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ABOUT THIS BOOK

We have arranged this new edition of the book chronologically, the better to see the ebb and flow of ninja history. Each profile is also tagged with a heading to help you understand just who you’re dealing with.

“Ninja’s Ninja” are the shadow warriors other shadow warriors looked up to. They are among the very few names known from the hundreds and even thousands of ninja that operated over the last millennium.

“Ninja Gone Bad” are exactly what the name implies: ninja who used their skills for personal gain rather than in the service of a client or master. As you will learn, however, quite often the distinction was a hazy one.

“Ninja Magic” covers so-called mystical ninja, masters of magic and illusion who harnessed sleight of hand and other tricks to confuse or dazzle their opponents.

“Ninja Rivals” weren’t ninja at all, but many operated in and around the same times as the ninja did, and very likely crossed paths with them. More than a few had a direct influence on the ninja themselves.

“Ninja Masters” are military leaders who relied on the skills of the ninja, in one way or another, for you can’t understand the ninja unless you understand the individuals who employed them. Which brings us to . . .

“The Ninja Destroyer.” A category of one, the savage Oda Nobunaga, who crushed the ninja clans in the late sixteenth century.

Last but certainly not least, The Illustrated Ninja sections are a handy guide to the tools and tactics that made a ninja a ninja. Intended as a counterpoint to the portraits painted by the individual dossiers, these pages provide a “macro” view of the ninja life: maps; timelines; details about ninja dress, weapons, and techniques; a walk through a stereotypical ninja house; and even a ninja-related tour of modern-day Tokyo. Stay alert—you’ll encounter these entries lying in wait here and there as you proceed through the book.