Review of Weapons and Assassins
NOTE: I use a few conventions throughout this review, primarily abbreviating source book names.
WACO=Weapons, Armor, and Castles of the Orient
NtIA=Ninja: The Invisible Assassins
SotS=Secrets of the Samurai
'historical accuracy'=Palladium Books' claims to this in their catalog product description.
Very nice cover by Scott Johnson.
Due to my limited field of study, I cannot verify the Assassin, Thugee, or Poison sections of the book. However, my field of study (primarily Japan) does cover the Ninja. So without further ado, here's the review of the ninja section of Weapons and Assassins.
Ninja History
Yes, Yoshitsune is sometimes credited with being Ghengis Khan. No he is not credited as starting the first Ninja school. 958AD is considered the date that the Koga Ninja Ryu was formed. This predates Yoshitsune by about 200 years. It is debatable whether or not the "Ninja lords of Iga Province" were the strongest. "General Oda" is a misnomer, it should state that Oda Nobunaga invaded Iga. The Shimabara Rebellion, the last known use of KOGA ninja, took place from 1637-1638. Actually, the Iga Ninja were the gate guards at the Shogun's castle in Tokyo, not gardeners.
Ninja
(First Paragraph) It cannot be stated enough, there was, historically, no such thing as the "black Ninja garb." This was a creation of Japanese movie and TV show directors arising from the black costumes of Kabuki stage hands which showed the audience that these helpers were "invisible" and should be ignored. It should also be noted that this isn't the only method of sneaking into a castle, bribing or blackmailing guards and servants, disguises, and just brazenly strutting into the castle as if the ninja belonged there were all methods of infiltrating castles. Of course, there were other methods of poisoning or even killing their intended target as well.
--Kuji Kiri picture...it's nice to know Erick got eight of the nine Kuji Kiri...to bad he's missing one. BTW, the pic is from NtIA, page 103 (minus of course, the ninth symbol).
(Last Paragraph) Shugendo is NOT a sect of Buddhism. Shugendo is an esoteric hybrid of Taoism, Shinto, and Buddhism.
Ninja Winter Techniques
--The map at the top is a wordless cut out from NtIA, page18.
--The far left ninja is from NtIA, page 79, the one to his right is from NtIA, page 80.
--The first two pics of the three panell ninnja picture are from SotS, page 327
Ninja Training
(First Paragraph)Another fallacy arising from misrepresentation. There were a variety of ways to become a ninja, many samurai on the losing end of a battle often retreated to the mountains and learned ninja techniques. NOTE: The erroneous use of æjitsu' as -jutsu has been removed since it is absolutely untrue that æjitsu' means the same thing as jutsu...EW maintains that they are the same, but anyone with half a clue in Japanese will know that it is not. Yarijutsu is not a widely used term for spear training, the more correct sojutsu should be used instead. Bojutsu is only one of many forms of stick and staff fighting. A bisento is a polearm, not a wide-bladed spear. Daggers, unlike knives, were seldom used by the Japanese to any great degree.
The Ninja Costumes
--Again we see the far left ninja from NtIA, page 79 and the one from NtIA, page 80.
--The collection of ninja equipment and weapons at the top of page 23 are from NtIA, page 79.
--The ninja 'suit' pictured at the botttom iis from NtIA, page 80.
Again, it should be stressed that there was no 'ninja costume' historically.
Ninja Equipment and Supplies
--Belt in use picture on page 25 is from NtIA, page 133
--Katana--stats and no writeup, accuraccy, vvery low (Pic from SotS, page 259 or 260)
--Wakizashi--stats and no writeup, accuuracyy, very low (Pic from SotS, page 259 or 260)
--Ninja Short Sword-- stats and no desscripption, since it doesn't have the Japanese name listed with the pic, accuracy rating is low (Pic from SotS, page 259 or 260)
--Aikuchi--described as 'dagger withoutt hillt' (hey only half wrong isn't bad), stats, accuracy
rating is very low (Pic from SotS, page 261)
--Tanto--described as 'dagger with hiltt' (hhey only half wrong isn't bad), stats, accuracy rating is very low (Pic from SotS, page 261)
Ninja Weapons
It is useful to note for this section that the section writeup and the individual weapon illustrations have descriptive text for the weapons discussed in the book. Personally I would have preferred a more structured approach to presenting the weapons.
