Book Review: “Japan The Ultimate Samurai Guide” by Alexander Bennett

I have practiced Japanese martial arts for about 20 years and it has always been my dream to go to Japan. When I eventually get there, I will be in an extremely different culture with a different language (which I don’t speak), and different customs. I would hope that when I do get to go, I’ll be allowed to practice my martial arts somewhere there. I’ve always hoped that dojo customs in the US are pretty much the same in Japan, but I could be wrong. This book was something I was hoping would answer some of those doubts. It doesn’t directly, but it is a great book for other reasons.

This book is designed for anyone who’s getting into Japanese martial arts, in the form of a budo. Without getting too much into the weeds here, budo are the modern martial arts derived from the Samurai arts, but still embodying the samurai spirit/tradition… at least as its portrayed in the modern mind. This book is a great place to start if you are interested in the subject matter. It gives a brief history lesson on the samurai, as well as Japan in general. It debunks myths as it goes, and talks about things that we often don’t hear about, like the anthropological/archaeological evidence of female samurai on the battlefield.

The author goes over, what he calls, the nine modern budo, and gives a brief description of each of them. Mr. Bennett also makes sure to go over some of the other arts associated with samurai tradition like tea ceremony, or Noh drama. He also includes basic dojo etiquette, as well as how to survive in Japan today while “playing samurai.”

The author does a thorough job covering a lot of material in a very compact and useful way. There are many side-bars that are great little tidbits of information on almost every page. The pictures throughout the book are also phenomenal. I also like his sense of humor as he offers little tongue-in-cheek pop culture jokes throughout the book. For example, in the history section, he mentions Tom Cruise and his role in the movie The Last Samurai. But, immediately, clarifies with the real history of the Satsuma rebellion that the movie was based on. This makes the book both more relatable, and more reader-friendly. It’s almost saying, “I know that everyone coming in has these expectations, but here’s the reality, and it’s much more fascinating.”

I have two minor things that I believe detract from this book. The first is that I wish the book would go into more details on some of the subject matters. Each of the individual chapters in this book, are books unto themselves. However, I do realize that this is a cursory examination of the subject as a whole. It is not meant to be a doctoral thesis. Secondly, there are times when his jokes may be too subtle. If you don’t know the real version of what he’s making fun of, you may not realize its a joke and take it as a fact, like the rest of the book.

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