The University of Georgia, Department of History
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Karl Friday

Premodern Japan; social history; Samurai culture

Professor Emeritus
Ph.D. Stanford 1989

kfriday@uga.edu

[Download CV]

Karl Friday is professor emeritus.

Research and Teaching Interests

[Ancient & Medieval]
[Asia]
[Cultural & Intellectual]
[Film and History]
[Political & Legal]
[War and Diplomacy]

Selected Publications

"'What a Difference a Bow Makes': Chivalry and the Early Japanese Warrior Ethic in Comparative Perspective," in Currents of Medieval Japan, ed. G. M. Berger, A. E. Goble, L. F. Harrington, and G. C. Hurst III (Figueroa Press, 2009)

"They Were Soldiers Once: The Early Samurai and The Imperial Court," in War and State Building in Medieval Japan, ed. John Ferejohn and Frances Rosenbluth (Stanford University Press, 2009)

The First Samurai: The Life and Legend of the Warrior Rebel, Taira Masakado (John Wiley, 2008) More Info

Samurai, Warfare, and the State in Early Medieval Japan (Routledge, 2004) More Info

Legacies of the Sword: The Kashima-Shinryu and Samurai Martial Culture (University of Hawaii Press, 1997) with Seki Humitake More Info

Hired Swords: The Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan (Stanford University Press, 1992) More Info

Courses Taught

HIST2701H: World Civilizations I (Honors) [Syllabus]

HIST3601: Pre-Modern Japan [Syllabus]

HIST3602: Modern Japan [Syllabus]

HIST4630: The Golden Age of the Heian Court [Syllabus]

HIST4990: Senior Seminar [Syllabus]

HIST8705: Colloquium in World History [Syllabus]