Offers historical, cultural, and political account in English of the Japanese martial art of swordsmanship. This book shows how this martial art evolved through a recurring process of "inventing tradition," which served the changing ideologies and needs of Japanese warriors and governments...

Offers historical, cultural, and political account in English of the Japanese martial art of swordsmanship. This book shows how this martial art evolved through a recurring process of "inventing tradition," which served the changing ideologies and needs of Japanese warriors and governments over the course of history.