This non-fiction piece, explores the intriguing phenomenon of Japanese warriors acting as mercenaries in Southeast Asia during the late 16th and 17th centuries. The book delves into the history of these samurai who found themselves in foreign lands following the tumultuous periods of warfare in Japan, such as the Sengoku period and the pacification under the Tokugawa shogunate. Turnbull examines how and why these samurai left Japan—often due to the unification under Tokugawa Ieyasu, which left many warriors without a role in their homeland—and ventured into Southeast Asia. They were employed by various regional powers, including the Dutch and the Siamese, who valued the samurai for their military skills and discipline. The narrative covers significant historical events involving these samurai, including their roles in battles and as personal guards, and discusses the cultural and political impacts they had on the regions where they served. Through detailed historical analysis and storytelling, Turnbull provides insights into a lesser-known aspect of samurai history and their influence beyond Japan’s borders.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.

I went in to this one pretty blind, didn't even read the synopsis really which I probably should have. I was under the initial impression it was about a single group of samurai, but it was about a lot more. This follows the samurai who were hired out to various nations, mainly the Dutch, as mercenaries essentially. These samurai also fought for various other South East Asian nations. I was really hoping it would focus on how and why these lost samurai chose to continue to live and fight for other people as opposed to returning to Japan. I feel like that's how the book started but eventually it became more about the Spanish and Dutch trading companies trying to get footholds in Japan and the Philippines, and the persistent attempts to convert Japan to Catholicism. Despite all that though I did find this to be really interesting, and definitely a part of samurai history I didn't know about, and it was clearly very well researched.

this was a interesting book about Samurai, I enjoyed going through this book as it was well researched and interesting. I would read another book by Mr. Turnbull.

An interesting and engaging read, I have an interest in Japanese history and culture , but I’m no expert , so I found this book well presented, immersive and really interesting , it really was well thought out, researched and laid out. Thoroughly recommended to anyone interested in history, Japan or even war , great read.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

A useful and well-researched book, on a subject that I knew little about. I counted something like 30+ pages of notes and a 16-page bibliography, so you get the idea that this is a history/reference book, and not a rollicking adventure ride. (I do feel that a map would have been useful, as I had to keep my atlas to hand as I was reading, and a chronology would have been good as Turnbull tends to jump back and forward in time with each chapter.)

Exactly the sort of book to grace the shelves of anyone interested in Japanese history, or the history of European expansionism in the 16th or 17th centuries.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

I have always been something of a history buff, so what I see a story about something I didn't know about before, you definitely have my interest. The Lost Samurai certainty fits that bill. The history covers Japanese mercenaries of the 16th and 17th centuries operating outside of Japan proper. In my mind, I was thinking more along the lines the a Varangian Guard scenario ... which it was not (except maybe in Siam). The author plays a little with the terms, so it was actually quite a stretch to label these "Wild Geese" as Samurai elites, but the author does explain why in the first Chapter ... "Its lead title - The Lost Samurai - an obvious play on the name of a well-known film, but together with the subtitle it introduces three expressions which need to be clarified at this stage. They are the use of 'samurai' to identify Japanese fighting men, 'mercenary' for conditions of service and 'south-east Asia' for their area of operation." In other words, not just elite warriors. What followed was some history detailing how the "Samurai" class came to ... and a lot more history about the [Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch] colonial power machinations and interests in the region and how Japanese expats were recruited and used to further those goals. I was particularly interested in how Christianity played a part (specifically the Christians of Nagasaki and the conflict between Catholics and Protestant powers and Japanese response to it all). While this was not a fun as I was hoping for, it was a good historical review of a time and region that doesn't get much attention in the West.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#TheLostSamurai #NetGalley

A very interesting book looking into a history group that I honestly had no idea had even been around, but this book was engaging and well written . History and Japanese buffs will love this book!