Ninja AD 1460-1650 (Warrior) [Paperback]

Stephen Turnbull (Author), Wayne Reynolds (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Warrior | Publication Date: February 19, 2003

The Ninja were the secret agents and assassins of feudal Japan and they remain a subject of enduring fascination. They first emerged during the power struggles of 9th and 10th century Japan, in response to the increasing demand for spies, informants and even assassins, and they were used until the mid-1600s when they disappeared on account of a campaign to destroy them. This title provides an accurate and detailed account of the reality of the Ninja, detailing their daily life, training, hiring, combat use and secret operations; also covered are the Ninja's use and knowledge of poisons, medicines and charms.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Insights into the real lives of history's fighting men, packed with full colour illustrations, highly detailed cutaways, exploded artwork of weaponry and armour, and action-packed battle scenes.

About the Author

Stephen Turnbull is the world's leading English language authority on medieval Japan and the samurai. He has travelled extensively in the Far East, particularly in Japan and Korea. For Osprey, he has authored many titles including Men-at-Arms 86: ‘Samurai Armies 1550-1615’, Campaign 69: ‘Nagashino 1575’, Warrior 29: ‘Ashigaru 1467-1649’, and New Vanguard 44: ‘Siege Weapons of the Far East (2) AD 960-1644’.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (February 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841765252
• ISBN-13: 978-1841765259
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #495,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Turnbull does it again, March 3, 2004

By 

TrezKu13 (Norfolk, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ninja AD 1460-1650 (Warrior) (Paperback)

This is a fascinating and easy-to-read book about the ninja and shinobi of Japanese history. And it should be noted I say "history" for a reason; Stephen Turnbull explains in the introduction that he took great lengths to make sure his sources were accurate and that he stayed away from the legends of myths accompanied with ninja. He'll mention ninja kites, but not ninja glides...and forget about the human bomb ninjas you saw in the kung fu movie "Duel to the Death."

The book presents diagrams and detailed explanations of the different equipments and tactics used by ninja, and also gives some insight into their history, including their war with Oda Nobunaga and their eventual service with the Tokugawa Shogunate (there is a very interesting reason as to why they joined the Tokugawa so willingly). The most fascinating part was the tale of how a ninja killed Uesugi Kenshin - this was by sticking a spear into him while hidden in the toilet (I won't go into graphic detail). It's a strange (and darkly humorous) tale, but Turnbull eventually dismisses it as legend using evidence that Kenshin died of stomach cancer.

Overall I enjoyed this read. It was a very educated look into the world of ninja from a neutral perspective, but I found it to be a good read. Another fine reason why my respect for the Osprey series remains high.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ninjas in Detail, June 8, 2004

By 

T. Hooper "thdizzy" (Osaka, Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ninja AD 1460-1650 (Warrior) (Paperback)

Military historian Steven Turnbull does an excellent job of portraying historical ninjas in this thin volume. A lot of the book on ninjas cover either ninja legends or "ninjitsu" which is a kind of reconstructed martial art which is practiced mainly by American ninja fans and Japanese who are working at ninja theme parks. Turnbull strips all this away and shows us what an authentic ninja was like. The real ninja was a mercenary who specialized in espionage, sabotage, and assassination. The image of a black-clad ninja is perhaps inaccurate. The point of espionage is not to get noticed, so ninja were more likely to be dressed as everyday people in order to infiltrate towns and castles. There are, however, lots of illustrations and photos of black-clad ninjas. Perhaps undercover ninjas are not so interesting to look at. The time period covered is 1460-1650 which was the golden age of ninjas, and which roughly corresponds to the Sengoku (Warring States) period of Japanese history. After this time period, Japan was in a state of peaceful unification and isolation which rendered the ninjas obsolete.

One great point of this book is that it introduces the excellent ninja museum in Iga-Ueno in Mie prefecture. I've visited this museum and they have a ninja house and a wonderful collection of fascinating ninja tools. The highlight of visiting the museum is the excellent ninja show. If you visit the Osaka or Kyoto area, and you have an extra free day, I recommend that ninja fans visit this place and check it out.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Ninja Book, March 30, 2007

By 

K. Murphy "Fortune favors the Bold" (The thriving metropolis of Masury, OH) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ninja AD 1460-1650 (Warrior) (Paperback)

I love this book! It strips away all the mythology and stuff we think is true because its in the movies and examines the historical shinobi ('ninja'), his role, training, tactics, motives, and his equipment. I cannot believe how many tools they had for getting into castles and killing their victims. One of the last sections of the book, 'Ninja in War' tells the heroic story of real life ninja and their involvement in the campaigns of the Sengoku Jidai Period. Interestingly, the author says that the ninja often disguised themselves as monks or enemy samurai, yet of the 48 ninja depicted in action in the plates, all but two are clad in the classic black ninja garb. The plates are also very good, and the plate commentary has helped me in my study of the ninjas' tools. The best book I have read on the subject, highly recommended for anyone seeking to read about the real ninja.