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Secrets of the Ninja: The Shinobi Teachings of Hattori Hanzo
Bronze Medal Winner, 10th International Manga Awards
This historically grounded manga follows the ninja Nagata Saburo as he teaches his son, Hisaaki, the weapons, secret tactics, and values of the ninja. Based on the real-life writings of the famous ninja Hattori Hanzo, Secrets of the Ninja combines a familiar coming-of-age story with a historically accurate background of political intrigue and Sengoku-period Japanese culture. As Hisaaki grows from boy to man, Wilson skillfully interweaves real lessons, weapons, and skills used by ninja in feudal Japan, depicted with detail by artist Akiko Shimojima.
All of the tactics Saburo teaches to his son are drawn from the Shinobi Hiden, the most famous of the "ninja scrolls" written by Hattori Hanzo, general to the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu and one of the most famous warriors in Japan. These scrolls provided practical instruction for professional ninja, but they also provide insightful theories of social relationships and human interaction, studying the nature of deception, falsehood, and self-protection. An extensive supplementary section written by Antony Cummins provides fascinating details on these scrolls and their practical lessons. Accessible, insightful, and exciting, Secrets of the Ninja is the perfect introduction to the world of samurai and shinobi warfare.
This historically grounded manga follows the ninja Nagata Saburo as he teaches his son, Hisaaki, the weapons, secret tactics, and values of the ninja. Based on the real-life writings of the famous ninja Hattori Hanzo, Secrets of the Ninja combines a familiar coming-of-age story with a historically accurate background of political intrigue and Sengoku-period Japanese culture. As Hisaaki grows from boy to man, Wilson skillfully interweaves real lessons, weapons, and skills used by ninja in feudal Japan, depicted with detail by artist Akiko Shimojima.
All of the tactics Saburo teaches to his son are drawn from the Shinobi Hiden, the most famous of the "ninja scrolls" written by Hattori Hanzo, general to the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu and one of the most famous warriors in Japan. These scrolls provided practical instruction for professional ninja, but they also provide insightful theories of social relationships and human interaction, studying the nature of deception, falsehood, and self-protection. An extensive supplementary section written by Antony Cummins provides fascinating details on these scrolls and their practical lessons. Accessible, insightful, and exciting, Secrets of the Ninja is the perfect introduction to the world of samurai and shinobi warfare.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 7, 2015
8 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
Sean Michael Wilson
82 books85 followersSean Michael Wilson is a comic book writer from Scotland. He has had around 30 books published with a variety of US, UK and Japanese publishers, including: a comic book version of A Christmas Carol ('Best of 2008’, Sunday Times), AX:alternative manga ( 'Best ten books of 2010’, Publishers Weekly), Parecomic (with an introduction by Noam Chomsky, his first contribution to a book in graphic form). He is currently writing books for big Japanese publisher Kodansha, being the only British writer to do so. In fact, he is the only pro manga writer from Britain who lives in Japan. He is also the editor of the critically acclaimed collection 'AX:alternative manga' (Publishers Weekly's 'Best ten books of 2010' and nominated for a Harvey award).
Working with various Japanese artists he has written a unique line of Japanese history/martial arts/Samurai books, including The Book of Five Rings, Secrets of the Ninja, The 47 Ronin, and Cold Mountain (winner of China Comic and Animation Competition 2015 ‘Best Overseas Comic’ award). In 2016 his book 'The Faceless Ghost' was nominated for an Eisner Award. In 2017 he became the first British person to receive an International Manga Award from the Japanese Government. In 2019 his book 'The Many Not the Few' was launched by the Labour Party leader in an event in the Houses of Parliament. In 2020 he received the Scottish Samurai Award from an association promoting connections between Japan and Scotland.
He does comic books outside the normal superhero/fantasy brands, going into areas such as history, biography, drama, and social issues, often in collaboration with universities, charities and book publishers. He often gives lectures and talks about comics in schools and colleges, and writes articles for such places as The Japan Times, The London Economic and The Herald Scotland.
Working with various Japanese artists he has written a unique line of Japanese history/martial arts/Samurai books, including The Book of Five Rings, Secrets of the Ninja, The 47 Ronin, and Cold Mountain (winner of China Comic and Animation Competition 2015 ‘Best Overseas Comic’ award). In 2016 his book 'The Faceless Ghost' was nominated for an Eisner Award. In 2017 he became the first British person to receive an International Manga Award from the Japanese Government. In 2019 his book 'The Many Not the Few' was launched by the Labour Party leader in an event in the Houses of Parliament. In 2020 he received the Scottish Samurai Award from an association promoting connections between Japan and Scotland.
He does comic books outside the normal superhero/fantasy brands, going into areas such as history, biography, drama, and social issues, often in collaboration with universities, charities and book publishers. He often gives lectures and talks about comics in schools and colleges, and writes articles for such places as The Japan Times, The London Economic and The Herald Scotland.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 20, 2018
Hi all, I am the writer of this book, thanks for your nice reviews here.
Secrets of Ninja received a medal in the
10th International Manga Award
of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs 国際漫画賞 外務省
わたしの 本が 賞 を とりました
We're very pleased to get this prestigious award.
Some other reviews I've noticed for the book:
"Secrets of the Ninja's artwork is very structured and professional. It is detailed and draw us into the setting of the story. The dialogue is natural and capture the essence of medieval Japan. At the end of the book is a more detailed description of some ninja tools mentioned in the story. It is a nice touch and will please medieval weapons enthusiasts.Secret of the Ninja is a wonderful manual for beginners who desire to have a peep into the real world of ancient Japanese spies. Heartily recommended." - Y.S. Stephen, http://www.ysstephen.com
"THIS BOOK IS AWESOME. RECOMMEND TO ALL NINJA LOVERS"
-Amazon Review 5 Star Review
"Loved it. Have read it three times already. So much information. A must buy for budding Ninjutsu fanatics."
