The First Samurai: The Life and Legend of the Warrior Rebel, Taira Masakado [Hardcover]

You know, I've always heard the phrase 'never judge a book by its cover', but until recently I've paid it little heed. Thus, when I saw the cover of Karl Friday's book on Amazon I kept putting it off. After all, what meat could there be in a book with bright, flashing colors on the front and a confusing, anachronistic woodblock print shown in relief? In short, it looked like just another of the myriad populist books on Japanese history, designed to get readers to plunk down money just so the author can rehash old material and convey the same vague generalities about samurai warfare. It seemed to be playing off of the success in the English speaking world of the Tom Cruise "you, too, can live out your doomed romantic warrior fantasies" movie, and pandering to the sammyrai fanatics.

On the other hand, it is Karl Friday, who brought us Legacies of the Sword: The Kashima-Shinryu and Samurai Martial Culture, Hired Swords: The Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan, and other notable works, so it was on my list.

Now I'm kicking myself that I didn't get this book sooner. The information on not only Taira Masakado, but on the life in Japan during the 10th century and other famous figures of the time, is absolutely wonderful. Not only that, but it presents the facts in a way that is easy and enjoyable to read. I would easily compare it to other recent biographies, such as David McCullough's "John Adams", which open to the reader not just a dry tome of the dust from a person's passing, but the rich texture of life in their day and age.

Taira Masakado is a figure that is famous in Japan, but his name has hardly made a splash in the English speaking world until this book, which will likely, as Thomas D. Conlan lauds, "remain the definitive study of the legendary warrior and his age for years to come." Friday begins by introducing his audience to the Masakado story as it is known in Japan--his rebellion, beheading, and the subsequent legends of that same vital appendage flying about Japan and causing havoc even as late as the mid 20th century. He illuminates for the reader the common conception of Masakado as the first warrior of the early medieval period to rise up in rebellion and challenge the imperial authority.

However, just has he has laid out the groundwork for you, Friday turns the whole thing on its head. He lays out a cogent argument for Masakado as a victim of circumstances and poor judgment, rather than a committed rebel. Masakado comes off as a an able warrior and administrator who was invested in the imperial system and likely had no real intention of setting up anything else, but he was driven into a position where he felt he had no other choice. In fact, the reader comes away with the feeling that Masakado's entire reputation is quite overblown by later historians, and yet the story of his life is no less enlightening about the times he lived in. In fact, it is because he was an exemplar of his times and not an outlier that a study of his life is of such import.

While examining the actions and motives of Masakado, Friday also examines the lifestyles of the provincial warriors during the Heian period and the combination of centripetal and centrifugal forces that kept court and countryside in balance. He reveals for the reader the economic politics of the often hastily assembled warbands, whose ties to their nominal general were often tenuous at best.

He also dispels the later veneer of romance that later authors were prone to place on samurai warfare, putting pragmatism in its proper historical place. For example, he describes not only the lauds given for men skilled at ambush tactics, but the reasons why they were so necessary in this age of the horse and bow.

His research is neatly referenced, with both in-page footnotes and 26 pages of footnotes at the end of the book. His bibliography is divided into Primary and Secondary sources, and the work contains a helpful index for looking up specific topics.

Admittedly, the swirl of "Taira", "Fujiwara", and "Minamoto" surnames can often make following the complex familial relationships of the time difficult for the uninitiated, but Friday uses that confusion to highlight the all too real social complexity of Heian period Japan.

In conclusion, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Anyone interested in the history of the samurai and the rise of the warrior class should have a grounding in the provincial warriors of the Heian period, who were adapting the previous ritsuryo military guidelines to the new era of private bands of horsed archers, and this book, by highlighting one such individual, brings that transition sharply into focus.

I'm a long-term resident of Japan and have no interest in samurai culture. I am, however, interested in Edo history and Taira no Masakado; and since this was the only extended text in English on Masakado, I forced myself to give it try despite misgivings from the egregiously misleading title (which the author himself admits) and the potential for yet another romanticized depiction of the samurai.

In short, this was a fantastic read. It fleshes out Masakado's story and firmly places his actions within the influences of the times. I learned a lot about samurai culture and must admit found it fascinating (without desire to delve deeper).

It's a fairly academic read, yet several sections progress quite dramatically, making for a fast read in spots while others claw their way from reference text to reference text. I like knowing that what I am reading is well-researched and aiming for accuracy, and this book is just that. Completely satisfied. Five stars.

This book is a bit of a mixed work.

On the positive side Masakado is someone from Japanese history who before I read this book I'd only heard the name of. In telling us the story of a complex, flawed man who changed Japanese history it does a good job. There were times when I was honestly excited to find out what happened to Masakado next or how he reacted to a situation. The descriptions of battles and ambushes are very good and I could really picture the events in my mind. There were even moments where I was able to imagine myself as a person in 10th century Kyoto hearing stories of this rogue samurai who'd turned the capital on its ear.

On the down side this book far, far too often goes into long asides telling the life stories of other people with extensive details about their families and jobs. After the third time I had to hear about some guy who had five son's and that three of them became assistants to someone important I was started to get annoyed and a little bored.

This book is also hurt by the way the story often leaps around with a great deal of time spent telling me about some pirate who only had a weak connection to the man whom the book is supposed to be about. And this is done with several people reducing Masakado supporting player status in a book about himself. Shameful!

While this book does at times present a good story about a very interesting man it gets bogged down in too much detail that only an academic would care about. Also, if you don't have a passable understanding of Japanese history a lot of the details in this story will go over your head. This one is for the hardcore samurai fan or Japanese history buff. Other readers should look elsewhere.