Books like Himeji Castle by Jacqueline A. Ball

"What did it mean to be a ninja or a samurai? Did they really have special abilities? What was life like for them in ancient Japan? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie track the facts behind some of history's most intriguing and secretive figures"--Amazon.com.

Traces the history of the samurai castles of medieval Japan with information on the role of samurai, shogun, and women in feudal Japanese society, on religious beliefs, and on arms and armor of the period.

In Legends of the Samurai, Sato confronts both the history and the legend of the samurai, untangling the two to present an authentic picture of these legendary warriors. Through his masterful translations of original samurai tales, laws, dicta, reports, and arguments accompanied by insightful commentary, Hiroaki Sato chronicles the changing ethos of the Japanese warrior from the samurai's historical origins to his rise to political power. For this purpose, Sato has chosen to translate, wherever possible, writings closest in time to the actual event. His translations are a testament to his mastery of the language for they flow with lively ease that one might not expect from accounts, many of which are ancient. Legends of the Samurai covers legends from mythological times to the early eighteenth century. Through this book Sato describes men accomplished in martial arts, warrior-commanders in battle, and samurai's own views of themselves. It ends with a famous modern retelling of a mass disembowelment in the mid-seventeenth century.

The Last Samurai chronicles Saigo Takamori, a samurai who rose from humble beginnings to lead the Meiji restoration, then rebelled against a modernizing Japan, becoming a national icon of honor and loyalty.

Commodore Perry arrives in Japan, changing the course of history and introducing the West to the country in the late 19th century.