- Mark Wilkins, Amazon review
"I did like the format of showing the information as a story. I also enjoyed the story itself. It wasn't just a student/mentor story, there were other characters, and you actually end up feeling for them....The art is this book wasn't overly cartoony, nor was it the jagged edged hair type of art. This was a very good realistic style of manga. The story, which didn't beat you over the head with "your reading educational stuff," was very nicely done... I also appreciate the end pages which tell where the information came from, and they're not just making it up." - The thinking martial blog
Please check out some of our other adaptions of Japanese classics and history - we have done 13 now! Such as our book about to come out in April 2018, ’The Satsuma Rebellion’
You can see more pages from the book on my web site:
https://seanmichaelwilson.weebly.com/...
Thanks, Sean
Secrets of Ninja received a medal in the
10th International Manga Award
of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs 国際漫画賞 外務省
わたしの 本が 賞 を とりました
We're very pleased to get this prestigious award.
Some other reviews I've noticed for the book:
"Secrets of the Ninja's artwork is very structured and professional. It is detailed and draw us into the setting of the story. The dialogue is natural and capture the essence of medieval Japan. At the end of the book is a more detailed description of some ninja tools mentioned in the story. It is a nice touch and will please medieval weapons enthusiasts.Secret of the Ninja is a wonderful manual for beginners who desire to have a peep into the real world of ancient Japanese spies. Heartily recommended." - Y.S. Stephen, http://www.ysstephen.com
"THIS BOOK IS AWESOME. RECOMMEND TO ALL NINJA LOVERS"
-Amazon Review 5 Star Review
"Loved it. Have read it three times already. So much information. A must buy for budding Ninjutsu fanatics."
- Mark Wilkins, Amazon review
"I did like the format of showing the information as a story. I also enjoyed the story itself. It wasn't just a student/mentor story, there were other characters, and you actually end up feeling for them....The art is this book wasn't overly cartoony, nor was it the jagged edged hair type of art. This was a very good realistic style of manga. The story, which didn't beat you over the head with "your reading educational stuff," was very nicely done... I also appreciate the end pages which tell where the information came from, and they're not just making it up." - The thinking martial blog
Please check out some of our other adaptions of Japanese classics and history - we have done 13 now! Such as our book about to come out in April 2018, ’The Satsuma Rebellion’
You can see more pages from the book on my web site:
https://seanmichaelwilson.weebly.com/...
Thanks, Sean
August 20, 2015
Secrets of the Ninja: The Shinobi Teachings of Hattori Hanzo is a perfect father - son reading. It is historically rich and depicts weapons and skills used in Japan. The book also teach discipline and talks about honor.
A Great Book if you want to learn about the code of the Ninja Warriors!
A Great Book if you want to learn about the code of the Ninja Warriors!
February 20, 2018
This seemed to be a bit more simple than the other Japanese history type books Ive read by Wilson (his versions of the Book of Five Rings, and the 47 Ronin), but still had the same high level of historical accuracy. The story and characters are more simple this time. Shimojim also does well in the visual accuracy of her art. It's got a good text back section as well.
March 23, 2018
Disappointing. Doesn’t provide quality philosophical ideas of the ninja way.
July 25, 2019
I liked it less than the other Mr Wilson graphic novels I’ve read. This is mostly as this book on ninjas was a guide foremost and anything else second, while the other books I’ve read in the graphic novel format have been philosophies foremost and and guides second. That is, however, not a fault of the author or the book — only my expectations.
It is also worth stopping on the difference between what one thinks of the ninja and what comes out of this book. For that, this is a very helpful guide and also, potentially, a lot more friendly an introduction than an Osprey book. Hence, I’d say that if you have some interest in the era or figures, this is a good one to pick up for light entertainment. That said, one shouldn’t expect this to be a tome of the highest complexity – it is simple, straightforward, and approachable, and there’s not even a demon to contend with!
This review was originally posted on my blog.
It is also worth stopping on the difference between what one thinks of the ninja and what comes out of this book. For that, this is a very helpful guide and also, potentially, a lot more friendly an introduction than an Osprey book. Hence, I’d say that if you have some interest in the era or figures, this is a good one to pick up for light entertainment. That said, one shouldn’t expect this to be a tome of the highest complexity – it is simple, straightforward, and approachable, and there’s not even a demon to contend with!
This review was originally posted on my blog.
January 24, 2016
This was a really nice book, it's also my first physical manga copy– well that isn't really important =P
The art was really nice, high quality, etc.
As for someone who hasn't really read anything about the history of shinobi, I found this a great start.
Everything in this book was explaining ninja techniques, and after you finish the manga part there is another part for more details of the ninja techniques, might be around 20 pages but had many details.
Overall, I'd rate this 5 stars for the number of techniques introduced.
The art was really nice, high quality, etc.
As for someone who hasn't really read anything about the history of shinobi, I found this a great start.
Everything in this book was explaining ninja techniques, and after you finish the manga part there is another part for more details of the ninja techniques, might be around 20 pages but had many details.
Overall, I'd rate this 5 stars for the number of techniques introduced.
November 19, 2015
Read paper back. 140 pages comic 102 pages. Intro and history provided by Cummins added a lot. Comic great story with well done graphics
February 1, 2016
won on goodreads
good, interesting
good, interesting
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews