Man, John. "Samurai: The Last Warrior." Bantom Books. London. 2011.
Review: One quarter way through as of 13:17 hours on January 24th in the year 2013. I am impressed and will follow up with a more comprehensive review when reading is completed. I can say with enthusiasm that this one should be in any martial art library.
I am stunned by the misconceptions we have regarding both the samurai of Japan and the martial arts that have come to being from as far back as the feudal era to present day.
February 13, 2013: Satsuma, a family name many who practice karate recognize as the family of samurai who conquered Okinawa around the 1600's. It appears that this samurai tribe had far more influence on the changes that Japan, and by osmosis Okinawa, endured during the restoration period.
This book looks at one of those samurai who had a huge influence on this period of history, Saigo. It goes through his associations and connections with Japan, the Shogun and the Satsuma. It is an excellent book on the history, culture and belief of Japan that had a strong influence on its subjects of Okinawa.
Nice addition to the martial library and it will open some eyes as to how things transpired and affected the martial practices of modern times.
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