This book is a valuable addition to the regrettably sparse collection of works related to the Ryukyu Kingdom during the Tokugawa period. The main document in this study is a letter from a court official to his son describing the virtues that a good samurai should demonstrate. This text has been translated from Classical Japanese and rendered quite clearly into English.
Quast's analysis, which makes up the remaining two thirds of this work, are where the transition from mere scholarship to new research occurs. Using direct examples from the text, as well as references to contemporary documents, the author demonstrates how the Samurai fit into the complex group of courtiers surrounding the Okinawan king. Quast also deacribes the role of palace officials in the labyrinthine relations between Okinawa and its Satsuma overlords in regards to the trade relation of the Ryukyu kingdom and China.
The author writes from the viewpoint of a karate practitioner, and therefore also describes the role unarmed combat may have played in the lives of Okinawan officials. A sharp distinction is drawn between imported Satsuma fighting schools and what may be references to a karate like fighting system referred to as Karamuto.
Overall this is a fine addition to the library of anyone interested in the social and institutional history of the Ryukyu archipelago in the period before the opening of Japan in the 19th Century. Mr. Quast has produced a work that is not just readable, but in fact enjoyable, and suited to both specialists and non-specialists. I look forward to seeing what he accomplishes next.
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