Ninja The True Story of Japan's Secret Warrior Cult

Ninja The True Story of Japan's Secret Warrior Cult

 

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 fire 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.

 

Stephen Turnbull

Hardcover with d/w 159pp Firebird Books 1991 1st Ed

 

Fine/Fine

Book Code:  SH2102

Our Price:£19.95
Quantity:

Add to Basket