Author: Turnbull, Stephen
Publisher: Osprey Pub Co
Year: 2010
ISBN: 9781846034787
Binding: Soft Cover
Book Condition: As New
Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Description:
New book, 64 pages, ELI178. The Hatamoto of a Japanese feudal lord of the tumultuous Sengoku Period were his closest military household - the hand picked elite who served 'beneath his flag'. The term embraced a wide range of trusted retainers: the mature samurai who were his generals and councillors in time of war, the 'staff officers' who administered his army, and also his personal bodyguard tropps, message-riders and standard bearers. Newly researched in Japan, this book explains the structure, function and organisation of these elite troops, both on campaign and in peacetime, and the changes the Hatamoto underwent early in the Edo Period when the Tokugawa shogunate asserted its control over the provincial barons. It tells of the courage and self-sacrifice of loyal Hatamoto, and is illustrated with prints, screen paintings and new colour plates.