Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune
    Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune
    Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune
    Audiobook4 hours

    Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune

    Written by Pamela S. Turner

    Narrated by Brian Nishii

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Minamoto Yoshitsune should not have been a samurai. But his story is legend in this real-life saga. This epic warrior tale reads like a novel, but this is the true story of the greatest samurai in Japanese history. When Yoshitsune was just a baby, his father went to war with a rival samurai family-and lost. His father was killed, his mother captured, and his surviving half-brother banished. Yoshitsune was sent away to live in a monastery. Skinny, small, and unskilled in the warrior arts, he nevertheless escaped and learned the ways of the samurai. When the time came for the Minamoto clan to rise up against their enemies, Yoshitsune answered the call. His daring feats and impossible bravery earned him immortality.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateSep 9, 2016
    ISBN9781501936791
    Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune
    Author

    Pamela S. Turner

    Pamela S. Turner has a master’s degree in public health from the University of California, Berkeley, and a special interest in microbiology and epidemiology. Her articles for children and adults have appeared in numerous scientific publications. Her books include Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog, Gorilla Doctors, The Frog Scientist, Dolphins of Shark Bay, and Project Seahorse. She lives in California. www.pamelasturner.com

    Related to Samurai Rising

    Related audiobooks

    YA Historical For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The First Shogun

      May 18, 2023

      The First Shogun
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Killer And The Queen

      Oct 1, 2022

      The Killer And The Queen
      9 min read

    • Article

      Revenge Of The 47 Rōnin

      Aug 11, 2022

      Revenge Of The 47 Rōnin
      7 min read

    • Article

      Hall of Fame FAMOUS WARRIORS

      Mar 26, 2020

      Hall of Fame FAMOUS WARRIORS
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Way Of The Warrior

      Aug 12, 2021

      Few acts better encapsulate the spirit of the samurai than the ritualistic form of suicidal belly-cutting, known as seppuku, or harakiri. The ultimate extension of martial virtue, honour suicide was woven through the gradual development of samurai cu

      10 min read

    • Article

      Taira Masakado The First Samurai

      Jun 20, 2019

      A shadow emerges from the flames atop a horse. Digging his feet into the stirrups, he burns like a crazed dragon, over the corpses of his enemies and their houses. Before long, all of Japan will know the name of Taira Masakado, the greatest warrior i

      8 min read

    • Article

      Fathers And Sons At War

      May 19, 2021

      THE TWO BATTLES OF KŌNODAI The 1538 victor was Hōjō Ujitsuna, the second daimyo of the great Hōjō dynasty who were gradually extending their territories across the Kantō Plain, the area around modern Tokyo. At the First Battle of Kōnodai, Ujitsuna de

      8 min read

    • Article

      Shiroyama

      Jan 19, 2023

      Shiroyama
      11 min read

    • Article

      Secrets Of The Samurai

      Jun 18, 2020

      Secrets Of The Samurai
      10 min read

    • Article

      Land Of The Rising Gun

      Oct 3, 2019

      Land Of The Rising Gun
      7 min read

    • Article

      You Really Want Warrior Spirit?

      Jul 25, 2018

      You Really Want Warrior Spirit?
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Med Behida The Myths

      Aug 8, 2019

      The Med Behida The Myths
      1 min read

    • Article

      Japan’s Sengoku Period

      Mar 19, 2020

      Japan’s Sengoku Period
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Trio Who Unified Japan

      Apr 5, 2022

      The Trio Who Unified Japan
      11 min read

    • Article

      Age Of Legends

      Mar 21, 2024

      Age Of Legends
      11 min read

    • Article

      Yukio Mishima in Ichigaya

      Aug 20, 2019

      Yukio Mishima in Ichigaya
      10 min read

    • Article

      Shogun Showdowns

      Mar 19, 2020

      What was the nature of the shogunate during the Sengoku period? Our more ‘modern’ sense of what the word ‘shogun’ means comes in the late Heian period, when you have emperors and retired emperors prepared to use the samurai houses as pawns in their

      3 min read

    • Article

      Maiden Japan

      Aug 19, 2021

      Maiden Japan
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Birth Of The Yakuza

      Jun 15, 2023

      The Birth Of The Yakuza
      7 min read

    • Article

      Sekigahara

      Mar 19, 2020

      When Toyotomi Hideyoshi died in 1598, he left a unified Japan in the hands of his five-year-old son, Hideyori – appointing a council of regents, comprising the country’s five most powerful lords. However, as the samurai returned home from the disastr

