Anthony J. Bryant (February 14, 1961 – December 25, 2013) was an American author and editor. He worked in Japan for a period of time, and became an authority on medieval Japanese armor andsamurai culture.

Bryant was born inFranklin, Indiana, and he was adopted at age 5 by Robert M. and Margaret Bryant.^[1] Following the death of his father when Bryant was 6, he and his mother moved toMiami Shores, Florida, where he spent his youth and attended Pinecrest Preparatory School.^[1] After graduating fromFlorida State University in 1983 with abachelor's degree inJapanese studies, he completed his graduate studies in Japanese studies (history,language, andarmor) atTakushoku University inTokyo, graduating in 1986. Bryant lived in Japan from 1986 to 1992.^[1] He also earned anM.A. in Japanese fromIndiana University Bloomington in 2003.^[2]

While living in Japan, Bryant worked as a features editor for theMainichi Daily News, and as editor for theTokyo Journal, an English language monthly magazine.^[1] He was considered ahistorian of Japan specializing inKamakura,Muromachi, andMomoyama period warrior culture.^[1]

After returning from Japan in 1995, he became the editor ofDragon, the flagship publication ofTSR, the creators of the fantasy role-playing gameDungeons & Dragons, for eight issues.^[1]

For several years, Bryant made presentations and appeared on panels at several conventions, including the52nd World Science Fiction Convention inWinnipeg in 1994,^[3] and the54th World Science Fiction Convention inAnaheim in 1996.^[4]

As an authority onJapanese armor, Bryant became widely involved in theSociety for Creative Anachronism.^[5] He provided a foreword forThe Watanabe Art Museum Samurai Armour Collection Volume 1: Kabuto & Mengu.^{[6][self-published source]}

Bryant wrote four books forOsprey Publishing onsamurai history, and co-authored, with Mark T. Arsenault, the core rulebook for the role-playing gameSengoku: Chanbara Roleplaying in Feudal Japan.^[1]

In his bookThe Shogun's Soldiers, Michael von Essen highly recommended Bryant'sSamurai 1550–1600 as an "easily accessible book on samurai andashigaru at the time of [Japanese] civil wars."^[7]

InAnime Sacramento, Laurine White responded to an article aboutJapanimation by Bryant that had been published inEYE-AI magazine, saying, "Some of what [Bryant] has to say is suspect, like 'Few who seeDr. Slump fail to love it.' If that were true, subtitledDr. Slump should be in great demand. Sure it is!"^[8]

Bryant died on December 25, 2013, atSt. Francis Health inIndianapolis.^[1]

• The Samurai, (Elite), Osprey Publishing, London (1989)ISBN 0-850-45897-8OCLC 20221896
• Early Samurai AD 200–1500, Osprey Publishing, London (1991)ISBN 1-855-32131-9OCLC 24696248
• Samurai 1550–1600, Osprey Publishing, London (1994)ISBN 1-855-32345-1OCLC 31011021
• Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle for Power, Osprey Publishing, London (1995)ISBN 1-855-32395-8OCLC 33355511
• Sengoku: Chanbara Roleplaying in Feudal Japan, Gold Rush Games; Revised edition (May 1, 2002)^[9]
• Iwaya no sōshi ("The Tale of the Cave House"): A Translation and Commentary, Indiana University (2003)
• Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle for Power, Praeger Publishers (September 2005)ISBN 0-275-98869-4

• Nihon Katchu SeisakubenArchived October 9, 2019, at theWayback Machine, a Japanese armor manual
• The Estates of Heian Nobility (essay)

• Sengoku Daimyo – Anthony J. Bryant's website
• Author of Osprey books on Japanese military history Article on Rencentral.com
• Author biography from Osprey Military Publishing