"The world of the samurai - the legendary elite warrior cult of old Japan - has for too long been associated solely with military history. In this exciting new book, Stephen Turnbull, the world's leading authority on the samurai, goes beyond the battlefield to paint a picture of the samurai as they really were. Familiar topics such as the cult of suicide, ritualised revenge and the lore of the samurai sword are seen in the context of an all-encompassing...

Japan was a country in turmoil at the beginning of the 18th century. It was a time of pageantry and corruption in the Shogun's court. Because the merchant class was rising in power, it was also the beginning of the end of privilege for the professional warriors, or samurai, who felt their loss keenly, especially since they held the business of money-making in contempt. In the midst of such bewildering change, eruptions of violence were not unknown....

A comedy focusing on the residents of a tiny island town during the course of a strange twenty-four hours.