0-1868

In 1841, having been shipwrecked and picked up by an American whaling ship outside Japanese territorial waters, fifteen-year-old Manjiro decides to go live in America and work towards opening trade between his country and the West.

Jacob de Zoet, having arrived in Nagasaki Harbor's Dejima in 1799, has intentions to make a fortune in five years and return home to Holland to win the hand of his finac?e, but he meets the disfigured daughter of a samurai doctor and finds his plans changing and his life in danger.

Thirteen-year-old Fujiwara no Mitsuko, daughter of a noble family in the imperial court of twelfth-century Japan, enlists the help of a shape-shifter and other figures from Japanese mythology in her efforts to save her older sister's life.

Orginally published: London : Cassell Pic, Villiers House. Discusses the origins and history of the Samurai warriors of Japan.

Provides information about various aspects of life in the past, highlighting notable events and achievements in medieval and early modern Japan, covering, history, geography, government, society and economy, warfare, religion, philosophy, education, science, language and literature, the arts, architecture, travel and communication, and everyday affairs. Includes maps, drawings, and photographs.

In turbulent sixteenth-century Japan, orphaned Taro is taken in by a general serving the great warlord Takeda Shingen and grows up to become a samurai fighting for the enemies of his dead family.

When, after intercepting a secret message from their mother, their evil Uncle Hidehira uncovers their samurai disguise, Kimi and Hana again must flee for their lives and, with the help of a fellow student, undertake a perilous journey to find their mother and brother before they are captured by Hidehira's samurai.

Fourteen-year-old Seikei, a tea merchant's son, dreams of being a samurai, and he gets a chance to prove his worth when, as the only witness to the theft of a priceless ruby intended for the shogun, he is asked to assist the samurai magistrate in solving the crime.

Akane gives up her life as a princess to become a servant in the inner palace in order to be near her one true love, Aogi, a guard who is confined within the palace walls.

Discusses the historical, political, and cultural events of traditional Japan from ancient times to 1868.