Ninja: 1,000 Years of the Shadow Warrior

A detailed history of the Japanese "shadow warriors," ninjas, who were once some of the world's most feared warriors. These peasants from the mountainous Iga and Koga provinces trained to perfect the art of ninjutsu, a deadly union of martial skill and deception, to defend themselves against powerful warlords, samurai, bandits, and warrior monks. By 1500, their extraordinary talents, from infiltrating castles to carrying out daring strikes for the imperial shoguns, were in demand across Japan. However, today, these real-life ninjas are overshadowed by legend and pop-culture caricatures. Drawing on historical texts, local Japanese sources, and his long study of medieval Asia, Man unravels the authentic ninjas' origins in China and their heyday in the bloody civil wars that ended with the unification of Japan in 1600.

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