THE LOST SAMURAI: Japanese Mercenaries in South East Asia, 1593-1688

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Reveals the greatest untold story of Japanese samurai warriors -- for almost 100 years were employed as mercenaries in the service of the kings of Siam, Cambodia, Burma, Spain, Portugal, and Dutch East India Company. they were used in dramatic assault parties, as royal bodyguards, as garrisons, and as willing executioners. As a result, a stereotypical image of the fierce Japanese warrior developed that had a profound influence on the way they were regarded by their employers.

While the Southeast Asian kings tended to employ samurai on a long-term basis as palace guards, their European employers usually hired them on a temporary basis for specific campaigns. Also, whereas the Southeast Asian monarchs tended to trust their well-established units of Japanese mercenaries, the Europeans, whilst admiring them, also feared them and led to a great suspicion that the Japanese might one day turn against them. The Spanish in particular feared a Japanese invasion of the Philippines accompanied by a local uprising.

One interesting concept: during the 1630s, if Japan had chosen engagement with Southeast Asia rather than isolation from it, the established presence of Japanese communities overseas may have had a profound influence on the subsequent development of international relations, perhaps even seeing the early creation of an overseas Japanese empire that would have provided a rival to Great Britain. Instead, Japan closed its doors, leaving these fierce mercenaries stranded in distant countries never to return: lost samurai indeed.