The Samurai

Sakkara, Egypt, 2,630BC. A man stands atop a structure of dizzying height as the final block grinds into place. For Imhotep, it is the culmination of his life’s work: a mountain made by man. He checks the joint while his workers wait in silence. Then, he gives a barely perceptibl ...  Show more

It’s November 28th, 1809. The Imperial fleet in Tung Chung Bay is aflame. But the crew of Zheng I Sao’s ship watch on and cheer. This is the greatest victory of the Pirate Queen, scourge of the South China Sea. At its peak, her fleet was more than twice the size of the Spanish Ar ...  Show more

The Battle of Sekigahara, on 21st October, 1600, was the largest in Japanese feudal history, with over 160,000 troops involved. And stakes were high: the victor, Tokugawa Ieyasu, became the Shōgun of Japan, initiating the Edo period; whilst the leader of the losing Western army, ...  Show more

Matt Lewis presents a special episode from his podcast Echoes of History on the medieval 'Demon' Samurai.

In the world of Assassin's Creed Shadows, the legendary Hattori Hanzo embodies both samurai and shinobi warriors, and earned himself the nickname "The D ...

Drift off with this calm bedtime reading about the samurai, created to ease insomnia and bring peace to restless nights. In this soothing episode, Benjamin explores the history, traditions, and influence of Japan’s warrior class, from their code of Bushido to their lasting cultur ...  Show more

March 20, 1703. Today, almost fifty men, scattered around the city of Edo, Japan, are waiting to die. They’re all former samurai who had served the same lord – and they all carried out a deadly revenge attack in his name. Their story will go down in history as the legend of the 4 ...  Show more