From a leading expert in Japanese history, this is one of the first full
histories of the art and culture of the Samurai warrior. The Samurai
emerged as a warrior caste in Medieval Japan and would have a powerful
influence on the history and culture of the country from the next 500
years. Clements also looks at the Samurai wars that tore Japan apart in
the 17th and 18th centuries and how the caste was finally demolished in
the advent of the mechanized world.