True Path of the Ninja: The Definitive Translation of the Shoninki

by Natori Masazumi, Antony Cummins, Nakashima Atsumi (Preface)

True Path of the Ninja is the first authoritative translation in English of the Shoninki--the famous 17th-century ninjutsu manual.

Authors Antony Cummins and Yoshie Minami worked closely with Dr. Nakashima Atsumi, author of the most comprehensive modern Japanese version of the Shoninki, thus making this English translation the closest to the original scrolls. The information and insights found in this translation are invaluable for understanding the skills, techniques and mentality of the historical shinobi. Whether it involved tips for surviving in the wild, advice on intelligence-gathering techniques, or methods for creating chaos in the enemy camp, this ninja book unveils secrets long lost. Along with its practical applications, this book is an important guide to the mental discipline that ninjas must have to ensure success in accomplishing their mission.

True Path of the Ninja covers the following
What a ninja is and what equipment he needs
The skills of infiltration and information gathering
How to disrupt and distract the enemy
How to be mentally prepared to carry out ninja missions
In addition to the translation of the Shoninki, this book also includes the first written record of the oral tradition "Defense Against a Ninja" taught by Otake Risuke, the revered sensei of the legendary Katori Shinto Ryu school of swordsmanship. Sensei reveals for the first time these ancient and traditional teachings on how the samurai can protect himself from the cunning wiles of a ninja.

About this new
This second edition contains a new introduction by the translator and has been thoroughly updated to reflect developments that shed new light on the original Japanese text.

Genres: Martial Arts, History, Nonfiction, Japan, Philosophy, War, Amazon

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 8, 2004

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much better than most of the false information out there about the ninja - much of the information is still relevant today - but has been hidden under layers of 'pop culture' mythos that really has minimized how dedicated the true practitioners of this art were. This book will strip away many of those layers and give a true account of this complex art.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

100 x more interesting than all the fictional layers of 'mangaized' information out there about this little understood group. A great read for those who want a deeper understanding of this complex and (often) misunderstood art that still has relevant lessons for intelligence agencies today once the fiction is stripped away. A fantastic translation.

[Eric Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting manual from the middle ages written by a ninja master instructing in the arts of spying, mind control and other ninja skills. Definitely read if you are interested in ninjas.

[Steve Cran · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 17th century Natori a memeber of one of Japans elite Ninja clans wrote a training manual for Ninjas or Shinobis. The manual in Japanese was called Shoninki. Ninpo translates to way of the ninja and the ninja's way is not just martial arts and assassinations. Although, Shinobi warriors did engage in assassinations there is much more to Ninpo.

The way of the Ninja is all encompassing. Ninja's could be employed by there pay master or war lord to steal something from an enemy or to spy on an enemy and get information. To get to where they needed to go they would often times employ disguises looking like monks, priests, laborers etc to get through checkpoints and not be noticed.

A shinobi warrior could creep into a household but just as often they go in through the front door with an invitation. Pretending to be sick and asking for help was one way to penetrate an enemies defenses and get information. Shinobi warriors knew how to shmooze and butter people up. Regular townsmen were great souces of information as were servants working for the warlord who was targeted.

Shinobi warriors often times had to spend nights out doors. They learned survival skills and had pack with them so they could hunt and create fire to warm themselves. The book goes beyond the physical attribute of training and delves into sorcery and the psychology. For the ninja enthusiast this book makes a great addition written by a man who is not oly a master himself in Ninjutsu but also a samurai.

Being a Ninja is not so romantic as the movies and media make them to appear. The author disabuses the reader of this notion that Ninjas have supernatural skills. Their training was hard and Ninjas were first and foremost very independent workers who did better working alon then they did in pairs or groups.

[Shannon Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for something that gives you an indication of the mindset of a ninja, this book does it. I'm a former student of Ninjutsu, and it's interesting to read about this martial art from a historical perspective. It's not a story, it's a philosophy.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, very interesting and informative interpretation of Ninjitsu.

Jonathan

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A text about espionage tactics in feudal Japan. Aka its a book about ninjas. It was very short but required me to look up a lot of Japanese terms to understand it well (17th cent. primary text). Discusses everything from what equipment a ninja should carry, to how to read peoples emotions, and lots in between. This text focuses more on sneaking than combat, so there isnt much detail about weaponry use here. If you are interested in the historical, rather than mythological ninja (in the west we tend to confuse them) then check this out. Very few texts like this exist, since ninjas didn't have the aristocratic pizzaz of samurai. Be thankful for relatively widespread premodern Japanese literacy!

Old school secret agent stuff right here.

[S.J. Pajonas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good ninja reference book. I learned a lot from this even to the point of having highlighted and dog-eared practically the whole thing.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Translation of ancient ninja lore and scrolls. Got one more of these on the docket for research. Pretty fascinating stuff!

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good starting point if you want to learn to think like a ninja. It's not a martial arts instruction book, though martial arts and weaponry are mentioned. It's not a "ninjas are magic" book; it explains how ninjas convinced medieval Japanese people that they were magic through complete knowledge of their environment and how to use it to their best advantage. And for every description of smoke bombs and vanishing, there are five more notes about human psychology, which is way more important as a tool so one may avoid ever needing to vanish in a puff of smoke. The physiognomy is a bit off and assumes everyone is Asian, but the espionage advice gives a lot of inspiration for finding one's way into any social group, or for understanding the diversions one sees in old samurai films.

