Explore Japanese history books covering samurai, religion, war, pop culture and modern society, from ancient Japan to today.

The Japanese sword, often epitomized by the katana, is more than just a weapon. It is a symbol of Japan’s rich cultural history, craftsmanship, and the ideals of the samurai who wielded it. Known for ...

In the breathless opening one-er of Last Samurai Standing, samurai protagonist Shujiro Saga (Junichi Okada, also a producer and action choreographer) cuts through dozens of men as he charges across a ...

Few historical warrior classes evoke the same sort of fascination as the samurai in popular culture. Samurai came to prominence in feudal Japan, notably in the Sengoku period, where figures like ...

Japanese history researcher Yasutsune Owada joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about samurai. What caused the ultimate downfall of the samurai? What was samurai warfare like? What ...

Two of the stars of Japanese history are samurai and ninja, and the Samurai and Ninja Museum in Tokyo gives guests the opportunity to learn about, and even experience, different aspects of the two ...

A poster designed by Peter Strausfeld for Akira Kurosawa's 1954 drama "Seven Samurai" starring Toshiro Mifune. The Samurai existed from the 12th century until the Meiji era in the late 1800s, which ...