This is just a suggestion that I would just like run by you. I have been thinking about a Symposion speaker for the Orient and after reading The First Samurai by Karl Friday I thought he would be a great candidate

His publisher is John Wiley and Sons Inc New Jersey. The book is the true story of Taira Masakado Japans first Samurai hero and traces the bloody feuds and local rivaries that lead to years of fighting involving thousands of samuraii

Karl Friday is a professor of history at the University of Georgia .He is a renowned expert on the samurai and early Japanese history , he is the author of 4 books and has appeared on numerous A&E, History and Discovery Channel Programs.