Stephen Turnbull (historian)

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "Stephen Turnbull" historian – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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.^[1] He has worked as a historical consultant for the film 47 Ronin,^[2][3] as well multiple television documentaries,^[4] and the Shogun: Total War series of video games.^[5][6]

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,^[2] in a program of study jointly overseen by both the Departments of East Asian Studies and Theology and Religious Studies. ^[7]

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 Shogun: Total War^[5] and also its sequel Total War: Shogun 2,^[8] both products of Creative Assembly, as well as historical advisor on the Hollywood film 47 Ronin starring Keanu Reeves.^[9] He also appeared as a subject matter expert for the Netflix documentary series Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan in 2021. ^[3]

He is semi-retired, but still holds the post of Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University in Japan. ^[2]

• 1979 – Samurai armies, 1550–1615. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85045-302-7; OCLC 6489751
  • reprinted by Osprey, 2003: OCLC 225518299
• 1980 – The Mongols. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85045-372-0
• 1982 – The Book of the Samurai. Leicester, England: Magna Books. ISBN 978-0-948509-30-8; OCLC 15875673
• 1985 – The Book of the Medieval Knight. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 978-0-85368-715-3; OCLC 12501653.
• 1987 – Samurai Warriors.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Poole, Dorset: Blandford Press. ISBN 978-0-7137-1767-9; OCLC 17551861
• 1989 – Samurai Warlords: The Book of the Daimyō.^{[permanent dead link‍]} London: Blandford. ISBN 978-0-7137-2003-7; OCLC 22628902
• 1991 – Ninja: The True Story of Japan's Secret Warrior Cult. Poole, Dorset: Firebird Books. ISBN 978-1-85314-109-6; OCLC 24701255
• 1996 – The Samurai: A Military History. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-873410-38-7
• 1997 – Samurai Warfare.^{[permanent dead link‍]} London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 978-1-85409-432-2; OCLC 38030598
• 1998 – The Samurai Sourcebook.^{[permanent dead link‍]} London: Arms & Armour Press. ISBN 978-1-85409-371-4; OCLC 60220867
  • reprinted by Cassell, London, 2000. ISBN 978-1-85409-523-7; OCLC 59400034
• 2000 – Nagashino 1575: Slaughter at the Barricades.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-619-4
• 2001 – Ashigaru 1467–1649: Weapons, Armour, Tactics.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-149-7
• 2001 – The Knight Triumphant: The High Middle Ages, 1314–1485. London: Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-35971-4; OCLC 51108644
• 2002 – Samurai Heraldry.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-304-0
• 2002 – Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War, 1592–1598.^{[permanent dead link‍]} London: Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-35948-6
• 2002 – War in Japan: 1467–1615.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-480-1
• 2002 – Fighting Ships of the Far East (1): China and Southeast Asia, 202 BC-AD 1419.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-386-6
• 2003 – The Ottoman Empire 1326–1699 Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-84176-569-3
• 2003 – Genghis Khan & the Mongol Conquests 1190–1400. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-523-5
• 2003 – Fighting Ships of the Far East (2): Japan and Korea AD 612-1639.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-478-8
• 2003 – Japanese castles, 1540–1640.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-429-0
• 2003 – Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949–1603.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-573-0
• 2003 – Kawanakajima 1553–1564: Samurai Power Struggle.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-562-4
• 2003 – Ninja AD 1460–1650.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-525-9
• 2003 – Tannenberg 1410: Disaster for the Teutonic Knights. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-561-7; OCLC 51779463
• 2003 – Samurai: The World of the Warrior. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-740-6
• 2004 – The Walls of Constantinople: AD 324–1453.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford:Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-759-8
• 2004 – Samurai: The Story of Japan's Greatest Warriors. London: PRC Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85648-703-0
  • reprinted by Metro Books, 2013
• 2005 – Warriors of Medieval Japan.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-220-2
• 2005 – Samurai Commanders. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-743-3
• 2007 – The Great Wall of China 221 BC - AD 1644 Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-004-8
• 2008 – The Samurai Swordsman: Master of War. London: Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-84415-712-9; OCLC 181927617
• 2010 – Katana: The Samurai Sword. Oxford: Osprey Publishibg ISBN 978-1-84908-151-1
• 2011 – The Revenge of the 47 Ronin. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-427-7
• 2016 – The Genpei War 1180-85: The Great Samurai Civil War. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-47281-384-8
• 2017 – Ninja: Unmasking the Myth Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-47385-042-2

• "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.
• "Biting the Bullet: A Reassessment of the Development, Use and Impact of Early Firearms in Japan", Vulcan, Vol.8: No.1, December 2020.

• British Association for Japanese Studies, Cannon Prize.^[12]
• Japan Festival Literary Award (1998).^[1]

• Stephen Turnbull's website