For viewers looking to find out more beyond the surface of the Netflix series Shogun, there’s a bunch of books from your friendly neighbourhood historian that can help you out. For a sense of how the Shogun fits into the world of the samurai, try A Brief History of the Samurai, selected by the Japan Times as part of its Essential Reading for Japanophiles.

For a sense of how the samurai fit into the overall history of their homeland, there’s A Brief History of Japan. “…a compact, exciting, eye-opening vision of Japan’s entire history. The people and events that shaped Japan over millennia are all covered here. What makes this such a stand-out book on Japan is its humor. Clements injects his book with humorous observations and anecdotes that add so much humanity to an otherwise dry and exhaustingly lengthy topic. This is a history book painted with color and vibrancy.” ―Tokyo Weekender.

For the story of the rise and fall of Christianity in Japan, and its explosive end in a revolt led by a teenage messiah, there’s Christ’s Samurai: The True Story of the Shimabara Rebellion, “…a concise and lucid account of a unique period in Japan’s history ― Japan Times.

And for an in-depth analysis of the twilight of the samurai, and how their 800-year reign impacted upon the world in the twentieth century, there’s Japan at War in the Pacific: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire in Asia, 1868-1945, “…a lucid history of the rise and fall of militarism in Japan” ― New York Journal of Books.