Stephen Turnbull (historian)

Stephen Richard Turnbull (born 6 February 1948) is a British historian concentrating on Japanese military history, especially the samurai period, and has published numerous books. He has worked as a historical consultant for the film '' 47 Ronin'', as well multiple television documentaries, and the '' Shogun: Total War'' series of video games.

Biography

Turnbull attended Cambridge University where he gained his first degree. He currently holds 2 MAs in Theology and Military History and a PhD for his research on Kakure Kirishitan from the University of Leeds, where he is presently a lecturer in Far Eastern Religions, in a program of study jointly overseen by both the Departments of East Asian Studies and Theology and Religious Studies.

He was on the editorial board of the short-lived ''Medieval History Magazine'' (2003–2005), which was published in association with the Royal Armouries. He was a consultant for the PC game '' Shogun: Total War'' and also its sequel '' Total War: Shogun 2'', both products of Creative Assembly, as well as historical advisor on the Hollywood film '' 47 Ronin'' starring Keanu Reeves. He also appeared as a subject matter expert for the Netflix documentary series '' Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan'' in 2021.

He is semi-retired, but still holds the post of Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University in Japan.

Selected works

* 1979 �
''Samurai armies, 1550–1615.''
London: Osprey Publishing.
OCLC 6489751
** reprinted by Osprey, 2003
OCLC 225518299
* 1980 �
''The Mongols.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 1982 �
''The Book of the Samurai.''
Leicester, England: Magna Books.
OCLC 15875673
* 1985 �
''The Book of the Medieval Knight.''
London: Arms and Armour Press.
OCLC 12501653

* 1987 �
''Samurai Warriors.''
Poole, Dorset: Blandford Press.
OCLC 17551861
* 1989 �
''Samurai Warlords: The Book of the Daimyō.''
London: Blandford.
OCLC 22628902
* 1991 �
''Ninja: The True Story of Japan's Secret Warrior Cult.''
Poole, Dorset: Firebird Books.
OCLC 24701255
* 1996 �
''The Samurai: A Military History.''
London: Routledge.
* 1997 �
''Samurai Warfare.''
London: Arms and Armour Press.
OCLC 38030598
* 1998 �
''The Samurai Sourcebook.''
London: Arms & Armour Press.
OCLC 60220867
** reprinted by Cassell, London, 2000.
OCLC 59400034
* 2000 �
''Nagashino 1575: Slaughter at the Barricades.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2001 �
''Ashigaru 1467–1649: Weapons, Armour, Tactics.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2001 �
''The Knight Triumphant: The High Middle Ages, 1314–1485.''
London: Cassell.
OCLC 51108644
* 2002 �
''Samurai Heraldry.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2002 �
''Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War, 1592–1598.''
London: Cassell.
* 2002 �
''War in Japan: 1467–1615.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2002 �
''Fighting Ships of the Far East (1): China and Southeast Asia, 202 BC-AD 1419.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2003 �
Ottoman Empire 1326–1699''
Bloomsbury USA.
* 2003 �
''Genghis Khan & the Mongol Conquests 1190–1400.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2003 �
''Fighting Ships of the Far East (2): Japan and Korea AD 612-1639.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2003 �
''Japanese castles, 1540–1640.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2003 �
''Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949–1603.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2003 �
''Kawanakajima 1553–1564: Samurai Power Struggle.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2003 �
''Ninja AD 1460–1650.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2003 �
''Tannenberg 1410: Disaster for the Teutonic Knights.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
OCLC 51779463
* 2003 – ''Samurai: The World of the Warrior''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2004 �
''The Walls of Constantinople: AD 324–1453.''
Oxford:Osprey Publishing.
* 2004 – ''Samurai: The Story of Japan's Greatest Warriors''. London: PRC Publishing Ltd.
** reprinted by Metro Books, 2013
* 2005 �
''Warriors of Medieval Japan.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2005 �
''Samurai Commanders.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2007 – The Great Wall of China 221 BC - AD 1644 Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2008 �
''The Samurai Swordsman: Master of War.''
London: Frontline Books. ;
* 2010 – ''Katana: The Samurai Sword.'' Oxford: Osprey Publishibg
* 2011 �
''The Revenge of the 47 Ronin.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2016 �
''The Genpei War 1180-85: The Great Samurai Civil War.''
Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2017 �
''Ninja: Unmasking the Myth''
Casemate Publishers.

Journal articles

* "Legacy of Centuries: The Walls of Constantinople", ''Medieval History Magazine'' (MHM), Issue 2, October 2003.
* "Mongol strategy and the Battle of Leignitz 1241", ''MHM'', Issue 3, November 2003.
* "The Teutonic Knights' battle for Riga", ''MHM'', Issue 6, February 2004.
* "The Passing of the Medieval Castle", ''MHM'', Issue 9, May 2004.
* "St Catherine's Monastery: Sanctuary of Ages", ''MHM'', Issue 11 July 2004.
* "Fighting Cardinals: Henry Beaufort & Guiliano Cesarini", ''MHM'', Issue 13, September 2004.
* "A Tale of Two Cities: Siege success and failure at Constantinople and Belgrade", ''MHM'', Issue 16, December 2004.
* "The Blunted Arrowhead: The defensive role of the great medieval fortresses of Albania", ''MHM'', Issue 17, January 2005.

"The Ninja: An Invented Tradition?"
''Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective'', Vol. 9: No. 1, Article 3, 2014.

"Biting the Bullet: A Reassessment of the Development, Use and Impact of Early Firearms in Japan"
''Vulcan'', Vol.8: No.1, December 2020.

Filmography

Honours

* British Association for Japanese Studies, Cannon Prize.Turnbull, Stephen. (2005)
''Samurai Commanders,'' p. 2.
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* Japan Festival Literary Award (1998).

Notes

External links

Stephen Turnbull's website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Stephen
Academics of the University of Leeds
British medievalists
British Japanologists
Living people
1948 births
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Alumni of the University of Leeds