The Samurai Invasion Of Korea 1592 98

Stephen Turnbull, a renowned expert on the history of Japan, examines the samurai invasion of Korea, the first step in an ambitious Japanese plan to conquer China. Examining the various stages of the war, from the pitched battles of the early war years, to the great naval encounters, the dramatic sieges and the bitter trench warfare that characterized the end of the war, Turnbull provides a concise analysis of the conflict. Highly illustrated with contemporary photographs, full colour battlescene artwork, detailed maps and bird's-eye views, this is a concise history of a unique and exciting campaign, which not only involved huge numbers of men, differing terrain and tactics but was also the only time that the legendary samurai were pitched against a foreign nation.

“Lively....Skillfully pieceing together contemporary accounts from Japanese and Korean sources, the author provides a vivid and horrifying picture of the strategy, tactics, and technology of Japanese warefare....Belongs in public as well as college libraries.”—Library Journal. “Impeccably researched, lavishly illustrated, clearly written for the general reader, as outstanding on its subject as it is unique.”—Booklist.

The Japanese invasion and occupation of Korea, which lasted from 1592 to 1598, was the only occasion in Japanese history when samurai aggression was turned against a foreign country. During the occupation of Korea the Japanese built 25 wajo or castles. Unlike the castles built in Japan, these fortifications were never developed or modernized after the Japanese departure. The details of late 16th-century castle construction are therefore better preserved than at many other sites. Written by Stephen Turnbull, an expert in the subject, this book examines the castles built by the Japanese in Korea, as well as the use made of existing Korean fortifications, particularly city walls. This resulted in curious hybrid fortifications that dominated the landscape until the Japanese were pushed out of the peninsula by a furious onslaught from huge Chinese armies.

In May of 1592, Japanese dictator Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent a 158,800-man army of invasion from Kyushu to Pusan on Korea's southern tip. His objective: to conquer Korea, then China, then the whole of Asia. The resulting seven years of fighting, known in Korea as "imjin waeran," the "Imjin invasion," after the year of the water dragon in which it began, dwarfed contemporary conflicts in Europe and was one of the most devastating wars to grip East Asia in the past thousand years. THE IMJIN WAR is the most comprehensive account ever published in English of this cataclysmic event, so little known in the West. It begins with the political and cultural background of Korea, Japan and China, explores the diplomatic impasse that led to the war, describes every major incident and battle from 1592 to 1598 and introduces a fascinating cast of characters along the way. There is Hideyoshi, hosting garden parties as his armies march toward Beijing; Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin, emerging from a prison cell to take on the Japanese navy with just thirteen ships; Chinese commander Zhao Chengxun, suffering defeat after promising to "scatter the Japanese to the four winds"; the courtesan Chu Non-gae, luring a samurai warrior into her arms and jumping into the Nam River with him locked in her embrace. One nation fighting to expand, another to survive. Shockwaves extending across China and beyond. THE IMJIN WAR is an epic tale of grand perspective and intimate detail of an upheaval that would shape East Asia for centuries to come.

The invasion of Korea by Japanese troops in May of 1592 was no ordinary military expedition: it was one of the decisive events in Asian history and the most tragic for the Korean peninsula until the mid-twentieth century. Japanese overlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi envisioned conquering Korea, Ming China, and eventually all of Asia; but Korea’s appeal to China’s Emperor Wanli for assistance triggered a six-year war involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers and encompassing the whole region. For Japan, the war was “a dragon’s head followed by a serpent’s tail”: an impressive beginning with no real ending. Kenneth M. Swope has undertaken the first full-length scholarly study in English of this important conflict. Drawing on Korean, Japanese, and especially Chinese sources, he corrects the Japan-centered perspective of previous accounts and depicts Wanli not as the self-indulgent ruler of received interpretations but rather one actively engaged in military affairs—and concerned especially with rescuing China’s client state of Korea. He puts the Ming in a more vigorous light, detailing Chinese siege warfare, the development and deployment of innovative military technologies, and the naval battles that marked the climax of the war. He also explains the war’s repercussions outside the military sphere—particularly the dynamics of intraregional diplomacy within the shadow of the Chinese tributary system. What Swope calls the First Great East Asian War marked both the emergence of Japan’s desire to extend its sphere of influence to the Chinese mainland and a military revival of China’s commitment to defending its interests in Northeast Asia. Swope’s account offers new insight not only into the history of warfare in Asia but also into a conflict that reverberates in international relations to this day.

A richly illustrated study of the origins, recruitment, training, and combat of the ashigaru, a vital element of samurai armies. The ashigaru were the foot soldiers of old Japan. Although recruited first to swell an army's numbers and paid only by loot, the samurai began to realise their worth, particularly with arquebuses and spears, until well-trained ashigaru made up a vital part of any samurai army. Drawing on previously untranslated Japanese sources, Stephen Turnbull examines the origins, recruitment, training and use in war of the ashigaru. He surveys the range of ashigaru activity, including their roles as sailors and catapult artillery men as well as the disciplined ranks of warriors that they had become. Illustrated throughout with specially commissioned artwork and previously unpublished illustrations, this book tells the story of the ashigaru for the first time.

The Japanese invasion and occupation of Korea, which lasted from 1592 to 1598, was the only occasion in Japanese history when samurai aggression was turned against a foreign country. During the occupation of Korea the Japanese built 25 wajo or castles. Unlike the castles built in Japan, these castles were never developed or modernized after the Japanese departure meaning that the details of late 16th century castle construction are better preserved than at many other sites. Written by Stephen Turnbull, an expert on the subject, this book examines the castles built by the Japanese in Korea, as well as the use the samurai made of existing Korean fortifications, particularly city walls. This resulted in curious hybrid fortifications which dominated the landscape until the Japanese were pushed out of the peninsula by a furious onslaught from the huge Chinese armies.

Personal accounts of more than thirty men and women who served with the American and Canadian forces in Korea during the years 1950-1953. What is it like to go to war? How does a war affect the men and women who are fighting in it? Here are vivid first-person accounts that address these questions and offer powerful insights into what it means to serve in the armed forces in an unfamiliar country far from home. Award-winning author Linda Granfield has collected the stories of thirty-two men and women who were part of the U.S. and Canadian forces in Korea during the years 1950-53, and has set them against a backdrop of historical and geographical information. The veterans in this book represent a variety of service areas, such as medical, supplies, infantry, and naval. Their sometimes grim, sometimes lighthearted recollections are illustrated with their own personal photographs. From a prisoner of war's gripping description of being held captive for nearly three years to a machine gunner's fond memories of the canned hamburgers and bacon his battalion loved to eat, these stories emphasize the human face of war at a time when it's more important than ever to try to understand the many different ways that war changes people's lives. A foreword by renowned author Russell Freedman relates some of his own experiences while serving in Korea with the Counter Intelligence Corps. Also included are a timeline, glossary, bibliography, Internet resources, and index.