Stephen Turnbull (historian) explained

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 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,^[1] in a program of study jointly overseen by both the Departments of East Asian Studies and Theology and Religious Studies. ^[2]

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 and also its sequel , both products of Creative Assembly, as well as historical advisor on the Hollywood film 47 Ronin starring Keanu Reeves.^[3] He also appeared as a subject matter expert for the Netflix documentary series 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.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2021		Self-Historian	TV documentary [4]
2013	47 Ronin	Historical advisor	Film
2013	Samurai Headhunters	Self—Japanese historian	TV documentary [5]
2012	Ninja Shadow Warriors	Self—Historian	TV documentary [6]
2011		Historical consultant	Video game [7] [8]
2008	Heroes and Villains (TV series)	Historical consultant	TV Documentary[9]
2000		Historical consultant	Video game [10]
2004	Samurai: The Last Warrior	Historical consultant (as Dr. Stephen Turnbull)	TV documentary

Honours

• British Association for Japanese Studies, Cannon Prize.^[11]
• Japan Festival Literary Award (1998).^[12]

External links

• Stephen Turnbull's website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Stephen Turnbull . Thames & Hudson . 13 July 2024.
2. Book: Breen . John . Williams . Mark . Japan and Christianity: Impacts and Responses . 1996 . ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC . New York, N.Y. . 978-0-312-12872-2 . x . 1st . 10.1007/978-1-349-24360-0 . 13 July 2024 . He is currently taking a part-time PhD on the subject of the Kakure Kirishitan at Leeds University, working under the joint auspices of the Departments of East Asian Studies and Theology and Religious Studies..
3. Web site: Dr Turnbull Profile . University of Leeds . 2011-12-06 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120101023049/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/site/custom_scripts/people_profile_details.php?profileID=1364 . 2012-01-01 .
4. Web site: Low . Samantha . 'Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan' Sets the Story Straight For The Japanese Warriors of the Past . Tokyo Weekender . 13 July 2024.
5. Web site: Samurai Headhunters . Watch Plex . 13 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220830082143/https://watch.plex.tv/movie/samurai-headhunters . 30 August 2022 . live.
6. Web site: Stephen Turnbull . Plex.tv . 13 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240713195318/https://watch.plex.tv/person/stephen-turnbull . 13 July 2024 . live.
7. Web site: Younger . Paul . Dr. Stephen Turnbull, Shogun 2 Total War Interview . PC Invasion . 13 July 2024.
8. Web site: Parrish . Peter . Advisor On Shogun 2: Total War Divulges New Game Details . inc gamers . 13 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100903123645/http://www.incgamers.com/News/24959/advisor-on-shogun-2-total-war-divulges-new-game-details . 3 September 2010 . dead.
9. Shogun . Heroes and Villains . . 29 March 2008.
10. Web site: Lessons on the Art of War . IGN . 13 July 2024.
11. Turnbull, Stephen. (2005). Samurai Commanders, p. 2.
12. Web site: Home – Stephen Turnbull . www.stephenturnbull.com . March 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201201112516/https://www.stephenturnbull.com/ . December 1, 2020 .