Produced with the full cooperation of the Department of Ninja Studies
at Mie University in Japan, where the author is Visiting Professor. This
is the only academic institution in the world devoted to the study of
ninja.
The ninja is a well-known phenomenon in Japanese military culture, a
fighter who is widely regarded as the world's greatest exponent of
secret warfare. He infiltrates castles, gathers vital intelligence and
wields a deadly knife in the dark. His easily recognizable image is that
of a secret agent or assassin who dresses all in black, possesses almost
magical martial powers, and is capable of extraordinary feats of daring.
He sells his skills on a mercenary basis and when in action his unique
abilities include confusing his enemies by making mystical hand gestures
or by sending sharp iron stars spinning towards them.
That is the popular view, but it is much exaggerated, as this exciting
new book explains. Ninja: Unmasking The Myth is a revealing,
fascinating and authoritative study of Japan's famous secret warriors.
Unlike all previous books on the subject the author, who is an expert in
the subject, does not take the ninja for granted. Instead he examines
the entire phenomenon in a critical manner, ranging from accounts of
undercover operations during the age of Japan's civil wars to the modern
emergence of the superman ninja as a comic book character. The popular
ninja image is shown to be the result of several influences that were
combined to create the world's greatest secret warrior.
Many well-known features of the ninja tradition such as the black
clothes and the iron stars are shown to be complete inventions. One
important feature of the book is the use of original Japanese sources,
many of which have never been translated before. As well as unknown
accounts of castle attacks, assassinations and espionage they include
the last great ninja manual, which reveals the spiritual and religious
ideals that were believed to lie behind the ninja's arts. The book
concludes with a detailed investigation of the ninja in popular culture
up to the present-day including movies, cartoons and theme parks.
