Customer Reviews

Tokugawa Ieyasu: Shogun

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If you are looking for a readable bio of Tokugawa Ieyasu in English, you have found one in Totman's. However, this is a rather lightweight historical work. Much of it was copied from a Japanese text, and the author admits this. Unfortunately, pickings on Tokugawa in English are slim. General works on Japan's 16th century are better. I recommend Boxer's The Christian Century in Japan, Elison's collection Warlords, Artists, and Commoners, and Sansom's A History of Japan: 1334-1615. They give a clearer picture of the times.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was probably one of the world's great leaders. He was patient and brilliant. He waited for just the right moment to make his move and unify Japan under his Shogunate. Unfortunately little is availible about this great man in English. Clavell's Shogun is a masterpiece based on Ieyasu's life, but ultimately fiction. Totman's book is a rare English biography of Ieyasu. And Totman wrote an excellent and highly readable account of Ieyasu's life.

"Tokugawa Ieyasu; Shogun" is a book written by Yale Professor Conrad Totman. The book is an excellent source of information and insight for those who are interested in Japanese history. Ieyasu was the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, who ruled Japan from 1600 to 1868. In this book, Totman describes the life of Ieyasu, from a younger man who is fighting in various battles synonymous with the 16th century in Japan, all the way to his later years, in which he reflects on the accomplishments and improvements he has made for those living in Japan.

The book is a great read because of the realistic feel it gives to the reader. I felt as if I were there with Ieyasu during the exploits contained in the book. The style of writing is nothing short of outstanding, and given the content in the book is based on actual history makes it an even more compelling read. There is a natural, chronological progression of Ieyasu's development in this book, from his youthful years fighting on the battlefield, all the way to the latter periods of his life, when he reflects on his accomplishments and contributions to the Japanese society.

One may argue that the development of a leader of Ieyasu's stature is a natural progression; the manner in which it is presented in this book makes for a great read. The detail and feeling involved are a credit to Professor Totman's work in this area, despite the scant amount of work available in English. If you are taking a course in Japanese History, this is an excellent book to pick up so you can get a feel for how the political and social systems worked at the time, while experiencing the excitement and dilemma faced by the catalyst of the Era of Tokugawa Rule.

I have no idea what book the other reviewers read, but they must have gotten a different version of this book than I did. The brief sections on Ieyasu's rise to power and ultimate appointment to shogun and leader of a unified Japan in more comprehensive histories, namely Sansom's three volume series, provide more background, information and insight than this book. Not only is this book the most basic of introductory works on Ieyasu, but the style in which it is written is meandering and, at times, confounding. The entire book is full of flashbacks that would have supposedly taken place in Ieyasu's mind from just prior to his ascension to shogun until his death.

This book is a biography of one of the most interesting men in history of Japan and the whole mankind. Tokugawa Ieyasu created the order which outlasted him for several generations and which in its stability was something so many talented warriors and politicians (due to the character of age in question - Sengoku Jidai - everyone had to be a little bit of both) aimed at, but did not succeed.

This books explores many very interesting and important subjects in realities of that age such as "marriage politics", means of securing peace with neighbours (such as, among others, exchange with hostages) and some military campaigns. But most of all, the book concentrates on one subject which is the personality of this extraordinary individual. As the author states in Acknowledgements, the book was not intended to be a definitive scholarly study and it is based on one source only - Ieyasuden by Professor Nakamura, the authority on this subject.

This book is very good as a stand-alone reading and to read in conjunction with other books on this subject (e.g., books by Stephen Turnbull for military aspects and Campbridge history of Japan for socio-economic depth).

Conrad Totman's telling of the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu was a wonderfully done experience. I found that his method of using flashback-styled examinations of the life of the shogun was a fantastic way to condense the full tale of a very important figure in Japanese history.

Throughout the book, it did not seem as though Totman had any desire but to relate the full story of Ieyasu's life. Positive and negative, we're shown a great deal in a very enjoyable read. While the book itself may not have covered everything, I found that it more than covered the important events of this man's life. More importantly to me, I did not get bored when I was reading this book. As a matter of fact, I frequently had to force myself to put it down so that I could maintain my busy schedule.

If there were anything that I would have liked to see in this book, it would have been more personal quotations from either Ieyasu, or others from the period. I don't find that this absense has brought down the book, though.

I found this book to be an excellent introductory book on the life and time of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate which lasted for nearly 250 years. Since the author don't make any bones that this is just an introductory work, I am judging on his intent, which was just write a simple biography which will be readable and understandable to the English speaking population. I think he accomplished his goals quite admirably and anyone who have any interest in this man cannot go wrong in starting out reading this book.