Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle For Power (Campaign) [Paperback]

Anthony Bryant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 1995 | Series: Campaign (Book 40)

Osprey's Campaign title for Sekigahara  (1600), which was the most decisive battle in Japanese history. Fought against the ritualised and colourful backdrop of Samurai life, it was the culmination of a long-standing power struggle between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Hashiba Hideyoshi, two of the most powerful men in Japan. Armies of the two sides met on the plain of Sekigahara on 21 October 1600, in thick fog and deep mud. By the end of the day 40,000 heads had been taken and Ieyasu was master of Japan. Within three years the Emperor would grant him the title he sought – Shogun. This title describes the campaign leading up to this great battle and examines Sekigahara, including the forces and personalities of the two major sides and that of the turncoat Kobayakawa Hideaki.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today.

About the Author

Anthony Bryant is a historian specialising in medieval Japanese history. He graduated from Florida State University in 1983 with a degree in Japanese Area studies. He lived for some time in Tokyo and is a member of the Japan Armour and Weapons Research and Preservation Society. He has published numerous articles on the subject of Japanese arms and is the author of two books on the Samurai, in the Osprey Elite series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (September 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855323958
• ISBN-13: 978-1855323957
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars clear and well written, December 3, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle For Power (Campaign) (Paperback)

Battle of Sekigahara was one of the most important moments in Japanese military history since it established the reign of the Tokugawa Shogunate which ruled Japan in peace for the next 250 years or so. The book clearly and basically tell, without bogging down the readers, the politics, reasons and why of this campaign and the battle. The maps provided in this book proves to be highly useful, epecially the one that showed how Japan was divided between Ishida and Tokugawa sides. I think the only issue where the author failed was in part, he didn't explained how the Toyotomi family felt at this period since they were at the moment, the ruling family of Japan. (They thought this was a war between their two major retainers - only to realized later on that only one of the retainers were really loyal to them - the loser!) In a campaign and battle where loyalty, betrayal and backstabbing seem to be the order of day, the author does an admirable job in putting it all together under 100 pages. Considering that there isn't too many books written in English about this battle in the first place, it probably a must read for anyone who have any interest of the Sen-joku Jidai.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book the battle of Sekigahara, September 5, 2009

By 

HI Gerry - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle For Power (Campaign) (Paperback)

I enjoyed the historic details of the events leading up to the battle. The movement of the troops was informative and illustrated very well. The out come was also well written. I wish there were more book like this.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Overview, October 13, 2005

By 

R. J Szasz "Rod Szasz" (Tokyo, Japan Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle For Power (Campaign) (Paperback)

In the battle between the inheritors of Toyotomi Yoshimitsu and the new usurper Tokugawa Ieyasu, there were few of the nicities associated with former times of the Momoyama Jidai. This was a very intense, large, and fanatical battle, worthy in terms of slaughter with those being undertaken in Europe at the same time.

For anyone with little understanding of the intricacies of the battle and the times, this slender volume manages to give you a good background to the events, a political primer of the major figures involved in the eventual politics and battle, details the battle organisation, tactics and weapons of the soldiers and also details in superior graphics the events on the battlefield. For a volume of this size, that is a lot to ask for, but Byant delivers.

It is a good volume and one that I would recommend.