My father made me watch those old Samurai movies when I was little and I grew up so fascinated I studied East Asian philosophy in college. Honestly, there was so much that surprised me, and this book does a great job of introducing new readers to those concepts. Rather than being necessarily dramatic, a lot of the principles are practical: be kind, be respectful, keep a tidy appearance. The advice is laid out in different topics and accompanied by gorgeous Japanese art. This is a wonderful book and would make a great gift or coffee table book. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

Hagakure Illustrated is a beautifully curated illustrated translation of the Samurai code and philosophy by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, and is to be published as part of a series of traditionally bound classic books of Asian culture and history. Due out 14th Aug, 2024 from Amber Books, it's 160 pages and will be available in hardcover with a traditional sewn binding.

This is a well illustrated period guide aimed at Samurai and includes historical insights and advice on philosophy, culture, etiquette, service, obligation, interacting with different levels of society, food culture, and aging & the Samurai's place.The English translation work is seamless and subtly/pleasingly wrought; understandable and accessible, but also nuanced. This is a work in translation, and there's only a very brief introduction to place the work in historical context, and no other commentary.

Five stars. This would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, home reference, and gift purposes.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I think a lot of us grew up with a certain image of the samurai and getting to know about them through anime. This book is a great start to get to know parts of the Bushido. The book is very well sorted and illustrated. Reading books with a lot of information and historical meaning can be boring, but this one really was interesting from the first to the last page.
This book made me reflect of modern times and life, eventho its contents were written a long time ago.

What an interesting read and one that invites us to reflect on many aspects of our life in general, broadly speaking, and also of our daily lives.

This book is not one of those that can be read quickly (at least for me) because it has many reflections and I think it is good to read it, close it, think about it, and continue. The reading is easy, not at all overwhelming and it is also very interesting that something like this was written so many years ago and that even today it can be very useful.

I loved the works it presents and I think it gives it a unique touch.

Thank you Amber Books for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an attractively packaged selection of excerpts from book 1 of the Hagakure. The translator has grouped the excerpts by theme and there are lots of accompanying images from the print culture of the C18 and C19.

Having read the excerpts, it seems that Hagakure views life very cheaply as the ideal samurai is to throw theirs away whenever required by their lord. To a western reader, this grates. It’s also worth noting that the Hagakure is part of a group of writings by samurai trying to justify why they are morally superior to everyone else in Japan and so should stay at the top of the pyramid (the fact that they are the only ones with swords is, of course, by the by…).

A useful introduction to a different way of thinking. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book provides snippets from the samurai warrior code also known as Bushido. If you think you know the warrior code because of the movies you’ve seen, read this book- it will shock you to find out more! This book covers many different aspects of people's everyday lives and provides inspiration for those that want to better themselves and read from historical perspectives. The pictures provide a better understanding of the situations people went through to enforce this code of being. I highly recommend reading this book! It is fast paced and simple, yet informative. It is a very interesting and inspirational book.

This was a pretty interesting read. I grew up an anime kid and samurais were interesting to learn about. It was pretty cool reading reading about his life and what he had to do to be a samurai