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Samurai Capture a King - Okinawa 1609 (Raid) (Paperback)

Although this 'book' contains only 64 pages there is a considerable amount of information to be gleaned from it. Baring in mind that a huge amount of Okinawa's historical records were destroyed during the US bombardment of 1945, Turnbull has managed to provide quite a comprehensive and detailed account of the events leading up to and during the Satsuma invasion of the Ryukyu's.

Having read this book for research purposes, I found the timeline of events that are highlighted on tagged sections of some pages, extremely useful, rather than having to sift through the often confusing tooing and frowing between dates and events in the main text. The descriptions and breakdown of the opposing forces uniforms, weaponry and ranks was also very detailed and interesting. The illustrations are probably the most striking element of the book being both beautiful and informative.

All in all a good little reference to the events of 1609 and combined with another superb book - Okinawa; History of an island people it provided me with all the information I needed.