Male members of Japan's famous samurai class, which began evolving at the end of the 12th century, were required to undergo physical, mental and spiritual training that gave them incredible skills in a number of martial arts. By the 1600s, samurai were also expected to become versed in aesthetics, calligraphy, philosophical matters and writing poetry. SABURO-The Saga of a Teenage Samurai are true-to-life stories of a young boy who opts to become a roving shugyosha (shuu-g'yoh-shah), or "samurai in training," rather than serve a feudal lord, leading him to extraordinary adventures that bring out the culture of his times. Saburo was born in the mid-1600s when the country was ruled by the illustrious Tokugawa line of shoguns who had closed the country off to foreigners except for a tiny detachment of traders in Nagasaki-and had turned their backs on Western guns in favor of the traditional sword. Each story is filled with cultural and historical facts that reveal both negative and positive elements in the lives of the samurai class, with Saburo surmounting those that are negative and eventually finding a master who explains the essence and the purpose of life. It is both an educational and an inspirational read for young people.