Research, Citation, & Class Guides: History 387: History of the Samurai: Way of the Warrior: Primary Sources

Books

Japan: a Documentary History by David J. Lu
Covering the full spectrum of political, economic, diplomatic as well as cultural and intellectual history, this classroom resource offers insight not only into the past but also into Japan's contemporary civilisation. This volume covers up to the late 18th century.
A Korean War Captive in Japan, 1597-1600: The Writings of Kang Hang by JaHyun Kim Haboush (Editor); Kenneth Robinson (Editor)
A Korean scholar-official taken prisoner in 1597 by an invading Japanese army ruminates on human behavior and the nature of loyalty during a time of war.
Letters from Japans Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Correspondence from Warlords, Tea Masters, Zen Priests, and Aristocrats by Morgan Pitelka; Reiko Tanimura; Takashi Masuda
"This book collects twenty-three original, handwritten Japanese letters from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and provides transcriptions, translations, and essay commentaries for each. In addition, introductory essays contextualize such letter writing in the politics of the period, the cultural trends of the day, the value of calligraphy, and the history of writing in Japan"

Letters written by the English residents in Japan, 1611-1623

Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: an account of what I have seen and heard, by an Edo Samurai by Mark Teeuwen (Editor); Kate Wildman Nakai (Editor); Fumiko Miyazaki (As told to); Anne Walthall (As told to)
By 1816, Japan had recovered from the famines of the 1780s and moved beyond the political reforms of the 1790s. Despite persistent economic and social stresses, the country seemed to be approaching a new period of growth. The idea that the shogunate would not last forever was far from anyone's mind. Yet, in that year, an anonymous samurai author completed one of the most detailed critiques of Edo society known today. Writing as Buyo Inshi, "a retired gentleman of Edo," he expresses a profound despair with the state of the realm and with people's behavior and attitudes.
Women of the Mito Domain: recollections of samurai family life by Kikue Yamakawa; Kate Wildman Nakai (Translator)
Based on the recollections of the author's mother, other relatives, and family records, this is a vivid picture of the everyday life of a samurai household in the last years of the Tokugawa period.

Japanese History Websites

Japanese Historical Maps
(East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley)
This collection at the University of California Berkeley contains about 2,300 early maps of Japan and the world. The web site contains online images of more than 1,100 maps and books in this collection. To view, click the "New LUNA Browser" link.
Japan Historical Text Initiative
The Japanese Historical Text Initiative (JHTI) is a digitized, searchable database of important Japanese historical documents and their English translations. [Requires establishing a free login]
Choshu and Satsuma Papers
These images from the archives of UCL are some of the earliest evidence of Japan's first contacts with the west, between the missions of the early 1860s and the full Meiji restoration of 1868.
Asia For Educators - Primary Sources Japan
Scrolls of the Mongol Invasions of Japan
Takezaki Suenega, a Japanese warrior who fought against the Mongols during the invasions of 1274 and 1281, commissioned scrolls recounting his actions.
Kishomon: Four Oaths and Five Invocations
These documents were part of a collection of documents handed down to the Saji, a warrior family based in Kōga district, in Ōmi province (nowadays Kōka city, Shiga prefecture). Click on any of the images, and then click “En” for the English translation
The Suruga Date Collection
The Date are well known because their northern branch gained great power, with one of their members, Date Masamune (1567-1636), becoming one of the most famous warlords in Japanese history. Click on any of the images, and then click “En” for the English translation
Tale of the Heiji Rebellion
The Heiji scrolls date from the thirteenth century and represent a masterpiece of "Yamato" style painting. They can be documented as being treasured artifacts in the fifteenth century when nobles mention viewing them, but they now only survive in fragmentary form.
Komonjo
This website introduces seven document collections. Among them, The Shogun’s Mother, reproduces a 1338 letter by Uesugi Kiyoko (Seishi), the mother of the first Ashikaga shogun, who witnessed a decisive battle. Such letters rarely survive, and the condition of this record makes it challenging to read.