Japan was ruled by warriors for the better part of a millennium. From the twelfth to the nineteenth century its political history was dominated by the struggle of competing leagues of fighting men. This volume, comprised of chapters taken from Volumes 3 and 4 of The Cambridge History of Japan, traces the institutional development of warrior rule and dominance. Although samurai influence waned with the development of constitutional government, warrior values remained central to the ethical code of modern Japan.

Japan was ruled by warriors for the better part of a millennium. From the twelfth to the nineteenth century its political history was dominated by the struggle of competing leagues of fighting men. This volume, comprised of chapters taken from Volumes 3 and 4 of The Cambridge History of Japan, traces the institutional development of warrior rule and dominance. Although samurai influence waned with the development of constitutional government, warrior values remained central to the ethical code of modern Japan.

This new edition brings together selected chapters from Volume 5 of The Cambridge History of Japan. Japan underwent momentous changes during the nineteenth century. This book chronicles the transition from Tokugawa rule, and the political process that finally ended centuries of warrior rule. It goes on to discuss the samurai rebellions against the Meiji Restoration, national movements for constitutional government that indirectly resulted in the Meiji Constitution of 1889, and Japan's twentieth-century drive to Great Power status.