Lords of the Samurai

Samurai means "he who serves," and these fierce warriors acted in the service of powerful feudal lords known as daimyo. Among the most important daimyo families were members of the Hosokawa clan, whose lineage dates back some six hundred years. Lords of the Samurai illuminates the private and public lives of the daimyo by focusing on approximately 160 works from the Hosokawa family collection housed in the Eisei-Bunko Museum in Tokyo, the Kumamoto Castle and the Kumamoto Municipal Museum in Kyushu. Objects discussed include suits of armor, armaments (including swords and guns), formal attire, calligraphy, paintings, tea ware, lacquer ware, masks and musical instruments. Hosokawa Morihiro, eighteenth-generation head of the Hosokawa family and seventy-ninth prime minester of Japan, introduces the book. Takeuchi Jun’ichi, director of the Eisei-Bunko Museum, contributes an essay of the literary world of the daimyo. Yoko Woodson, curator of Japanese art at the Asian Art Museum, surveys the history of the Japanese warrior over several centuries. Deborah Clearwaters, director of education at the Asian Art Museum, considers the artistic world of the samurai, with special emphasis on the Way of Tea (chanoyu). Lords of the Samurai demonstrates that Japanese warriors were not mere fighters but were also dedicated and inspired men of culture. It lays bare the principles that governed the spirit of the samurai, enabling it to endure for hundreds of years and continue to resonate today.