The Swordless Samurai

Japan, during most of its history, has been ruled by its all- powerful Emperors. But in the sixteenth century - called by the Japanese the Age of Warring Clans - regional potentates called Shoguns were endlessly fighting one another with their small armies of samurai warriors. Hideyoshi, who called himself the Swordless Samurai, is the Japanese Horatio Alger. He worked his way up the ladder of strong class boundaries despite having none of the advantages. He was of peasant origin, but by bonding to powerful Lord Nobunaga, and being useful to him day and night, Hideyoshi secured a powerful patron. Much later, Hideyoshi broke all class barriers and ultimately became the most powerful man in Japan. This book tells how he did it. Hideyoshi was immortalised by a biographer - Kitami Masao - so much so that every schoolboy in Japan is taught the moral that good judgment, keen intelligence, and sharp wits will win out over your adversaries almost every time. Hideyoshi's leadership and success precepts, more than fifty of them, are embedded in the narrative as Hideyoshi wins many military victories and analyzes his rise to supreme leadership.
His unerring sense of what it took - drive, shrewdness, anticipation, and determination- is readily understandable to a Western businessman or businesswoman today.