The fierce loyalty and self-sacrificing attitude of the samurai have made them both a legend and a cult. However, although their military prowess and skill in the martial arts have been studied exhaustiveliy, an understanding of their belief system still eludes many. This original work examines the spiritual world of the samurai, from their attachment to Japan's mainstream religions of Shinto and Buddhism, to their involvement in Confucianism, Christianity and Folk Religion. Samurai expert Stephen Turnbull examines important topics such as Zen and the martial arts, modern militarism, the cult of the sword, revenge and suicide, hara kiri and kamikaze pilots-the suicide bombers of their day. He also looks at the fascinating history of Japan's Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians), as well as the growing cult status of the samurai both in Japan and in the West.

Stephen Turnbull, a leading authority on Japanese history, has an M.A. in Theology and an M.A. in Military History, in addition to a Ph.D. from Leeds University for his work on Japanese religious history. His work has been recoginzed by the awarding of the Canon Prize of the British Association for Japanese Studies and a Japan Festival Literary Award. He is a lecturer in Japanese Religion at the University of Leeds. This is Stephen's 50th published book.

Praise for Samurai-The Wrold of the Warrior: 'A lively and compelling study of the samurai, the warrior elite of old Japan. Stephen Turnbull blends real scholarship with a flair for story-telling to create a gripping account.'-Professor Richard Holmes

Contents

Introduction
The way of the Gods
Buddha and the bushi
The gods go to war
Warriors of the pure land
Onward, Christian samurai!
The samurai and the secret
Zen and the samurai
The ways of the warrior
From samurai to spirit
Epliogue
Endnotes
Select bibliography
Glossary
Index