Abstract

This book is about low-ranking samurai, who are a little different from the great men who left their mark on history. Many of the samurai were not as "respectable" as in historical novels. There are a wide variety of samurai, some of whom were just bored with the shogunate and had plenty of time on their hands, some of whom decided to take advantage of the "expulsion of the foreigners" craze in their spare time, and some of whom joined the shogunate for the paycheck. On the other hand, there were also farmers who worked too hard in the midst of the upheaval to become samurai if they were lucky. ......
The book explains in detail the atmosphere of the time and the character of the era, which cannot be captured by the conventional image of the samurai.
All pages are composed of easy-to-understand illustrations and text. The essence of the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate is explored through the lives of the samurai who were at the mercy of the times.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Manners of the Bakumatsu patriot
Chapter 2: Manners of the Exclusionists and the supporters of the Shogun
Chapter 3. The Manners of the Armed Forces
Chapter 4: The Manners of the Meiji Restoration by the Bakumatsu patriot

Columns
The Terrible Assassins of the Bakumatsu Era
Hijikata Toshizo, deputy chief of the Shinsengumi, was almost uninvolved
Bugles and drums were used as signals at the end of the Edo period
More than 90% of people in Edo were smokers

Author’s Information

Yuji Odabe (Supervisor)
Born in Tokyo in 1952. Professor emeritus at Shizuoka University of Welfare. He left Rikkyo University Graduate School of Letters with a doctoral degree. Formerly a part-time staff member of the Overseas Situation Research Division of the National Diet Library and a professor at the School of Social Welfare, Shizuoka University of Social Welfare before assuming his current position. He specializes in modern and contemporary Japanese history. His many publications include "The Imperial Family: The Modern History of the Emperors" (Chuokoron Shinsha) and "Portraits of 125 Emperors" (Kadokawa Shinsho).