Samurai Rising

Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune

Written by Pamela S. Turner

Illustrated by Gareth Hinds

Reading review

Throughout the novel Samurai Rising, we are brought to light the tumultuous life of Minamoto Yoshitsune. From being captured as a child and being forced into monkhood, he decided to break the rules and become a samurai, something that was both feared and hated. It was a life that was fueled by revenge. In a descriptive way, the novel is written in a story-like organization, which gives the reader an opportunity to feel like they are reading something fiction-like. 

The book entails the trauma, loss, and the epic nature of his time as a samurai and a man in hiding. A main highlight in the novel is how he was the key to ending the rule of the Taira Clan, the then rulers of Japan. In the life of Yoshitsune, the story reflects a past that readers can feel like they are back in the Heian Period watching the events happen, through the many battles and how each Samurai had something they were fighting for. Reading through the historical battles, the reader is brought to light how the life of the Samurai was dark and filled with misery. 

As the military commander, Yoshitsune was able to win numerous battles to help his half-brother gain control of Japan. With being a Samurai, there was no guarantee of happiness, to which misery followed. We can see this in how his life ended, how there was no hope for freedom or mercy. The warrior had lived through many hardships, such as being separated from his family and his lover perishing, soon enough doing seppuku--ritualistic suicide.

During the time, this form of death was something that was used to keep someone from being captured, it happens a few times during the novel and it showed how the past eventually repeats itself. We see this at the beginning of the novel, through an ancestor, and then at the end when eventually our hero takes his own life to avoid capture. 

The novel highlights his victories, as well as the aftermath of the betrayal he went through. It is important for the past to be studied, it shows things that should not be repeated and how there are things that can be changed to keep it from that past. 

Through studying Yoshitsune’s life, "Samurai Rising" shows how strength is what ultimately brings big change, that determination brings forth ideals, and how even when facing hard battles--you should never give up. The warrior has been a popular figure in Japanese media, his story was referred to as a legend rather than a historical fact. In a way, this shows how his life had such meaning to the people of Japan and how his story continues to touch people. 

By studying the historical elements of his story, the students will be able to discover how there is importance to the past, and how there is a need to look at the people with respect and interest.

Pamela S. Turner Biography

Pamela Turner is a woman of many hats. As an avid reader and artist in her childhood, Turner has shaped her passions as a young girl to include her skills and knowledge today, becoming a very accomplished children's author. However, her journey to becoming a children’s author is one that is long and impressive.

After working as a legislative assistant for foreign affairs for a California congressman, earning a B.A. in social science from the University of California–Irvine, a Master's in Public Health from UC Berkeley, and becoming an international health consultant, Pamela traveled to Africa staying there a year as an exchange student studying abroad. It was there in East and Central Africa where she truly admired the beautiful wildlife. 

While in Nairobi, Kenya, Turner met her husband, Rob, another exchange student from the University of California–Berkeley. They both loved traveling, so not long after they were married they then began traveling the world together. They later had three children, Travis, Kelsey, and Connor, all born in three separate countries. 

After settling down in America, Turner recalled her love of children's literature and decided to pick up her pen and pencil from childhood once more. While in the beginning she was scared to pursue her passion, after her first book, “Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog,” Pamela Turner has proven herself to be an amazing historical nonfiction and science children’s writer. 

While not a specialist in the sciences, she might as well be with all of the research she has done for her earth science books. Before writing, Turner spends a while looking up articles, and research papers, and interviewing or traveling with top researchers to get good accurate information. When choosing the subjects of her books, Turner states that she does not write about things she already knows and would rather “write about what I want to know.” This mentality has led her to visit Rwanda and Uganda, following the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project vets as they saved endangered mountain gorillas for her book “Gorilla Doctors” (half of the royalties going to the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project). And while not a professional photographer, the majority of the photographs in her book she shoots herself.

“Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsun,” was a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award finalist, her books “Crow Smarts” and “The Frog Scientist” were both winners of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, and her book, “A Life in the Wild: George Schaller’s Struggle to Save the Last Great Beasts,” is a Golden Kite recipient. After earning multiple awards for her books Pamela Turner has proven herself to be an incredibly skilled author and a very impressive woman. 

Biography Sources:

Turner, Pamela S. “Biography.” Pamela S. Turner, 19 Jan. 2022, https://www.pamelasturner.com/about/.

“Pamela S. Turner.” Charlesbridge, Charlesbridge, https://www.charlesbridge.com/pages/pamela-s-turner.

Newman, Patricia. “Pamela S. Turner, Science Writer.” Patricia Newman, 27 July 2015, https://www.patriciamnewman.com/kidlit-creators/pamela-s-turner-science-writer/.

“Pamela S. Turner: Authors.” Macmillan, Macmillan, https://us.macmillan.com/author/dbtmp10168.

