The war tales (gunki-mono) of Japan recount the stories of warriors and their battles from the tenth century, when a warrior class first emerged in the provinces of Japan, until the seventeenth century. A blend of history and fiction, the war tales are one of the most important sources of knowledge about Japan's premodern warriors.

Introduction: Japan Before the War Tales -- 1. The Ancient War Tales -- 2. The Early Medieval War Tales: Hogen and Heiji -- 3. The Tale of the Heike -- 4. Yoshitsune -- 5. Taiheiki: Chronicle of Great Peace.