Thanks in large part to Shogun 2 and re-reading Samurai William by Giles Milton and The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, I’ve struck up a renewed interest in samurai, their way of life and their Bushido mindset.
I’ve had a looksee on Amazon and Google but it’s a bit of a minefield, there are a heck of a lot of highly rated books out there, but I’m not made of money. Anyone have any knowledge in this field? Where should I start?
hmmmm… i always thought i’m well-read on samurai but i can’t give you one good non-fiction title (you already mentioned the musashi book.)
suggest you read historical works and japanese lore instead. the tale of genji, articles on musashi, the war of the tairas and minamotos, oda nobunaga, tokugawa ieyasu, masamune the smith.
I enjoyed Bushido, the Soul of Japan and Hagakure.
For historical fiction, I enjoyed Eiji Yoshikawa’s Musashi and Taiko.