'A retainer of our domain, Renpeido Chikamatsu Hikonoshin Shigenori, each morning washed his face and hands, dressed himself in Hakama and prayed in front of the kamidana alter ... His prayer was thus: "Please afford me success in war." He kept to this routine all through his life.' Through patient and scholarly detective work, Antony Cummins and the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team have unearthed a Shinobi treasure. The 18th-century military historian Chikamatsu recorded the oral traditions of the Ninja and passed on those skills in lectures he gave at his Renpeido school of war in Owari domain during the early 1700s. Chikamatsu wrote specifically about the Shinobi of Iga and Koka, regions from which warriors were hired all over the land in the days of war. The lost scrolls are filled with unknown Shinobi teachings, skills that include infiltration, assassination, explosives, magic and commando tactics, including an in depth commentary on Sun Tzu's famous 13th chapter, 'The Use of Spies'.

The secret manuals of the oral tradition of the Iga and Koka Ninja, feared and respected across Japan for centuries--now in paperback Through patient and scholarly detective work, Antony Cummins and the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team have unearthed a Shinobi treasure. The 18th-century military historian Chikamatsu recorded the oral traditions of the Ninja and passed on those skills in lectures he gave at his Renpeido school of war in Owari domain during the early 1700s. Chikamatsu wrote specifically about the Shinobi of Iga and Koka, regions from which warriors were hired all over the land in the days of war. The lost scrolls are filled with unknown Shinobi teachings, skills that include infiltration, assassination, explosives, magic, and commando tactics, including an in depth commentary on Sun Tzu's famous 13th chapter, "The Use of Spies."

‘A retainer of our domain, Renpeido Chikamatsu Hikonoshin Shigenori, each morning washed his face and hands, dressed himself in Hakama and prayed in front of the kamidana alter ...His prayer was thus: “Please afford me success in war.” He kept to this routine all through his life.’ Through patient and scholarly detective work, Antony Cummins and the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team have unearthed a Shinobi treasure. The 18th-century military historian Chikamatsu recorded the oral traditions of the Ninja and passed on those skills in lectures he gave at his Renpeido school of war in Owari domain during the early 1700s. Chikamatsu wrote specifically about the Shinobi of Iga and Koka, regions from which warriors were hired all over the land in the days of war. The lost scrolls are filled with unknown Shinobi teachings, skills that include infiltration, assassination, explosives, magic and commando tactics, including an in depth commentary on Sun Tzu’s famous 13th chapter, ‘The Use of Spies’.

The first complete translation of the ultimate Ninja manual—a comprehensive guide to the arts of the ninja, including espionage, warfare, assassination, and more In 1676, a ninja named Fujibayashi collected and combined information from the ninja clans of Iga—regarded to be the homeland of the ninja—and compiled it into an authoritative book. Known as The Bansenhukai, Fujibayashi's book has now been translated into English by the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team and is widely considered to be the ‘bible’ of ninjutsu, the arts of the ninja. The Book of Ninja begins with an in-depth introduction to the history of Fujibayashi's scripture. The teachings themselves, appealingly rendered in this translation, then take us into the secrets of guerrilla warfare and espionage. We learn how to become the ultimate spy, whether through a network of spies or by hiding in plain sight. Through the stealth and concealment tactics of night-time infiltration, through weapon and tool building skills, and through mission planning, we can learn much both about warfare and about adopting the right mindset for tackling our own inner and outer enemies. Adding to the mix for the spycraft lover, there are sections on capturing criminals, performing night raids, making secret codes and signs, and even techniques for predicting the weather, and using an esoteric Buddhist system of divination. An exciting and engaging tome of lost knowledge, The Book of Ninja is the final say in the world of the ninja and the ultimate classic for samurai and ninja enthusiasts alike.

This illuminating study of martial arts techniques, philosophies, and lifestyles demystifies one of the most misunderstood figures in Japanese history—the ninja. A landmark collection of shinobi texts featuring 70 illustrations and 100 poems representing some of the oldest ninjutsu writings in the world The shinobi, or ninja, is one of the most widely recognized figures in the world of espionage—and also one of the most misrepresented. What do we really know about the historical shinobi, his tactics, and his role in medieval Japanese society? In The Secret Traditions of the Shinobi, these questions—and many more—are answered. Translated into English for the very first time, this widely sought-after collection of historical documents brings to light the secret practices, techniques, philosophies, and lifestyles of the shinobi. Included are: • the Shinobi Hiden, or “Secret Ninja Tradition”, a documentation of techniques commonly attributed to one of the best-known ninja masters, Hattori Hanzo; • the Koka Ryu Ninjutsu Densho, a small but important work from the Edo period that reveals the realm of ninja magic and spells; • the three shinobi scrolls of the Gunpo Jiyoshu, a manual enthusiastically promoted by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun of Japan; • 100 poems written between the 12th and 15th centuries—making them the oldest collection of written ninjutsu information in the world • 70 historical black-and-white illustrations depicting ninja tools and weapons. The Secret Traditions of the Shinobi will enthrall martial artists eager to learn the real skills of the shinobi, as well as anyone interested in this exciting period of Japanese history and espionage.

Lost in modern myth, false history and general misinterpretation, the Ninja have been misrepresented for many years. More recently, a desire for a more historical view of the ninja has become a popular theme in the history/martial arts community and Antony Cummins is the primary driving force behind that movement. In Search of the Ninja is based upon the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team’s translations of the major ninja manuals and consists of genuinely new material. Little historical research has been done on the Ninja of Japan. Here for the first time the connection of the famous Hattori family warriors with the Ninja is explained. The Samurai versus Ninja myth is dispelled.The realities of Ninja skills are analysed. How did a Ninja work underwater when mining castle walls? How can a bird be used to set fire to the enemy’s camp? The book explores newly discovered connections to ancient Chinese manuals, lost skills and the ‘hidden’ Zen philosophy that the Ninja followed. In Search of the Ninja is the first and only historical look at the shinobi of ancient Japan.

The world's only illustrated guide to the real ninja teachings of historic Japan with original techniques presented in a highly accessible 'how-to' format The shadowy figure of the ninja—expert commando, secret agent, maverick who operates outside social norms—continues to exert fascination in the West, yet much of what is presented as ninja fact today is distorted or wrong. Drawing on the scrolls created by historical Japanese ninjas (or shinobi, as they were then known), this book offers the real ninja teachings in 150 easy-to-follow, illustrated lessons designed to draw contemporary students of ninja straight into the world of these skilled spy-commandos. The truth about the ninja is so much more complex and intriguing than the Hollywood clichés we know today. We may think, for example, of a ninja as being always garbed in black and fighting with 'throwing stars' but in fact, a ninja had clothes in different colours to serve as disguises for different times of day, and their arsenal of weaponry could include anything from poison, poison gas, pepper spray and fire-creating tools to swords, spears and knives (but no throwing stars). The 150 lessons in this book cover all the basics of ninja warcraft, including clever ideas for infiltrating an enemy compound (from wearing 'silent sandals' to faking passes and passwords), tactics for hiding and retreat (in the racoon dog retreat, a ninja will crouch low and halt, allowing the pursuer to collide with him at speed, whereupon the agent kills his enemy), and ways of crossing marshes and water (for example, with special shoes made of boards, or using a foldaway floating seat). The description is made all the more vivid by step-by-step photographs of the fighting techniques, diagrams outlining military tactics and beautiful samples of Japanese calligraphy.