A bit of personal info: I have recently become more interested in historical Japan, specifically focusing on things like Samurai and Japanese feudalism. For example, I am about to re-watch some of my old favorite movies, Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, and I'm thinking of picking up one of those massive novels such as Musashi or Shogun. However, the last time these topics were ever mentioned in an academic setting was when I was in high school, which was many years ago.
I was hoping for an introductory history of Japan, preferably explaining how the Japanese feudal system came to exist and explaining how things progressed to the Meiji imperial era. I'd particularly like a very factual introduction to what certain terms truly mean (shogun, samurai, bushido, etc.) in an historical context without having to question the information due to romanticization or fictionalization.
Ideally I'd like to be recommended a good comprehensive book on the subject, because I don't have a large budget for reading material. I did have a look at the book list in the sidebar, but I didn't know whether any of the books listed there would be what I was looking for.
The books that I read as an introduction to Japanese history were A History of Japan to 1334; A History of Japan, 1334-1615; and A History of Japan, 1615-1867 all by George Sansom. I highly recommend these as introductory texts because they worked really well for me. If those three together are outside your budget, George Sansom has a book that covers all three of those in a shorter span called Japan: A Short Cultural History. I haven't read it, but it has good amazon reviews, and it's by the same guy, so I assume it's good.
George Sansom only covers to the end of the Edo Period (before the Meiji Restoration). For the rest of Japanese history, I read as an introductory text Japan: A Modern History by James L. McClain, and I also highly recommend it for that. It is kinda expensive, though, so it may be outside your budget. The Making of Modern Japan by Marius B. Jansen is cheaper. I haven't read it, but it has good reviews. Jansen is a respected Japanese historian, and I have read another book by him, which I found very good, so I trust this one as a good introductory text. It looks like it covers the Edo Period in depth, so there might be some redundant information if you read all of Sansom's books.
This is a pretty big time frame and most of it is (predictably) not as portrayed in the Jidaigeki films. Early Modern Japan by Conrad Totman is very readable and is fairly comprehensive, though it doesn't really touch on the history of marginal groups. It does, however, cover pretty much the entirety of the Edo period and Tokugawa Shogunate, which seems to be most of what you're asking about.
Edit: Just rereading your question, you might be more interested in books on the Sengoku period than the Edo period. More lawlessness, Ronin, civil war.