This is an excellent account of the civil war
. Though the war lasted less than a year, in 1600, Anthony Bryant
explains the complex background
admirably, concerning the previous powerful daimyo
, Oda Nobunaga
and Toyotomi Hideyoshi
and the legacies that they left behind.
Concerning the campaign itself, each move made by both sides is explained simply yet effectively. This allows the reader to fully understand the condition that the two forces were in before the battle of Sekigahara itself.
The book provides useful background to the samurai and how these warriors fought during this period. As thoughout the entire book, there is an abundance of pictures and diagrams, in this case clearly showing the deadly weapons that the samurai used, such as the katana and naginata, the ornate armour that they wore. There are even portraits of the famous leaders themselves, such as Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The most important chapter of the book would have to be the description of the battle itself. Describing a military encounter is no easy feat, yet Bryant does this well through the use of coloured diagrams and exciting, yet comprehensive text. The reader can almost feel that they are there on the battlefield, such is the detail that Bryant has put in.
Sekigahara 1600 was published by Osprey and is one of their large range of military history books.