With the disturbing rise in mass shootings, I remembered this book that I read in college for some class or another. It was an interesting bit of hidden history. But the portion of the book that explores the gunless age in Japan was rather short.

Instead he traces how Japan tells how Japanese sword makers made up for lost time when guns were introduced by Europeans. Their skill soon surpassed their European counterparts. So it wasn't a rejection of a technology they couldn't handle. Rather it was a rejection of the distance that guns introduced to battle. Honor and individual prowess are two traits highly valued in Japanese culture. The gun had neither.

Good read but I wish it was longer.