- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Firebird Books Ltd; New edition edition (27 July 1992)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1853141178
- ISBN-13: 978-1853141171
- Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 18.5 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,378,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
A history of the Ninja. This book looks at the origins of the Ninja, Iga and Koga, Ninja on the battlefield, the murder of Kenshin, Ninja legends, Ninja literature, Ninjitsu poisons, magic and witchcraft, the role of the Ninja in modern wars and espionage, and Ninjitsu tourist sites today.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Stephen Turnbull has once again compiled an excellent resource for another facet of Japanese Martial arts history - this time the Ninja.
This is not a Ninja training guide, it has very few pictures of modern day Ninjas, shuirken or other Ninja accessories.
This book has been extensively researched and gives the clearest view of the 'real' secretive organisation/clan/class/. Because of the great secrecy involved with the Ninja there are plenty of misconceptions about their physical and mental abilities. This book does not deal with the fictional aspects (apart from saying that they are indeed fictional). Instead Mr Turnbull talks about the history and circumstances of the Ninja including some wonderfull ancient Japanese art depicting them in action.
There really is no better history of the Ninja around, this is a truly fantastic book.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Stephen Turnbull has written a wonderful book on the history of the ninja in Japan. Full of well researched information on the period in which the ninja lived and operated, it covers the political, mystical and physical realms. This book is a must for those who want to know more about the factual ninja rather than the fictional. Interesting information for any practitioner.
Hatsumi Soke's recommendation was well earned.
Hatsumi Soke's recommendation was well earned.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
An illustrated history of the fascinating Ninja
12 Oct 2004
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
There are a few things everyone knows about Ninjas. They wear black costumes. They are sneaky, almost able to be invisible. They uses an arsenal of strange and interesting weapons. But is any of that the truth?
While not everything I would want it to be, Steven Turnbull has done an admirable job bringing together the known historical facts and the wild fictional fantasies of the Japanese warrior known as the Ninja. "Ninja: The True Story of Japan's Secret Warrior Cult" is very small, 150 pages, many of which are stuffed with illustrations, leaving not much room for a thorough exploration of the Ninja mysteries. The format is almost "coffee table" style, being a larger sized format. Although it doesn't leave as much room for text as one would wish, the book has a stunning collection of old Ninja-related Japanese artwork, from full-color reproductions of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints to small black and white pornographic scenes of ninjas produced in cheap books of the time.
The meat of the work is found in the first eight chapters, detailing the history of what we have come to know as Ninja, although at the time known primarily as Shinobi. Pure history is obviously Turnbull's specialty, as he details the rise of the use of stealth skills in combat in Japan, primarily in terms of castle-breaking, where Shinobi would scale the walls of an enemy castle at night and set first to it from the inside, forcing the panicked population to retreat from the burning structure and into the swords of the Samurai waiting outside. He shows the establishment of Ninja clans at Iga and Ueno, who would rent out their military services, a shockingly dishonorable practice at the time, and engage in activities thought unsuitable for Samurai. This is followed by the eventual destruction of these Ninja clans by the Tokugawa armies, and the dispersion of their skills into general Japanese armies.
The book's main weakness lies in the ability to interpret these historical facts in light of the modern view of the Ninja. Turnbull shows the development of the stereotypical black Ninja costume in the illustrations, but doesn't comment on whether the Iga or Ueno Ninja clans ever actually employed this outfit. There is some attempt at rationalizing the "Hollywood" version of the Ninja with the historical, but all in all the book merely skims over this fascinating area, remaining basically a Ninja-history book with a few token attempts at acknowledging the present. I would really like to see the evolution of the Ninja from the dishonorable castle-breaker to the black-clad superhero of today. How did it happen? Is there any truth at all to the modern image of the Ninja? These kinds of questions go largely unanswered.
As a straight history book with a top-class collection of old Ninja artwork, "Ninja: The True Story of Japan's Secret Warrior Cult" succeeds. However, when looking for some historical analysis, or unique insight on the part of the author towards the Ninja, then the book is not satisfying. While not much has been accurately written on the Ninja, this is definitely not a definitive text. But it is better than much of what is out there.
