ArtBreak: Exploring Common Myths about the Samurai

The remarkable success of the 2024 television series Shogun is only the latest example of popular fascination with Japan’s historical warriors, the samurai. Despite all this attention, the samurai remain puzzling for many people: products of both history and myth who have been repeatedly reinvented and used to explain everything from Japanese business practices to the purported uniqueness of Japanese baseball. Who were these warriors? Drawing examples from the complicated history of the samurai, this talk will answer that question and explore why they have become such an enduring and popular symbol of Japan.

Dr. Dennis J. Frost is the Wen Chao Chen Professor of East Asian Social Sciences at Kalamazoo College, where he teaches courses on the entire scope of premodern, modern, and contemporary East Asian history. He received his Ph.D. in 2007 from Columbia University, specializing in modern Japanese history. He has written widely on Japanese history, including his books Seeing Stars: Sports Celebrity, Identity, and Body Culture in Modern Japan, and More Than Medals: A History of the Paralympics and Disability Sports in Postwar Japan.