The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592-98 (Campaign) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Peter Dennis (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: pavilion vessel, turtle ship, false retreat, Osprey Publishing, Konishi Yukinaga, Kato Kiyomasa (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Stephen Turnbull's The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592-98 is for any collection of early military history and covers the early invasions of Korea launched by Japanese dictator Hideyoshi: a unique event in that he was the only samurai to invade a foreign country - and planned to move from Korea to China." -The California Bookwatch (October 2008)

"Like all Osprey titles, it is highly recommended and one that you will find as fascinating a read as did I." -Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness (August 2008)

Product Description

The invasions of Korea launched by the dictator Toyotomi Hideyoshi are unique in Japanese history for being the only time that the samurai assaulted a foreign country. Hideyoshi planned to invade and conquer China, ruled at the time by the Ming dynasty, and when the Korean court refused to allow his troops to cross their country, Korea became the first step in this ambitious plan of conquest. In 1592 a huge invasion force of 150,000 men landed at the ports of Busan and Tadaejin under the commanders Konishi Yukinaga and Kato Kiyomasa. These two Japanese divisions rapidly overran their Korean counterparts, taking the principal cities of Seoul and then Pyongyang and driving the remnants of the Korean Army into China. The Japanese division under Kato Kiyomasa even started to advance into Manchuria. However, the Korean strength was in their navy and the vital Korean naval victory of Hansando disrupted the flow of supplies to the invasion forces, forcing them to hold their positions around Pyongyang. In 1593, the Chinese invaded capturing Pyongyang from the Japanese and driving them southwards. This phase of the war ended in a truce, with the Japanese forces withdrawing into enclaves around the southern port of Busan while the Ming armies largely withdrew to China. In 1597, following the breakdown in negotiations, the Japanese invaded again with a force of 140,000 men. However, the Chinese and Koreans were now better prepared and the advance came to a halt south of Seoul, and then forced the Japanese southwards. In November 1598 Hideyoshi died, and with him the enthusiasm for the military adventure. The Japanese council of regents ordered the withdrawal of the remaining forces, and the naval battle of Noryang, which saw the Japanese fleet annihilated by the Korean admiral Yi-Sunshin, proved to be the last significant act of the conflict.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846032547
• ISBN-13: 978-1846032547
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #165,604 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shorter version of his earlier work., July 28, 2008

By	lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Stephen Turnbull's The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592-98 is part of the Osprey Campaign series. Like in most other Turnbull's books, this book proves to be well written, clearly explained and well researched about a subject matter that very few Americans would have any inking about.

The book basically summarized the Japanese invasion of Kingdom of Korea during the 1590s. This was Japan's only act of aggression against a foreign nation until the modern period. The book followed the typical Osprey Campaign model, giving the background, commanders and unit types before hitting the ground running with very nice narrative of the seven year campaign of Taiko Toyotomi Hideyoshi's efforts to rule eastern Asia. I thought the maps, drawings and photographs inserted into this book were quite good and very helpful.

Interestingly, the author often points out his other books that he has written for Osprey to tell the readers that if they wanted to know more, then read this book or that depending on the subject matter pertaining to the war.

If there is a pitfall in this book, this book is basically a shorter version of Turnbull's earlier work, Samurai Invasion that came out in 2004. The author's claims that in this current book, he gave a more balance account of the war. Having read the older book first before reading this book, amount of balance don't seem to justified getting this book if you owned the older book already.

It is also interesting that Stephen Turnbull failed to give some realistic reasons for the cause of this war. He apparently believed that this war was a result of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's megalomaniac dream of an Asian Empire or something that seem more out of some historical TV drama then real history.

But overall, this is a fine book about a subject matter little known to most Americans and Turnbull's gives clarity to the campaign that well reflects his expert knowledge of Japanese history. It is interesting to note that this campaign foretold the collapse of the two major powers that fought so hard over Korea, Ming Dynasty that fell to the Manchus while Toyotomi family that fell to the Tokugawa family.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed... His 2002 classic "Samurai Invasion" was a great book, but this version is a regression., October 19, 2008

By	JC (USA) - See all my reviews

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Turnbull states he wrote this book to provide a 'balanced view' of history which includes Chinese and Korean sources; he acknowledged the shortcoming of his 2002 edition "Samurai invasion" which was mostly based on Japanese sources. He also compliments Prof. Swope for contributing many Chinese source materials.

Unfortunately, he fails to deliver what he intended to do, that is writing a balanced view. There is little change from his 2002 edition in terms of substance; it certainly is a lot thinner, now only 96 pages. It is really a 'diet' or 'light' edition of his 2002 classic. In particular, the chapter name "Chinese Liberation of Korea" describing the Chinese intervention of 1593 is objectionable because Korea was never liberated until 1598.(talk about prematurely announcing 'Mission Accomplished'!) The Ming involvement certainly changed the outcome of the war, but it was not the biggest factor. If you read the history, it is pretty clear Yi Sun-shin's naval victories were the major showstopper for the Japanese.

There is no doubt Prof. Turnbull is the world expert when it comes to Samurai and Japanese military history. His 2002 classic "Samurai invasion" deserves great recognition. Who cares if that book reflects mostly the Japanese side of the history? We learn history by reading both sides. Hey, at least he provides the best of the Japanese point of view. However, writing a balanced, comprehensive history is a very serious and difficult job, not something you can do in these thin Osprey series picture books(96 pages and full of colorful illustrations).

I'd rather recommend to buy his 2002 classic "Samurai invasion," or Hawley's "Imjin War" (this is a very thick book, though), or just look up Imjin War from Wikipedia. Unfortunately, Cassel and Co. (publisher of his 2002 book) is not reprinting his 2002 classic. I wonder if that prompted Turnbull to write this shorter but inferior book for those trying to buy a book about the Imjin War?
Cassel, please please reprint the 2002 edition!!!

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read, light on gamer's painting ideas, August 17, 2008

By	Lawrence M. Enoch "Virtualscratchbuilder" (Denton, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this hoping it would help as a guide to painting my 28mm Choson Korean army. The book is a good read, but was rather disappointing in terms of Korean and Ming Chinese army dress and colors. If you are painting your own army, you probably have seen the painted Perry figures on their website. This book does not go far beyond what is displayed on that website, though it does show a few banners and also some color variations for what I take to be Korean marines. If you are interested in painting guides only, this book will not go very far. If you are interested in reading about the period and the war, then it is worth the money.