Koga-ryu Ninjutsu: Ancient Principles, Modern Applications Paperback – September 2, 2020

I've been out of Bujinkan for over ten years now but I used to read as much as I could back then on Japanese history and martial arts. Without knowing Japanese myself, I didn't have much to read back then, so it's really refreshing to step back into the shinobi world a decade later to see what has come out on the market. I myself have gone to a university since then and it got me thinking that surely there must be other martial arts enthusiasts to publish books after going into Asian studies, anthropology, or related majors. My major is geography with an emphasis towards climatology so I missed out on the "major towards Japan" boat as I also like nature and stuff. This book was published in the year 2020 so it's fresh hot. I have nothing against Masaaki Hatsumi's books at all but I'm just glad to see more authors coming out. With this book, I learned lots of new things, so I'm really glad I felt compelled to buy it.The start of the book looks a bit messy but it gets better later on. What this book is, is Shoshui Fukuyama creating a book using older texts in the year 1953, which was then translated by Don Roley. Two mentioned sources are the Bansenshukai and Gunyohiki.The start of the book was really fascinating as it explains numerous near-synonyms for the ninja that were used throughout history and their meaning. Keep in mind that not all of Japan had the same exact language, similar to how many other countries had various dialects and such before standardized languages became a thing, so all of these various names could actually have variety for each one as well. Kyodan for example is like an old Japanese name for a sleeper agent while a suppa is like a guerilla ninja, and then a metsuke is more of a typical spy. Most of the names described are very similar to how spies in the modern era have various classifications or functions based on the main role they utilize. People need to understand that much of ninja "history" seen in media is really not accurate, and certainly not as black-and-white as "samurai vs ninja" which is really simplistic and inaccurate in some ways. A lot of this is basically more complicated than older books made it out to be, creating a false image in the minds of the public, perhaps even in Japan itself from what I seem to understand looking at Japanese historical fiction. This book itself clarifies some points about the relationship between samurai and ninja. Not all ninja were assassins or spies either as this book clarifies further, describing how ninja groups would organize into special areas, not so different I suppose to how a modern military base has different occupations. This book directly states how the martial artists, or maybe warriors is more accurate to say, looked just like armored calvary with spears and bows. I wish this book was popularized and translated so very long ago, not that other books haven't said the same thing a dozen times already, but I like the way this book describes this. The book also mentions families in the clan along with locations.The part of this book on ninja tools, attire, and training is more in-depth than many books before it, as in later because this is a translation of an older book. So if you've read older books by Masaaki Hatsumi and Charles Daniel, than you will still probably enjoy these sections as it explains these things in a different way. Also mentioned here are animals, medicine, and even make up. I liked the description of layers of clothing and reversible coats to quickly change appearance in a city. Ninja walking methods and door opening tools I believe can be found in other books, but it's been a while. Water rafts, reeds, and poisons mentioned again like in other books, probably using the same sources based on the pictures in the book. Then the rest of the book is a bit similar to the book Ninjutsu: History and Tradition by Masaaki Hatsumi.While this book isn't completely new information to anyone who's read similar books, I think it was worth reading because of the way is described information and it did give me some new information that I don't remember from other books. Ninjutsu: History and Tradition has photographs and more general information regarding the martial arts but I think Koga-ryu Ninjutsu: Ancient Principles, Modern Applications is more descriptive. Somewhere I own the Tiger Scroll book so I wish I had it on hand for comparison. But I think this book is a good companion to other related books that came before it and is certainly important to read or add to your library.I also like the book cover, it looks nice and very attractive.This is the first book I've read by Don Roley and I know nothing about him besides taking a quick look at his website but I hope he continues his translations because this book was pretty cool and I'm glad to see something new come out in English. Despite being out of martial arts myself, I've been interested again in other aspects of the Japanese life I never looked that deep into like their climate, art, and spiritual practices. Especially with how weird this world has gotten, nature and spirits are probably what people need again. Roley made a comment about crazies in martial arts but I think it's more that everyone is the product of a crazy world. If I ran my own dojo, I would begin with philosophy and psychology to heal the newcomers from being brought up immersed in a crazy world since everyone has issues, not to psychoanalyze all the students though but more like introduce to the concept of breaking away from groupthink and to look in at themselves. This author seems on the right path because his posts on martial artists remind me exactly of the issues going on with esoteric groups, or so-called anyways as people into religion and magic should know better. Roley should think about a book related to Buddhist philosophy in martial arts or on Shinto and spirits in Ninpo. American ninjutsu is all weapons and unarmed combat but neglects spirits and the root causes of conflict. The idea of evil spirits corrupting the mind would be too outlandish for modern people but Buddhism warns of this. Evil is real. Spirits are real. I think the Japanese outperform others in martial arts because of this holistic ninjutsu, so they aren't at odds with themselves all the time. One of my fascinations with ninjutsu as a teenager was their magical methods, which would later in life get me interested in shamanism. So I hope the author anyways finds something as such relatable to be translated for the modern public with an interest in the ninja because technology and social media just seems to amplifies underlying issues of modern society and I think a ninja book on personal spiritual analysis and philosophy would be well suited for the martial arts world.

This book was written by a Japanese police officer and explains how to apply ninjutsu in contemporary times. It was flawlessly translated by Don Roley, whose understanding of the subject is informed by his own high-ranking black belt in Togakure ryu, Kumogakure ryu and Gyokushin ryu ninjutsu. This book should be part of the collection of any serious student of ninjutsu.

I am very impressed with how this book is presented. When you hear talks about the famed ninja and mysterious art of ninjutsu in today's pop culture, fantasy-like images of people running around in black suits with super human abilities usually come up. The accounts of an officer who not only learned the actual techniques of Koga ryu ninjutsu, but used it in his field work is a far departure from fantasy, and gives a sense of how these once highly secretive techniques really were applied.Although it is supposed to be a translation, this actually feels like it could be used as a manual. The author, Don Roley, explains the contents very clearly, yet it doesn't seem like anything was left out. There's plenty of descriptions on the tools the officer used, informative explanations on using his skills to deal with gangs and criminals during his active time on duty, and advice on what were the best ways to operate and things to avoid. As a plus, Mr. Roley added notes to compare certain contents with similar ones in modern times. This was a surprise that actually gives more weight to this book; instead of it being an officer's account of possibly archaic knowledge that would be of no use today, these extra notes provide a hint that the essence of Koga ryu ninjutsu can transcend the ages through modern ingenuity.As a whole, this is a well written book on many levels. More than a simple translation, Don Roley has made this a book that I feel anyone can get the gist of the contents and follow along. Highly recommended for those individuals who want a serious discussion on the topic of ninjutsu.

Es importante resaltar que cuando habla de ninjutsu se refiere solo a las técnicas de supervivencia, infiltración, espionaje... No explica nada de artes marciales. Pero si viene más o menos detalladas todas las tácticas que usaban, con sus nombres. Y el contexto histórico en el que se desarrollaron. Se echa de menos ilustraciones para muchas de ellas, sobre todo las de escalada, rodamientos, etc.

A seldom work of search of the share of the authof about tje old school of Koga ryu ninjutsuThe authors givves us through his book the ciomplete ninjutsu Koga ryu it is really wonderfull

Absolutely worth buying, one of the best works on Ninjutsu out there. A police officier’s deep study on Koga ryu ninjutsu conducted with the help of local families traditions and explanations/examples for modern applications. A comprehensive work that merges the knowledge of the two most famous ninja manuals, the Bansenshukai and the Shoninki plus additional kuden and applications straight from the experience of the Koka families. so much value in a single tome.