--Naginata and yari pics from Stone's Weapons, figure 864
--Yari--stats , accuracy, very low. Sevverall type of yari are shown, yet what type is what is what is not clearly identified.
--Naginata--stats , accuracy, poor. Stiill hhas the 'curved spear' label.
--Bisento--stats and small write up, acccuraacy, poor. The 'curved broad bladed spear used by the ninja' writeup gives very little accuracy.
-- Fighting ninja pic from NtIA, page 1161
--Kusarigama weigthed en in lower left cornner are from Stone's Weapons, figure 503 (actually pictures of manriki gusari *snicker*)
--Kusarigama in the lower right hand coornerr (both) is from Stone's Weapons, figure 419 (which are actually pictures of Kama Yari *snicker*)
--Kusarigama ninja with chain being swuung ffrom SotS, page 318
--Shuriken pics, reordered from page 58 of NtIA
--Shuriken. Small writeup and stats (a sligghtly larger writeup can be found in the section writeup). Accuracy is average.
--Tetsubishi. Stats and small writeup uup, aaverage accuracy.
--Caltrops, left hand side from page 1445 off NtIA
--Caltrops, right hand side from page 556 off NtIA
--The three shadow figures on page 27 ssuspiiciously look like some of the fighting stances on page 99 of NtIA
--Ninja with short bow and flame arrow on page 28 is from NtIA, page 92.
--The Rimankyu pic is from Stone's Weappons,, (figure 676). No stats, short description.
--Samurai Long Bow. Stats given are debbatabble, and the description is easily debatable.
--Ninja Short Bow. Stats given and desccripttions of this weapon, along with the general bow notes are debatable.
--Both "Razor Sharp Claw" Pics on page 29 are from NtIA, page 62
--Sharp Metal Claws. Stats and small wrriteuup, accuracy average.
--Ninja Shooting Blowgun pic from NtIA,, pagge 62
--Ninja Blowpipe. Partial stats and smaall wwriteup, accuracy low.
--Two guys fighting in four panel pic ffrom NtIA, page 51
--Shikomi-Zue. Stats and small writuep,, aveerage accuracy.
Ninja Climbing Techniques
--"Metal Spike Claws" pic on page 30 is from NtIA, page 75
--"Tekagi or Shuko" pics are from NtIA,, pagge54 (top pic) and ?
--Tekagi/Shuko. Stats and small writeupp, acccuracy low. Since the shuko and tekagi are not necessarily the same item (too many conflicting sources here to make a clear judgement) the accuracy
rating for this writeup is low.
--Various Tools and Picks picture from NtIAA, page 133
--Kyoketsu-Shogi pic from NtIA, page 533
>
--Kyoketsu-Shogi. Stats and small writeeup, accuracy low.
--All pics from page 31 are from NtIA, pages 74 and 75, some of these are reprinted on page 32
--Grappling Hooks. Stats and small writteup,, average accuracy.
This may just be my personal beef, but I'd really prefer the book setup to be more coherent, having all these pictures and notes of equipment and weapons in one big block is all nice and fine, but if you're going to include writeups, and even break down the spacing of the pictures to somewhat follow these writeups, why not apply it consistantly. Having the climbing devices in front of the writeup on Ninja Climbing Techniques (when most weapons and other equipment are in their appropriate section these stand out like a sore thumb).
Ninja Water Techniques
--Ninja dogpaddling in water pic is from NtIA, page 71
--Ninja walking on floats pic isfrom NttIA, page 70
--Ninja with breathing tube underwater pic is from NtIA, page 71
Feudal Japanese Castles
--The pics on these two pages (34 and 35) are more reprints---see pages 29 and 26 for the page 34 illustrations and Weapons, Armor, and Castles of the Orient for the page 35 pics.
Samurai Warriors
THE NINJA'S FOE SAMURAI!
--No real notes here.
Dictionary of Assassin Terms
Note1: Non-Japanese terms have not been covered.
Note2: The erroneous use of '-jitsu' has been removed and replaced with the correct '-jutsu.'
Note3: For weapons, typically substitute Japanese for Ninja. Overall, very few of these are actually 'ninja' weapons.
CHAKUZEN NO JUTSU--Actually, hiding in a ceiling or attic.
FUKIYA and FUKUMI-BARI--The first two true 'ninja weapons'
FUKURO-GAESHI NO JUTSU--Actually a toiri tactic with the pretense of betraying one's lord, "escaping" to the enemy, then betraying the enemy at a critical juncture and returning home.
GEINYU NO JUTSU--More accurately a chikairi tactic where an infiltrator causes havoc by setting fires, and other stuff.
JIRAI--Another actual 'ninja weapon'
KAMA--Actually, an agricultural sickle used widely in Japan and Okinawa. An improvised weapon typically.
KINSHA--Spelled wrong, should be Kisha, not kinsha
KUKI SHIN-RYU--Actually a Martial School which emphasizes bisento use.
KUMI-UCHI--Actually, old wrestling techniques that derived from wearing armor on horseback.
KUSARI-GAMA--Actually, a combination of a kama and a chain, this weapon isn't a skill at all.
MANRIKI-KUSARI--Actually a weapon created by an Edo castle guard that is a weighted chain roughly two to three feet long. Commonly called a Manrikigusari or Manriki Gusari (one of
those Japanese consonant changing things for compound words).
MUGEI-MUMEI NO JUTSU--Actually an art of anonymity.
NAGINATA--Actually a polearm with a curved, sword-like blade affixed to a haft of wood.
RAKUSHA - Ninja tactic of taking advantage of laziness. (By entertaining the victim.)
RYAKUHON NO JUTSU--More accurately, a chikairi tactic where a ninja pretends comradeship with the enemy to infiltrate their territory.
SHIKOMI-ZUE and SHINOBI-ZUE--More actual 'ninja weapons'
SHUKA--Another actual 'ninja weapon,' though I use that term loosely since they were primarily tools. Also, commonly called Shuko.
SHURIKEN--A broad ranging term for a variety of throwing weapons (which I won't get into the specifics of). While initially these could be considered 'ninja weapons,' their later adoption by
the samurai as an additional weapon restricts this strict classification.
TANIIRI NO JUTSU--See Yamabiko no jutsu.
TANTO--Actually, Tanto are knives, not daggers.
TEKAGI and TETSU-BISHI--More actual 'ninja weapons,' with tetsu-bushi later being adopted as a method of castle defense by the samurai.
TONKI--Actually, throwing spikes commonly called Toniki. Another actual 'ninja weapon.'
YUBI--Actually, Japanese for finger.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Of the references listed, there are six that I have seen for myself (which should be somewhat obvious at this point).
Of course I've seen Matthew Balent's two early books, Weapons & Armour and Weapons & Castles. Lots of material, but don't buy too deeply into the claims of 'historical accuracy.'
Samuel B. Griffith's translation of Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Yes, I've got this book, it does apply as a background for some of the ninja methodolgy and is a great read in it's own right.
Ratti, Oscar and Westbrook, Adele: Secrets of the Samurai--yup that's right, the book the majority of pics for Japanese weapons and armor (including those oft reprinted in later books) are from. I'm not going to take this opportunity to make any claims for or against these pictures being plagiarism, I'm just clearly identifying where the pics that I can verify come from. Since there are also minor differentiations in the various pics from Oscar Ratti's original work to the versions included in the Weapons series, any conclusions you draw on the subject are your own. Secrets of the Samurai is a great read, however, it doesn't score well in the 'historical accuracy' department. While quite a bit of the information in the book is true, some of it is either wrong or incomplete.
Stone, George Cameron: A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in all Countries and all Times--another book I've examined thoroughly, though I don't own
this particular one :( . THIS book is what PB's Compendium of Weapons, Armor, and Castles should have looked like...oh wait, it did, though much smaller, and more incomplete in the
weapons selection. I'm willing to bet that several of the pictures in the WACO are from this source, most likely the drawings from photographs (their style makes them easy to spot), though I couldn't tell you for sure (except maybe on that first Chinese Armor pic). Some say this is a must have book on weapons, and while it's nice and thick, with lots of pictures, it doesn't cover asian weapons to a great degree. While Japan and India receive fair coverage, China, Southeast Asia, Korea, and the rest of Asia receive little coverage.
Andrew Adams: Ninja: The Invisible Assassins--This book, like Secrets of the Samurai, I actually own. I recommend getting it because it is informative and fairly accurate.
Since the pictures from Stone's Weapons book and Ninja: The Invisible Assassins are based on photographs from those books, you are likewise invited to draw your own conclusions.
Overall, the ninja section of this book can be fairly useful for games. However, if you're looking for 'historical accuracy,' you came to the wrong place. I would recommend this with a word of caution for people looking for information on ninja.