      3 min read

    • Article

      Philosophy Of The Samurai

      Dec 1, 2022

      Philosophy Of The Samurai
      5 min read

    • Article

      Admiral Yi Sun-sin

      Apr 14, 2022

      Admiral Yi Sun-sin
      6 min read

    • Article

      Daimyo THE WARLORDS OF JAPAN

      Dec 2, 2021

      Daimyo THE WARLORDS OF JAPAN
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Curious Case Of Kinjo Sanda

      Jan 11, 2022

      The Curious Case Of Kinjo Sanda
      3 min read

    • Article

      Battle Of Sekigahara

      Aug 13, 2020

      Battle Of Sekigahara
      7 min read

    • Article

      Jutte: Traditional Weapon Helped Keep The Peace

      May 17, 2022

      After unifying Japan’s many feudal domains, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) based his government in Edo, the site of present-day Tokyo. The new center of Japanese authority quickly attracted residents of all classes. In addition to laborers, craftsmen an

      2 min read

    • Article

      Japanese Feudal Era

      Mar 26, 2020

      Japanese Feudal Era
      2 min read

    • Article

      Deadly Elegance

      May 1, 2022

      Deadly Elegance
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Samurai Rising

    4/5

    60 ratings9 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Fascinating story of how the samurai came into being in the late 12th century - well written and engaging.
    • 4/5
      Initially I thought this was a graphic novel, for some reason. It is not, although the illustrations are spectacular. Great, fast paced and fascinating biography of Minamoto Yoshitsune. I like the somewhat lighthearted tone, the slightly snarky asides, and the well written biographical aspects. Given that I find medieval Japan to be an utterly foreign landscape, it was an excellent primer. It also feels like a story that is all horrific violence for the sake of honor and pride -- the more we change, the more remains the same.
    • 3/5
      children's middlegrade nonfiction (samurai wars). There are lots of beheadings and sword wounds, and the pacing (with short, action-packed chapters) is excellent, with painted illustrations that complement the subject matter perfectly.
    • 5/5
      This book was AWESOME. I'm normally a bit leery of middle grade biographies, but this was spot on for both content and tone. I just wish this book had existed during my college Japanese history class.
    • 4/5
      An interesting history, accessible to readers both young and old.
    • 4/5
      An amazing survival and war story about a samurai who is the stuff of legends. I didn't know any of this history before reading the book. It was slow at times, but the thick book ends about half way through. The research notes are thorough and impressive. I don't know how well this will play with middle school students, but the students who gravitate toward this type of nonfiction will enjoy it. I learned a lot from reading the book.
    • 5/5
      Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune by Pamela S. Turner is a children's nonfiction but it is written so well that it could be for anyone at all. I learned so much and didn't feel it was talking down to me. Through this book you could feel the social life, the strange customs, and the barbaric life it was back then. The role of the warrior and power and family was very powerful things. This books takes you into the background that leads up to Yoshitsune being a samurai, his childhood and on. Very wonderful work! Thanks NetGalley for suggesting this book! Truly an amazing book!
    • 4/5
      Yoshitsune Minamoto’s life was the stuff of legends, the ideal to which all later samurai would measure themselves. His “inheritance arrived early. They boy could not yet walk when his father left him a lost war, a shattered family, and a bitter enemy.” Sent by his father’s beheader to a Buddhist temple to be raised by monks he eventually escaped north to be taken in by a wealth noble and there trained as a warrior, and commander. Furious, fast and famously brave he specialized in the surprise attack coming down at his enemies from mountain heights and across supposedly impassible bodies of water. Ultimately defeated and fleeing into exile, he fought on to the last, and then committed ritual suicide rather than surrender to his enemies. Turner’s well documented biography of the iconic samurai presents a wealth of information presented in a lively style accessible to twenty-first century youth. For example, to describe fighting style of the samurai she writes of these medieval oriental knights: "Large scale tactics maneuvers weren’t part of their playbook. In fact, if history’s great fighters were gathered together, Yoshitsune’s men would find a lot more in common with fiercely independent Comanches than disciplined Roman legionnaires."And as rivals in war sneered and insulted each other before a battle, the author notes, “Trash talk, it seems, is not a modern invention.”
    • 4/5
      A very interesting account of how samurais were trained as well as their personal history.