Samurai Assassins - by Romulus Hillsborough (Paperback)

About the Book

"Assassination--in Japanese, ansatsu or "dark murder"--was instrumental in the samurai-led revolution known as the Meiji Restoration, by which the shogun's military government was overthrown and the Imperial monarchy restored in 1868. This first-ever account in English of the assassins who drove the revolution details one of the most volatile periods in Japanese history"--

Book Synopsis

Assassination--in Japanese, ansatsu or "dark murder"--was instrumental in the samurai-led revolution known as the Meiji Restoration, by which the shogun's military government was overthrown and the Imperial monarchy restored in 1868. The ideology and moral philosophy of the men behind the revolution--including bushidō or "the way of the warrior"--informed their actions and would become the foundation of the emperor-worship of World War II.

This first-ever account in English of the assassins who drove the revolution details one of the most volatile periods in Japanese history--also known as "the dawn of modern Japan."

Review Quotes

"Hillsborough makes deft use of both contemporary Japanese historical scholarship and primary source materials in his presentation of compelling historical vignettes, commendably providing English-language readers with access to previously unavailable material on Naosuke and Hanpeita. Recommended"-Choice; "fascinating...Hillsborough has an impressive feel for the period, producing a book that takes us inside the world of the key figures in this dark element of the period"-History of War; "well-researched...an engaging and useful work for anyone interested in the chaos and complexity of the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate"-H-Net Reviews; "outlines the significance of assassination during the samurai-led revolution that was the Meiji Restoration in Japan"-ProtoView.

About the Author

Having spent sixteen years studying and working in Japan as a writer and journalist, Romulus Hillsborough now lives in Southern California.