Friday Memes: Samurai Rising: the epic life of Minamoto Yoshitsune by Pamela S. Turner

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.

Samurai Rising: the epic life of Minamoto Yoshitsune by Pamela S. Turner. Illustrated by Gareth Hinds. 236 p. Charlesbridge, January, 2016. 9781580895842.

Publisher synopsis: Minamoto Yoshitsune should not have been a samurai. But his story is legend in this real-life saga.

This epic warrior tale reads like a novel, but this is the true story of the greatest samurai in Japanese history.

When Yoshitsune was just a baby, his father went to war with a rival samurai family—and lost. His father was killed, his mother captured, and his surviving half-brother banished. Yoshitsune was sent away to live in a monastery. Skinny, small, and unskilled in the warrior arts, he nevertheless escaped and learned the ways of the samurai. When the time came for the Minamoto clan to rise up against their enemies, Yoshitsune answered the call. His daring feats and impossible bravery earned him immortality.

First line(s): Kyoto, 1160

Minamoto Yoshitsune's inheritance arrived early. The boy could not yet walk when his father left him a lost war, a shattered family, and a bitter enemy.

Page 56: is an illustration:

Page 55: Thousands of Minamoto warriors flowed out of the capital along the road heading southwest toward the Taira homeland. Most commoners probably stayed out of sight, since samurai had a habit of kidnapping people and forcing them to work in the army as servants. Yet despite warning from their parents, some children probably watched the parade. 

I am very excited to read this. A biography of a samurai was not high on my list of interests, but I enjoy Pamela Turner's writing and Gareth Hinds' art.