I want to read another book like this but am not sure where to go next. Maybe look up Hattori Hanzo?

[Toby Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not an instruction manual on ninjutsu fighting techniques, per se. This is more a manual on how to perform clandestine espionage operations, which is also a very important skill of the ninja or shinobi, and which isn't emphasized quite so much in today's ninjutsu dojos. There are various techniques on how to blend with the community, how to distract people, and how to sneak around in enemy territory gathering intelligence. The most intriguing aspect of this book is that it was written in the 17th century by an actual ninja, so it gives us a glimpse of some very real principles that the ninja/shinobi were required to adopt and perfect. Any practitioner of ninjutsu who is looking to have a well-rounded experience in learning the whole art of the ninja will want to add this to their collection.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good stuff. I know that alot of controversy has surrounded the differing translations, but I didn't read it for that. I learned it to brush up on ninja warfare and techniques, and for that it was an informative read. It gave me a new insight into how the ghost warriors of feudal Japan really got the reputations they have.

[Rai Keyri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very like the in-depth research about the shinobi especially the Katori Shinto Ryu parts. The least I like is the divination part: superstitions, amulets, astrology and magic. I really don't believe in them and as a Christian, I believe they are works of the devil.

[Shadow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book regarding the art of ninjutsu that serve as a field manual of "quick notes" , this version is ok but is not as detailed as True Path of the Ninja written by Anthony Cummins (that version is more detailed than this one and straight to the point), regardless it is a good quick reference on the subject.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely super interesting as it takes a 17th century scroll that detailed the actual 'how-to' of ninja life and taught it to someone, but just a touch dry at times. It also did a great job of myth-busting some of the common misconceptions we have of what ninjas were. If this topic interests you it's worth reading and checking out.

[Anurag · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the English translation of written Japanese documents describing the training of Shinobi or Ninja. It is pretty interesting and dispels a lot of the myths of the Ninja.

[Yann LG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting translation and analysis of an ancient Ninja training manual.

[Jarred · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was hogwash, but some nuggets remain that are somewhat applicable today.

[Spatoliforme Calliope · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Lo shinobi ha il controllo della sua mente quando non permette alle emozioni e ai suoi impulsi di sopraffarlo, e questo è essenziale per rafforzare il tuo ki (energia vitale, soffio). Cerca sempre di preservare e alimentare il tuo spirito e di non logorarlo in futili cose. E' necessario che tu renda forte la tua mente, il tuo spirito, il tuo ki. [...]
Una mente imperturbata, dimora della pace interiore, è in grado di vedere cose di cui le altre persone non si rendono conto. Così riuscirai senza sforzo ad avere il predominio sulla mente delle persone. Riuscire a sopportare qualcosa di insopportabile, essere imperturbabile quando la situazione sembra precipitare, sapere quando fermarsi sono indici di uno spirito forte.
Nulla è più stupefacente della mente umana: legno, fuoco, terra, metallo e acqua sono insiti in essa: lo spirito può riscaldarti quando hai freddo o può rinfrescarti, addirittura senza l'aiuto di fuoco e acqua. Questo è l'ordine naturale delle cose. Il legno alimenta il fuoco, il fuoco produce la terra, la terra genera il metallo, il metallo produce acqua, l'acqua alimenta il legno (ciclo dei 5 elementi).
La mente umana cambia forma a seconda del vaso in cui si trova. Come il fuoco che infuria, la mente acquisisce forza quando una situazione diventa vantaggiosa. Il legno cresce, propagandando le proprie radici per un buon equilibrio e ondeggia assecondando la direzione del vento, se opporrà resistenza si spezzerà. Sebbene il metallo sia duro, prende la forma a seconda di come viene forgiato. [...]
Sii fermo nella tua ,ente e sii come gli elementi quando ne hai bisogno altrimenti le tue parole saranno vuote e sarai maldestro."

[Rahmat Romadon · Rating 5 out of 5]

buku yang sangat berbobot meski tidak setebal buku manual advanced ninja training-nya Stephen K. Hayes (bapak ninjutsu amerika). dalam buku ini kita tidak saja bisa mempelajari bagaimana ninja memfokuskan diri pada target, melainkan dibedah lebih dalam pada strategi2 jitu yang bisa digunakan dalam mempermudah akses kepada target. salah satu poin yang unik dalam buku ini adalah pada bab terakhir ditambahkan essay cara2 menghadapi ninja bagi para samurai yang secara simpel bisa dikatakan essay anti-ninja guna terhindar dari serangan para ninja.

[Víctor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un buen libro, más bien, manual, sobre los shinobi. Su estructura me recordó en parte a El Libro de los Cinco Anillos de Musashi. Aparecen las técnicas detalladas que los antiguos ninjas utilizaban, así como otros aspectos de la época.
Esencial para todo aquel que quiera saber un poco más sobre el mundo de estos agentes y una lectura bastante interesante para cualquiera que aprecie y sienta curiosidad por la cultura japonesa.

[Pascal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting from an intellectual point of view, but not very exciting. Nevertheless, provides a unique view to the education of ninjas

[Koby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book really a blast to the past!