Review by Choice Review
Hillsborough is the author of numerous books on Japan's warrior classes during Japan's bakumatsu period, 1853-68. This text tracks the roles of three key figures of the era: senior minister Ii Naosuke (1815-60) and two supporters of imperial restoration, Takechi Hanpeita (1829-65) and Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-67). The book is arranged into three parts focused on these figures, all of whom intersect in some fashion with the organizing framework of assassination. The violent events enveloping their respective careers highlight what Hillsborough terms the "existential crisis" confronting samurai in the final years of Tokugawa rule. While the author's inclusion of a brief section on Naosuke, a leading figure on the Tokugawa side of the skirmish, is a commendable attempt to balance the text's later focus on imperial loyalists Ryoma and Hanpeita, ultimately the balance shifts decisively to the latter group, who are allotted the lion's share of coverage. Despite this misalignment, Hillsborough makes deft use of both contemporary Japanese historical scholarship and primary source materials in his presentation of compelling historical vignettes, commendably providing English-language readers with access to previously unavailable material on Naosuke and Hanpeita. Summing Up: Recommended. All public and academic libraries. --Melinda Landeck, Austin College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
