Samurai and Ninja: The Real Story Behind the Japanese Warrior Myth that Shatters the Bushido Mystique

I have been waiting for someone like Antony Cummins for a long time. He has an amazing ability to take the complex subject of the Samurai and Shinobi simplify it and make it exciting. His writing is illuminating, he cuts through years of misinformation to reveal the truth about these great warriors of Japan. This book is a fantastic starting point for anyone who is newly interested in the Samurai and Shinobi, and an eye opener to those of us who thought we already knew that world.

I bought this out of pure interest on the subject as a book that promised to be out of the norm and tell it like it is. Needless to say, I wasn't let down and enjoyed every page. At times the reading gets a bit technical, and other times its quite colorful and vivid in its descriptions. If you are looking for stories of individuals, this is not the book for you; however if you are curious as to the ins and outs of traditional Japanese warfare and would like to broaden your understandings on the true nature of these two warrior classes, this is a good read for you.

The book has great information grounded in reality while still including the mythos and reputation of the Ninja. Gives you a sense of respect for the various roles and effectiveness of the Ninja from spy, saboteur, propaganda machine and other tricks of their trade. They definitely made a huge mark in Japanese history.

A very serious book, sort of like a college text book; very informative; but you really have to be very curious about real samurai and ninja to read all the way through it.

I have collected a few of Anthony's works; this was my latest purchase. He does a wonderful job bringing the historical view of the samurai with the sensibility and reality of any great historian. I would also recommend viewing his YouTube videos.

Overall, I found this especially good. Mr Cummins had definitely done his research that has challenged the mainstream thinking when it comes to bushido, and what it meant to the samurai and ninja. Would recommend this to anyone interested in samurai and ninja history.

i had to give this book a good look and more than a once over due to its "content" couldnt wait to learn more on the fukushima/inko ryu...but umm...this wasnt exactly what i was looking for i dont know if there were more than one branch of this shinobi ryu or what but i have 2 conflicting reports on these schools now. there is another public version of this school i will leave to those searching to find it. but it is called inko ryu with fukushima after. the opposite of what is listed in this book so possibility or possibly translation errors? umm the author straight out makes the claim that he has solved the ninja samurai thing...i read the section a couple times i couldn't find enuff hard evidence to back this up other than his claims and take on history. the same exact thing he rags on others for doing., now i will say i appreciate the research as i do all serious researchers but please lets keep based in reality. the fact that the spells and magic are continuously thrown into these works is worry some to a point as it wasnt all shinobi alone that did these sort of thing nor was it confined to them some schools had very little of this and were firmly rooted into science as much as "magics" and this is a flag by itself many school will share to the sleight of hand trick for many reasons old and new. its been told many times in many different ways. i wish him the best being the new master of the natori ryu and hope he will continue to find the combat and spiritual connection i cant wait to see how the work turns out if not. still have faith in the the work but it truly needs to take some kind of form that will all connect the way he is trying to force it too.

Another great book by Antony Cummins. Chock-full of information. I recommend all his works.

Once more Mr. Cummins sheds light on samurai culture and the role of ninja in that society. Easy to read and full of unbiased information, discovering ever more of formerly secret scrolls that would be lost if his team would not make these accessible to western readers. A must read for everybody who is interested in the japanese martial arts.

Excelentes informações reais sobre os guerreiros feudais japoneses

Great to see the world of samurai and ninja put into their real environment and not romantised as often happens. Excellent book for personal study and research on this era of Japanese history.

Okay reading enjoyed the first half of the book however was looking at a more historical review. Ninja texts was not interesting especially the random extracts from scrolls about how to make potions etc. l also did not like the sell at the end to join the association. Not recommended if this is your first read on this warrior.

Brilliant book. A good academic study of the Samurai and Ninja. Fascinating to read. No mythical nonsense. Just good solid research.