Shogun-ki

In the latter half of the 19th Century, Japan would see 250 years of relative peace devolve into a bloody landscape of violence, with disillusioned samurai banding together to attach and permanen...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2017/07/murderous-samurai-of-bakumatsu-period.html

When one thinks about the common people of the Edo period, they probably think of a group of passive, law abiding, hard working farmers and textile producers.  In fact, commoners of the Edo ...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2015/05/the-rambunctious-millet-grubbers-and.html

"Ōishi Kuranosuke" leads the pack of Akō rōnin into Sengaku-ji. I went to the 47 Rōnin Festival at Sengaku-ji temple on December 14, commemorating the 312th anniversary of the famous 'revenge...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2015/01/re-opening-fruit-cellar-door.html

For years, the Hagakure (along with its spiritual cousin, "Bushido: The Soul of Japan") has been the bane of the Samurai Archives. Often taken by neophytes to the study of Japanese history as the...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2014/06/the-evil-book-redeemed-alexander.html

We’re happy to present our readers with the conclusion of our two-part interview with Romulus Hillsborough, author of the recently published Samurai Revolution: The Dawn of Modern Japan Seen Th...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2014/04/katsu-kaishu-navigator-of-chaos.html

A few years ago we ran an article about the ‘Selling of Sekigahara’-how battles from Japan’s past were a popular subject for merchandising and found their way into all sorts of pop culture ...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2014/04/rotating-volleys-of-merchandise-battle.html

OK, finally saw this. Narukagami's review on the Samurai Archives Film Forum covered much of what I also think, so I'll limit myself to new avenues.  As expected, about a 2 on a 100 based ac...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2014/04/a-dragons-head-and-losers-tale-mini.html

Romulus Hillsborough is the author of several popular books dealing with the Bakumatsu/early Meiji period of Japanese history and the personalities that shaped its course. These include Shinsengu...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2014/03/katsu-kaishu-navigator-of-chaos.html

Akabane Sei has problems. He’s a rakugo storyteller, specializing in comic stories designed to send his audience home laughing and feeling good. But things are not easy for a rakugoka in Meiji ...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2014/03/a-tale-of-badgers-and-tigers-lian.html

December has always been the month where the 47 Ronin enter the stream of modern Japanese consciousness. The assault by the Ronin on Lord Kira’s estate took place on the “fourteenth day of th...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2013/11/tis-season-for-ronin-shambhalas-47.html

Recently on the Samurai Archives Forum, there was a discussion about making the myth of the ninja the subject of a future podcast. Part of the discussion centered on just how the myths of ninja c...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2013/10/the-birth-of-ninja-how-west-came-to.html

While manga treatments of famous works of Japanese literature are common in Japan, they’re virtually unknown in the West. Part of this is due to the long-standing prejudice in Western societies...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2013/08/a-graphic-approach-to-musashi-and.html

 Nemuri Kyoshiro’s “Full Moon Cut” is the stuff of chanbara legend. It’s Zatoichi’s cane sword and dice tricks. It’s Hanzo the Razor and his big friend’s training regimen. It�...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2013/01/full-circle-full-moon-cut-completes-its.html

Every now and then at the Samurai Archives, be it on the podcast, or here on the blog, we mix things up a bit.  One thing that comes up every now and then on the forum is, "What's the easies...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/11/the-well-trod-and-annoying-path-of.html

 Dark Horse Comics has accomplished much in its 25+ years of operation. It was one of the pioneers in allowing writers and artists to retain control of their original characters. The company...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/11/thanks-for-nothing-dark-horse-47-ronin.html

 Halloween may be over, but the ‘claret continues to flow’. It’s another dose of in-your-face, bloody group vengeance in Animeigo’s release of “Eleven Samurai” (“Ju-ichinin No ...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/11/when-seven-samurai-just-werent-enough.html

Hello all, and sorry for the delay in getting to this final installment. It's been a busy two weeks, and as much as I enjoy writing these for you, you lost out to visiting my wife and kids for a ...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/09/principled-warfare-v-conclusion.html

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http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/08/principled-warfare-episode-4-new.html

Well, folks—sorry for the few day delay, but our series on the 12 Principles of Joint Operations is back with Episode 3: the Three “S”’s : Security, Surprise, and Simplicity. Somehow I ge...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/08/principled-warfare-ii-samurai-combat_28.html

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http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/08/principled-warfare-ii-samurai-combat.html

Greetings once again, Samurai Archives fans! It’s me, ltdomer98, or Nate, as those of you who listen to our podcast know me. Of course, a blogpost from me means there’s military history to di...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/08/greetings-once-again-samurai-archives.html

Yagyu Munenori was the founder of the Edo branch of the famous Yagyu Shinkage-ryu School of swordsmanship. Munenori was well regarded, being the sword instructor to the Tokugawa and the author of...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/07/schooling-yagyu-takuan-sohos-unfettered.html

In chanbara, bloodletting comes in many forms. There’s the one on one duel between sword masters (perhaps best exemplified by the infamous ‘blood geyser’ duel between Mifune Toshiro and Nak...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/06/all-out-bakufu-brawlz-animeigos-13.html

‘Total War Battles: Shogun’ is the initial foray of SEGA/Creative Assembly’s Total War franchise into the world of handheld devices, and it’s one of the best games available for the IPhon...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/04/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x.html

 Any time a developer puts together a game based on an historical event, there’s going to be a tradeoff between accuracy and playability. Whether it’s a tabletop sim or a computer game, ...

http://www.theshogunshouse.com/2012/04/total-war-total-fantasy-shogun-2-fall.html