Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War 1592 -1598 [Hardcover]

Stephen Turnbull (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2002 | Series: Cassell Military

It's an extraordinary tale, largely untold--until now. Researched in both Japanese and Korean archives, and authored by the world's most acclaimed historian of the Samurai period, here is the most complete account yet written of Japan's two invasions of Korea. It includes, among other treasures, never-before seen Japanese illustrations and battle reports. By the end of the 16th century, the Samurai had taken total control of their own domestic territory and looked abroad for new lands to conquer. The ultimate target was China, but Korea was to provide the jumping-off point to that victory. The incursion marked the first time the Samurai had attacked another country, and at first the Koreans drove them away. Retribution was inevitable, and the Japanese returned in 1597 to wreak havoc in a war of unbelievable savagery. With extracts from contemporary Japanese field diaries not seen for over 400 years, this is a volume no follower of Samurai lore can resist.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

After unifying Japan by force, in 1592 Hideyoshi Toyotomi (1536-98) attempted to establish an empire in East Asia. The conquest of China was his ultimate objective, but Korea had to be subdued first. Instead, it proved an insuperable obstacle to Hideyoshi's imperial fantasy. Turnbull's lively and lavishly illustrated history of the failed invasion brightly illuminates the world of late 16th-century warfare in East Asia. After reeling under the initial Japanese attacks, Korean regular and irregular forces, aided by armies from Ming China, eventually turned the Japanese back, but the invasion did not end until Hideyoshi's death in 1598. Skillfully piecing together contemporary accounts from Japanese and Korean sources, the author provides a vivid and horrifying picture of the strategy, tactics, and technology of Japanese warfare. Brutality was the norm, and hand-to-hand combat produced butchery rivaling the worst of modern wars. In Kyoto a single burial mound holds the sliced-off noses of 30,000 Korean and Chinese victims of Japanese slaughter. Absorbing and accessible, Turnbull's book will interest general readers and belongs in public as well as college libraries.
Steven I. Levine, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lib.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The seven years of late-sixteenth-century warfare between Japan and Korea that arose from Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi's effort to conquer the Korean peninsula hadn't been adequately chronicled for Western readers. Thanks to a leading Western authority on Japanese warfare in the samurai era, now it has been. The Japanese had the edge in firepower, discipline, and (initially) numbers. The Koreans fought with the courage of desperation and eventually repelled two invading armies with the help of Chinese troops, rugged terrain, worse weather, and the naval superiority of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, an outstanding sea warrior. Admiral Yi may not have built the first ironclad warship, but he certainly deserves his status as, Turnbull says, "Korea's greatest hero." The war devastated Korea, decimated the samurai class (to the eventual benefit of Shogun Tokugawa), and cast a shadow over relations between the two countries from that day to this. Impeccably researched, lavishly illustrated, clearly written for the general reader, as outstanding on its subject as it is unique. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Cassell; 1St Edition edition (May 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0304359483
• ISBN-13: 978-0304359486
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #744,252 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

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on one of the most devasting wars in Asia, March 13, 2005

By 

J. Kim "HonestReviews" (Fullerton, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War 1592 -1598 (Hardcover)

The war that I have always wanted to learn more about in detail has finally been written in a 'more than you will ever need to know' detailed account in English by Mr. Turnbull. I had always waited for an English account on this war. The Pros: The book is very very detailed, much more than I would imagine a typical book on the war written in Korean would be. The author does a fairly good job of setting up the historical pretext for the war to give the reader a better understanding of why Korea had such troubles defending itself. Although the title suggests more Japanese overtones, the author does a very excellent job of detailing the Korean side of the war, much more than I had expected. The book has great personal accounts from the war and frequent insightful anecdotes. Moreover, the book reads like a war novel, and it kept me reading till I read every single page (trust me, I am not a 'whole book' reader usually!). The cons: Not much cons, except for the fact that the story does jump around a bit in terms of chronology, so you may have to flip back to several previous chapters once in a while for reference. The author does this for understandable reasons, but it can still be confusing and inconvenient to do so. Although I did like the set-up of the first two chapters, I do wish the author could have explained more of how and why the Japanese were so superior in military techniques as opposed to the Koreans (ie-the Japanese were lifetime warriors after coming out of a feudal Japan, as opposed to the Koreans). Also, the book would have been much easier for the reader had there been more maps of the war and diagrams (showing battles) as I found myself constantly referring back to the initial battle map in the third chapter for place names and general names, etc. Overall, you will NOT find a more detailed and interesting account on this devasting war which led to a no-win situation for both countries.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Samurai Invasion, April 12, 2003

By 

Chris Kim (Ellicott City, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War 1592 -1598 (Hardcover)

In the last decade of the sixteenth century, Korea was a country which was unfamiliar with wars other than border raids and pirate attacks for two centuries. Japan, on the contrary, was a country which had known nothing but war for five. In the spring of 1592, these two different countries collided head to head, in what would be known as Japan's Korea War or the Imjin War (1592-1598).

Stephen Turnbull's Samurai Invasion is the most complete account of Japan's Korean War, or the Imjin War (1592-1598), to be ever written. By using photographs, archives, diaries, and other anecdotes, Turnbull clearly provides the overall history of this war and its significance. Specifically, he illustrates the failed invasion of Hideyoshi, and explores the world of late 16th-century warfare in East Asia.

All in all, Stephen Turnbull solves the problem, which he states in the opening sentences of this book: "Japan's Korean War of 1592-1598, which devastated the Korean peninsula and gravely damaged the resources of Ming China, is so little known in the western world that it is often not even dignified with the title of a war." In other words, he provides an eloquent collection of vivid pictures, accounts of the military strategy and tactics for the Western audience. With extracts from both ancient and contemporary archives, this book will interest general readers and belongs in public as well as college libraries. This book should be read by avid followers of the Samurai tradition, scholars in East Asian studies, or any other reader who wants to be entertained.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read for any military history lover, February 1, 2007

By 

Taichiman (MIAMI, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War 1592 -1598 (Hardcover)

Stephen Turnbull is an expert in Samurai warfare and this is one of his best work to date. His coverage of this important war is very action-oriented and the ample maps and illustrations that come with the book help to boost the book's readability. Given that there aren't that many books on this subject, I have decided to give it a 5 starts in spite of the minor flaws that I have found below:

I must say, however, Mr. Turnbull's writing is not as comprehensive as Samuel Hawley's Imjin War which not only has described the politics of the Chosun Korea and Ming China in detail (giving the reader a better idea on the reasoning behind the strategic decisions made by those parties) but also explained in a more comprehensive fashion the contribution of the Ming China's army.

Any one interested in the subject may also want to check out the Immortal Yi Soon-Shin DVD (starting episode 36) here at amazon.com (which has a pretty good special effect on the battles for a TV drama and a plot that is also very comprehensive on the tactical battle planning of the said admiral and the factional rivalries within the Chosun court which brought him down).

Lastly, anyone who is a fan of samurai warfare should not miss out on Shogun:Total War by Creative Assembly (now in Gold version).