Anthony J. Bryant (February 14, 1961 – December 25, 2013) was an American author and editor.

Biography

Bryant was born in

Franklin, Indiana Franklin is a city in Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 23,712 at the 2010 census. Located about south of Indianapolis, the city is the county seat of Johnson County. The site of Franklin College, the city attracts n ...

, and was adopted at age 5 by Robert M. and Margaret Bryant. After Robert M. Bryant's death in 1967, Tony and his mother moved to

Miami Shores, Florida Miami Shores is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. History By the early 1900s, the area encompassing today's Miami Shores Village was occupied by a starch (coontie) mill, a tomato packing plant, a ...

, where he spent his youth and attended Pinecrest Preparatory School. After graduating from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

in 1983 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Japanese studies Japanese studies (Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese ...

, he completed his graduate studies in Japanese studies (

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

, and

armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

) at

Takushoku University Takushoku University (拓殖大学; ''Takushoku Daigaku'', abbreviated as 拓大 ''Takudai'') is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913).

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, graduating in 1986. Bryant lived in Japan from 1986 to 1992. He also earned an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Japanese from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

in 2003. An authority on the making of

Japanese armor Scholars agree that Japanese armour first appeared in the 4th century, with the discovery of the cuirass and basic helmets in graves. During the ''Heian period'' (794-1185), the unique Japanese samurai armour '' ō-yoroi'' and ''dō-maru'' appe ...

, he joined the ''Nihon Katchū Bugu Kenkyū Hozon Kai'' ("Japan Association for Arms and Armor Preservation"), and was one of four non-

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

members. While living in Japan, he also worked as a features editor for the ''

Mainichi Daily News The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

'', and as editor for the ''

Tokyo Journal ''Tokyo Journal'' is an English-language quarterly magazine about Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerl ...

'', an English language monthly magazine. Bryant wrote four books for

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British, Oxford-based, publishing company specializing in military history. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company produces ov ...

on samurai history, and co-authored, with Mark T. Arsenault, the core rulebook for the role-playing game '' Sengoku: Chanbara Roleplaying in Feudal Japan''. He was a historian of Japan specializing in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

Muromachi The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

, and

Momoyama period Momoyama may refer to: History *Azuchi–Momoyama period, the final phase of the Sengoku period in Japanese history 1568–1600 People * Ion Momoyama, Japanese singer and voice actor * Momoyama Kenichi (1909–1991), Korean prince and cavalry offi ...

warrior culture. His areas of interest also included

Heian-period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

court structure and society and

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...

. After returning from Japan, in 1995 he became the editor of ''

Dragon Magazine Dragon Magazine may refer to: * ''Dragon'' (magazine), an American magazine for ''Dungeons & Dragons'' players * ''Dragon Magazine'' (Fujimi Shobo), a Japanese light novel magazine {{disambig ...

'', the flagship publication of

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

, the creators of the role-playing game ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

''. He was the editor for eight issues, before

Dave Gross Dave Gross () is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He is also a magazine editor, and has held the position of Editor-in-Chief at ''Star Wars Insider'' and at ''Amazing Stories''. Career Dave Gross, Michael Mikael ...

took over. Bryant died on December 25, 2013, at St. Francis Health in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Books

* ''The Samurai'', (Elite), Osprey Publishing, London (1989) * ''Early Samurai AD 200–1500'', Osprey Publishing, London (1991) * ''Samurai 1550–1600'', Osprey Publishing, London (1994) * ''Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle for Power'', Osprey Publishing, London (1995) * ''Sengoku: Chanbara Roleplaying in Feudal Japan'', Gold Rush Games; Revised edition (May 1, 2002) * ''Iwaya no sōshi ("The Tale of the Cave House"): A Translation and Commentary'', Indiana University (2003) * ''Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle for Power'', Praeger Publishers (September 2005)

Other works

*
Nihon Katchu Seisakuben
', a Japanese armor manual * ''The Estates of Heian Nobility'' (essay)

References

External links

Sengoku Daimyo
– Anthony J. Bryant's website
Author of Osprey books on Japanese military history
Article on Rencentral.com
Author biography
from Osprey Military Publishing {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Anthony J. 1961 births 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers 2013 deaths 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American adoptees American male non-fiction writers American military historians Dungeons & Dragons game designers Florida State University alumni Historians of Japan Indiana University Bloomington alumni People from Franklin, Indiana Writers from Indiana