Stephen Richard Turnbull (born 6 February 1948) is a British
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
concentrating on Japanese
military history
Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships.
Professional historians norma ...
, especially the
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
period, and has published numerous books.
He provides information and advice to media organizations about Japan.
Biography
Turnbull attended Cambridge University where he gained his first degree. He currently holds 2 MAs in Theology and Military History and a PhD from the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
where he is a lecturer in Far Eastern Religions.
He was on the editorial board of the short-lived ''Medieval History Magazine'' (2003–2005), which was published in association with the
Royal Armouries
The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Originally an important part of England's military organization, it became the United Kingdom's oldest museum, originally housed in the Tower of London from ...
. He was a consultant for the widely successful PC game ''
Shogun: Total War'' and also its well-received sequel ''
Total War: Shogun 2'', both products of
Creative Assembly
The Creative Assembly Limited (trade name: Creative Assembly) is a British video game developer based in Horsham, founded in 1987 by Tim Ansell. In its early years, the company worked on porting games to MS-DOS from Amiga and ZX Spectrum platfor ...
, as well as historical advisor on the Hollywood film ''
47 Ronin
47, 47 or forty-seven may refer to:
*47 (number)
*47 BC
* AD 47
*1947
* 2047
*'47 (brand), an American clothing brand
* ''47'' (magazine), an American publication
* 47 (song), a song by Sidhu Moose Wala
*47, a song by New Found Glory from the alb ...
'' starring
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...
.
He was also a narrator for the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
documentary series ''
Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan'' in 2021.
He became semi-retired, but holds the post of Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at
Akita International University
, or AIU, is a public university located in Akita City, Akita Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2004 and modeled on American liberal arts colleges, AIU is one of the few universities in Japan offering all of its courses in English. It has curre ...
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
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
.
* 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.
* 2003
''Genghis Khan & the Mongol Conquests 1190–1400.''Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* 2002
''Fighting Ships of the Far East (1): China and Southeast Asia, 202 BC-AD 1419.''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
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 ...
.
* 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.
Filmography
These are notable works in film, TV and video games.
Honors
*
British Association for Japanese Studies The British Association for Japanese Studies, ''BAJS'', is an association at Essex University in the United Kingdom, whose aim is to promote studies in Japan. Founded in 1974, the organisation is a member of the Japan Library Group and hands out th ...
, Cannon Prize.
[Turnbull, Stephen. (2005)]
''Samurai Commanders,'' p. 2.
/ref>
* 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