Helpful Sources:

Source 1: This source is the first chapter of "Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune" read by a member of the Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library in their program "Teen Story Share." This program is meant to encourage kids to read. I also thought that providing a free alternative to view the book would be important for those who cannot afford the book and would still like to read it, or people who enjoy listening to books. You can follow the rest of their stories on Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram (@AlexHamiltonLibrary @ahmfl_teens)

Friday, Karl F., and Karl F. Friday. “The Dawn of the Samurai.” Japan Emerging: Premodern History to 1850, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, New York, 2019, pp. 178–188. 

Source 2: This source can be used to introduce how Samurai came to be, what they did, and how they were used by the government as a pseudo-police force to handle their martial work. Also, it introduces other forms of warriors that led up to the Samurai and gives a bit of a history behind why they came to power. 

Pinguet, Maurice. Voluntary Death in Japan. Translated by Rosemary Morris. Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1993.

Source 3: This source can be used to introduce the ritual of voluntary suicide. While it is going to be a difficult topic to teach to people this source can be used to show how honor and pride were tied into this voluntary suicide. Whether it be a defeated warrior that doesn’t want to die at the hand of an enemy or a kamikaze pilot. This source will introduce, while morbid, an integral detail to students about Samurai Rising. 

Robinson, H. Russell. Oriental Armour. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2002. Originally published 1967 by Walker and Company, New York.

Source 4: This source can be used to show students how important the use of armor was back in the time of the samurai. This source provides information too, on how the different armors of this time influenced each other. This source can also show how ceremonial this armor was to these samurai. 

Sato, Hiroaki. Legends of the Samurai. 1st paperback ed. New York: Overlook Duckworth, 2012.

Source 5: This source can be used to untangle some of the misconceptions of Samurai of real life and the Samurai that are on the big screen. Hiroaki also covers how the Samurai rose to political power during this time and how they wielded that power. This source shows the evolution of the Samurai and can be used to teach students what it was really like to be a Samurai. 

Hurst, G. Cameron III. Armed Martial Arts of Japan: Swordsmanship and Archery. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1998.

Source 6: This source can be used to show how the art of swordsmanship and archery can be a beautiful art rather than a brutally violent act. This source can show students how the art of war was then transformed from something violent into western athletics interestingly enough. Students can see how the world around them is influenced by the world before them. 

Beauchamp, Fay. "The Tale of the Heike." Education About ASIA 24.3, 2019. Accessed 8 December 2022.

Source 7: This describes the story aspect of The Tale of the Heike, this can be described as the fictional telling of Minamoto Yoshitsune’s life and how the stroy might be fabricated. It shows the historical elements of his life, such as background and how there are stories where people say that he survived. Students can see the difference in how someone might view this story and see for themself if it just a myth or if it can be seen as a historical text.

https://www.pamelasturner.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/dg_samurai_rising.pdf

Source 8: Link to Pamela Turner's lesson activity for Samurai Rising. I thought this would be important to add to the list of sources because it is an activity made by the author for the book that she wrote. This lesson/activity is a highly important source for whoever wants to focus on "Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune" through the lense of the actual author. 

Common Core

Britney’s Section: Detailed Lesson and Activity on Samurai Rising 

Goal of the lesson: 

Improve analytical abilities, communicative/argumentative strategies, public speaking capacity, and theme recognition within the class text, Samurai Rising. It would lead the students to build upon their interpretation of the novel, as well as help them internalize the events that occurred. Their abilities to remember the reading will help their team more effectively strategize and win. 

Common core standards met by the lesson: https://learning.ccsso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ADA-Compliant-ELA-Standards.pdf 

https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/finalelaccssstandards.pdf

For reference, I followed common core standards set for speaking and listening in high school level English teaching. For collaboration methods, the students will have to complete four tasks: 

Read the novel before the group game / activity. 

Communicate kindly and effectively with their peers. There will be arguments held within each group, though they must be civil. 

Propel conversations with reasoning and evidence. 

Respond thoughtfully to each other’s opinions. 

I’d make use of particularly physical media, though students would be encouraged to discuss their opinions in a group chat made for their group. After class, they could hopefully continue building their friendships. 

Description of the activity: 

This would be a group activity with assigned teams. Groups would make decisions based on assigned cards, provided by the instructor. 

There would be three teams: two are meant to be samurai leaders and one is the general public. 

Assigned cards would be listed as: “consumed by rage” and “led by the public’s need.” 

The goal would be for the samurai teams to convince the “general public” team that they had their best interest in mind, rather than being led by rage. The “led by the public’s need” team would invest more elements of trickery. 

The general public would present the samurai teams with a selected scenario. “For example: A leader that both samurai teams dislike, but has done nothing wrong, is at their mercy, while in the protected company of civilians.” What do they do? While they can make decisions to seem less suspicious or more charitable, they can’t hide their true intent. 

The “consumed by rage team” might argue that the leader would only prove to be dangerous later on, which means it’s in their best interest to kill them. 

There are three rounds. If the general public finds out who is consumed by rage, then they win. If the consumed rage team doesn’t get caught, meaning both teams effectively appeared neutral, then they win. If the “led by the public’s need team” gets wrongly selected, then they will as they “die in honor.” 

All scenarios and decisions must be based on themes and scenes led in the novel.