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Title: An outsider's look at Japan
Review: I'm afraid this book disappointed me. Far from being a comprehensive work on Japanese weapons, the weapons covered are extremely limited. Cunningham seems to have only covered weapons contained in 'the author's personal collection'. There's a few lines about this and that, but no detail at all about anything.I found this book very much an 'outsider's' look at Japan, giving small pieces of information on Japanese history and culture. As a long-time resident of Japan and martial arts practitioner, however, I found the book rather shallow and lacking insider's insight. I had trouble understanding why some of the sections, such as the recounting of the well-known story of the 47 Ronin had anything to do with 'secret weapons of jujutsu'. Some of the illustrations also puzzled me, not seeming relevant to the text.My conclusion; If you know nothing about Japan and its martial history, maybe it's an interesting read. If you know a little already, there's nothing new here.
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