While not everything I would want it to be, Steven Turnbull has done an admirable job bringing together the known historical facts and the wild fictional fantasies of the Japanese warrior known as the Ninja. "Ninja: The True Story of Japan's Secret Warrior Cult" is very small, 150 pages, many of which are stuffed with illustrations, leaving not much room for a thorough exploration of the Ninja mysteries. The format is almost "coffee table" style, being a larger sized format. Although it doesn't leave as much room for text as one would wish, the book has a stunning collection of old Ninja-related Japanese artwork, from full-color reproductions of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints to small black and white pornographic scenes of ninjas produced in cheap books of the time.
The meat of the work is found in the first eight chapters, detailing the history of what we have come to know as Ninja, although at the time known primarily as Shinobi. Pure history is obviously Turnbull's specialty, as he details the rise of the use of stealth skills in combat in Japan, primarily in terms of castle-breaking, where Shinobi would scale the walls of an enemy castle at night and set first to it from the inside, forcing the panicked population to retreat from the burning structure and into the swords of the Samurai waiting outside. He shows the establishment of Ninja clans at Iga and Ueno, who would rent out their military services, a shockingly dishonorable practice at the time, and engage in activities thought unsuitable for Samurai. This is followed by the eventual destruction of these Ninja clans by the Tokugawa armies, and the dispersion of their skills into general Japanese armies.
The book's main weakness lies in the ability to interpret these historical facts in light of the modern view of the Ninja. Turnbull shows the development of the stereotypical black Ninja costume in the illustrations, but doesn't comment on whether the Iga or Ueno Ninja clans ever actually employed this outfit. There is some attempt at rationalizing the "Hollywood" version of the Ninja with the historical, but all in all the book merely skims over this fascinating area, remaining basically a Ninja-history book with a few token attempts at acknowledging the present. I would really like to see the evolution of the Ninja from the dishonorable castle-breaker to the black-clad superhero of today. How did it happen? Is there any truth at all to the modern image of the Ninja? These kinds of questions go largely unanswered.
As a straight history book with a top-class collection of old Ninja artwork, "Ninja: The True Story of Japan's Secret Warrior Cult" succeeds. However, when looking for some historical analysis, or unique insight on the part of the author towards the Ninja, then the book is not satisfying. While not much has been accurately written on the Ninja, this is definitely not a definitive text. But it is better than much of what is out there.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Very Informative: Pure History and Ground for Analysis
20 Sep 2001
Format:Paperback
For the time being, this is the only book on the historical examination of ninja and their place in Japanese history, their origin, development and roles. Readers will find out in which province ninjutsu originated (starting with as far back in history as ninja's Chinese ancestors), analysis of the term "ninja" and its synonims, how ninjutsu developed including analysis of it as art and as social phenomena (clans and loyalties), famous revolts of ninja in the province of Iga and cruel campaign of Nobunaga against ninja.
A reader should keep in mind one very important thing - this subject is very difficult study because of lack of historical reference. However, Dr. Turnbull does an amazing job of analysis of all variety of Japanese language sources including legends and historical transcripts. I have had the feeling that having done this, the author gives this as it is (more or less so) to the reader, so the reader has to complete the analysis. While this type of presentation of the material may present problem to some readers, I was flattered by the thought that this book was mostly oriented towards thinking/analysing reader.
A flipside of such approach is that the author consdiers many forms of open military (like, for example, trained sharpshooters of Shimazu clan left behind retreating troops to take out enemy generals) and "dark side" (spies and assasins) actions and puts them together labelling all as "ninja". However, this approach also pays letting a sophisticated reader to "sort out" for himself.
I highly recommend this book for anybody interested in Japanese military history and history of special units and techniques.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Best, objective, book on the subject
2 Mar 1999
Format:Paperback
Turnbull has done a great service by writing this book. Even though it is not 100 percent in terms of completion,it is probably the best, objective, look at a very complicated subject. The biggest complaint I have is that he has barely scratched the surface when this book has to end due to constraints of space.I hope that a soft cover version will be re-printed.Turnbull, while not a practicioner of ninjutsu, writes in more depth and with more accuracy than many who claim to be.The only other books I would recomend as being objective looks at the history of the ninja are all in Japanese!
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