Legends Of The Samurai by Hiroaki Sato
In Legends of the Samurai, Sato confronts both the history and the legend of the samurai, untangling the two to present an authentic picture of these legendary warriors. Through his masterful translations of original samurai tales, laws, dicta, reports, and arguments accompanied by insightful commentary, Hiroaki Sato chronicles the changing ethos of the Japanese warrior from the samurai's historical origins to his rise to political power. For this purpose, Sato has chosen to translate, wherever possible, writings closest in time to the actual event. His translations are a testament to his mastery of the language for they flow with lively ease that one might not expect from accounts, many of which are ancient. Legends of the Samurai covers legends from mythological times to the early eighteenth century. Through this book Sato describes men accomplished in martial arts, warrior-commanders in battle, and samurai's own views of themselves. It ends with a famous modern retelling of a mass disembowelment in the mid-seventeenth century.
'Well translated and elegantly produced work' - James Kirkup, Times Literary Supplement - 'Demonstrates how the courage and mindfulness of the warrior can become stages on the path to enlightenment, and how an activity as potentially bloody as swordplay can be a humane, exacting art' - San Francisco Chronicle - 'Very rewarding' - The Japan Times
HIROAKI SATO is a poet, translator, and journalist, as well as an adjunct professor at UMASS Amherst. The winner of the PEN translation prize and the former president of the Haiku Society of America, he also translatedThe Sword and the Mind, published by Overlook. He lives in New York City.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780879516192 |
| ISBN 10 | 0879516194 |
| Title | Legends Of The Samurai |
| Author | Hiroaki Sato |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Overlook Press |
| Year published | 1995-10-01 |
| Number of pages | 394 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |