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

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Reveals for almost 100 years, samurai 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 -- developing a stereotypical image of the fierce Japanese warrior 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, Europeans usually hired them 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. Contains central mono plate section.