Profs & Pints: Shogun and Samurai

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Shogun and Samurai,” a look at warriors and their leaders in feudal Japan, with Constantine Vaporis, historian and founder of the Asian Studies program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and author of The Samurai Encyclopedia. A Comprehensive Guide to Japan’s Elite Warrior Elite.

America is experiencing a surge of interest in the ways of feudal Japan thanks to the FX historical drama Shogun, which has earned a considerable following and widespread critical acclaim since its debut last month. A Time Magazine review heralded the ongoing series as a “masterpiece” and “an epic of war, love, faith, honor, culture clash, and political intrigue.” At the end of the day, though, it’s a work of historical fiction, offering a partial and distorted picture.

Join historian and Japan scholar Constantine Vaporis for a talk that will cut like a samurai sword through the hype surrounding the…