Praise for The First Samurai "In his lucid and meticulously researched reconstruction of the tenth–century rebel Taira Masakado, Karl Friday illuminates the attitudes and institutions of tenth–century Japan, and explains the enduring appeal of this audacious man who strove to be emperor. Through the life of Masakado, Friday brings alive the patterns of early Japanese warfare, and the complex interaction between central and regional authority. The First Samurai will remain the definitive study of the legendary warrior and his age for years to come." —Thomas D. Conlan, Bowdoin College An amazing true story of war, ambition, and a terrible destiny. When Japan's imperial court declared, in the year 940, that the "punishment of Heaven" would descend upon Taira Masakado, they meant it. First, Masakado was defeated in battle and beheaded. Next, his head hung from a tree for three months before, according to legend, it flew off to the east where to this day Masakado's cursed spirit delivers calamity to one Tokyo neighborhood. What could this brave young warrior have done to merit such a horrifying fate? Find out in The First Samurai.