Samurai: Lives,Loves&Legacies

This course explores the evolution of the samurai as a caste, their military and family lives, their passions, and their symbolic meaning to Japanese and to others. We will be reading first-hand accounts written by samurai men and women, viewing a number of well-known and lesser-known samurai films, and looking at how the realities of samurai life compare with the many meanings the samurai have acquired over the centuries.