By the end of the sixteenth century the Samurai, Japanese warrior-nobles, had taken total control of their domestic territory. Their unforgiving militarism needed a new foe to conquer: the target was China, the route to victory through Korea. But the Koreans were no pushover. It was a hard fought and, in the end, an unsuccessful campaign, the only time in their 1,500 year history that the Samurai had attacked another country. The Koreans drove them off. Retribution was inevitable. The Samurai returned in 1597 to wreak vengeance and terrible, wanton havoc on the Koreans in a war of unbelievable savagery. This book is the most complete account of those two invasions yet written, researched from forgotten archives in Japan and Korea and written by the world's most acclaimed historian of the Samurai period, the English Oriental specialist Dr Stephen Turnbull. This is a book that all followers of Samurai history will not be able to resist. It fabulously includes extracts from contemporary Japanese field diaries not seen even in Japan for over 400 years.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: A book you will want to own not only for reading, but also for your coffee table Comment: If you want to learn about the Imjin War in a short amount of time, this is the place to start. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the war, written in elegant English. The photos and illustrations are great visual references as well-a great addition to your coffee table book collection.
One will be able to understand the essence of one of the most complicated wars in the Far East. Japanese hero Hideyoshi invaded Korea with the ultimate goal of conquering China (!). The significance of this war is not so much what happened during or after the war, but rather what could have been. If the great Korean admiral Yi Sun-shin did not defeat the Japanese military machine at sea, there would have been an all out war between Japan and China-inside China territory-resembling the Japanese expansion during WW II.
This book is not perfect-few books of history are; the author is an expert in Japanese military history and therefore wrote this book from a Japanese perspective. Writing a book which is considered 'fair and balanced' is another topic altogether. There is always a need for history books with different perspectives, and this book does a superb job in providing one. Customer Rating: Summary: An epic campaign of the East Comment: A study of the Imjin War, Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi's grand 16th. century attempt to conquer Korea ...and eventually invade China.
From Stephen Turnbull, who is by far the most prolific Western expert on Japanese warfare, we have a narration of the epic struggle between two rival nations, a war of Yin versus Yang contrasts:
-Japan possessed superbly professional armies of highly trained warriors. They fielded weapons and equipment far superior to the defending Koreans. The Japanese soldier was generally a thoroughly trained mercenary and veteran, whatever his rank or status. He came from a society divided into clearly defined social strata...but a society where it was still possible to attain upward mobility, advanced education and skills.
-The Korean armies were composed largely of untrained peasant conscripts, poorly armed and poorly led by a minority of effete and oppressive aristocracy. The Koreans had only two classes: the illiterate and impoverished peasant, and the wealthy aristocrat.
-The Japanese excelled in battle on land, but their naval forces were sadly Medieval.
-At sea, the Koreans ruled! Although their lackluster armies toiled in vain on land, the Korean admirals deployed armored ships of ingenious design. The skillful Korean sailors under the genius leadership of Admiral Yi Sun Sin routinely devasted Japanese fleets on the seas, in retaliation for the grievous damage the Japanese inflicted on Korean land forces.
Another fascinating study of Eastern military-history from Mr. Tunbull! Customer Rating: Summary: A good read for any military history lover Comment: 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). Customer Rating: Summary: seriously flawed in some areas. Comment: Turnbulls book offers a decent introduction to the Imjin war, however, their are some big flaws. Turnbull seemingly ignores Chinese sources, instead relying almost entirely on Japanese accounts of the Imjin war. In addition to this, his insistance that Chinese armies only used "human wave attacks", is entirely incorrect. as is his statement that Japanese weapons were completely superior. While the Ming army had been in slow decline, they were still a formidable fighting force(and certainly in better shape than the Korean army). Often employing hundreds of artillery pieces on the battlefield, and relying on complex tactics involving flanking, suprise attacks and backing the enemy armies up against obstacles. A far cry from Turbulls description of Chinese armies.
All in all, a good read. But the author obviously favours the Samurai. What more can you expect after reading the title? it is, afterall, a book about the samurai. Customer Rating: Summary: Unique, well written Comment: This is the only book length treatment of this neglected war available in English, and it is a very good one, if a little skewed in favor of the Japanese. Turnbull gives a good political and diplomatic background and covers both land and naval warfare as well as can be expected. Having read little Eastern military history, it was interesting to read about the combined use of archers, musketeers, and artillery (including rockets) as well as the unique naval tactics and turtle ships. This view of a different style of warfare helps put western military history in perspective.
