Bujinkan News

Any information here comes only directly from myself or from the Bujinkan Sōke, Dr Masaaki Hatsumi. Due to current circumstances it's unlikely to be updated unless something dramatic happens, but just in case, you can get automatic notification when this page changes by page monitoring services such as ChangeDetection.com, ChangeNotes.com or Aignes.com.
Last updated:

Videos etc.
1. Dr Hatsumi continues to release new videos (DVDs): recently also some older "Kuden" footage, at the rate of around one per month. These are often available for pre-ordering via Amazon Japan; for the latest details, see my Bujinkan videos page. Please note that it is no longer possible to order videos directly from Dr Hatsumi.
2. Welt der Wunder, the team who produced a Ninja documentary featuring Dr Hatsumi, have a lot of related info on their website (in German, of course). The documentary was apparently also released on DVD, allegedly also in English and Japanese editions.
3. Jamie-James Medina filmed a short documentary about Sōke's daily life for MTV a few years back, but it seems to have disappeared without trace.
4. Brandon Alvarez's documentary Shinobi Winds is available on DVD direct from his website. It's notable for the variety of people interviewed (many ex-Bujinkan), with some unique footage from Japan and interesting comments on the influence of Kabuki on the modern Ninja image.
5. Shōchiku's ninja film "Shinobi / Heart under Blade" is available from Amazon US, UK, DE/AT, and JP. It is based on a book by Yamada Futarō (Kōga Ninpō-chō) that was also made into a cartoon (anime) called Basilisk (for DVDs see here) -- which in turn was translated into German (see here). The film attracted some attention as it was funded through public subscription.
The Way of the Ninja
This hardback book by Dr Hatsumi, translated by me, was published in Japan on 9 April 2004. The book is in a sense designed as an "update" to the well-known "Togakure-ryū Ninpō Taijutsu" book, but the contents are quite different. Blow-by-blow descriptions of techniques constitute only a small part of the book; much of the writing is 'secretive', like a modern Makimono. In fact, this applies to many of the photos too...
The book has been reprinted at least six times. For collectors: each printing has the same ISBN no., but minor differences in photographs etc. The easiest way to distinguish them is to look at the double-page photographs before the "Contents": printing 1 has no calligraphy, printing 2 has calligraphy on 1 photo, printing 3 has calligraphy on 3 photos. Sōke's original Japanese text was added from printing 4.
- Title: The Way of the Ninja: Secret techniques
- Publisher: Kodansha International (Japanese page)
- Written by Masaaki Hatsumi, translated by Ben Jones
- ISBN number: 4-7700-2805-9 // 978-4-7700-2805-1
- RRP: US$35 / 3500 yen / UKP 19.95 / CDN$ 52.95
- 208 pages, with plenty of photographs, including several of Takamatsu Sensei.
- Now available online at:
  - Amazon UK US DE/AT FR CA JP
  - Kinokuniya, Honyasan, e-Hon and many other Japanese bookshops.
Of course, any good bookshop should be able to order it for you, and you may be able to use inter-library loans to view a copy at your local library.
Some people have asked about translating The Way of the Ninja into other languages. This is possible, but you need permission to do it, and as the situation is rather complex, I suggest you contact me for details. Just for the search engines: Kōdansha International = Kôdansha International = Kodansha International, Sōke = Sôke = Soke, Ninpō = Ninpô = Ninpo, Ōzaru = Ôzaru = Ozaru, Togakure-ryū = Togakure-ryû = Togakure-ryu)
Other books... (see also my comprehensive Bujinkan books page)
1. Sōke's latest book is "Unarmed Fighting Techniques of the Samurai", available at Amazon US, UK, JP, DE/AT, FR, etc.
2. Sōke's book "Japanese Sword Fighting: Secrets of the Samurai" is also available at Amazon US, UK, JP, DE/AT, FR, etc.
3. Sōke's book "Advanced Stick Fighting" is also available at Amazon US, UK, JP, DE/AT, FR, etc.
4. Benedict Jacka's "To Be a Ninja", an enjoyable children's story (Harry Potter meets Jiraiya?) with plenty of Bujinkan focus, and even some Hollywood interest it seems; available at Amazon US, UK, JP, DE/AT, FR, etc. There is also a Spanish translation available: US, UK, JP, FR, etc. The sequel, "Ninja: The Battle", is also now available: UK, JP, DE/AT, FR
5. Hino-san's "Kokoro no katachi", a paean to Hatsumi Sensei, has been translated into Spanish (La Imagen del Corazon) and English (The Image of Kokoro)
6. Hatsumi Sensei's own "Ima Ninja" has been translated into Spanish (El Ninja Moderno)
7. Alex Esteve's "Exploring the Essence of the Martial Arts", it contains a good overview of the Bujinkan arts, with valuable contributions from 18 Shihan worldwide. [I translated the articles from Japanese Shihan as well as various other parts of the book.] Currently it is only available from Arnaud Cousergue's BudoMart.
8. Various people have asked about a book on Takamatsu Sensei that has been published in German and English and is apparently being prepared in Spanish. This book has NOT been approved by Hatsumi Sensei - in fact he suggested to the author that it was a bad idea to publish it - and Sōke has commented that he suspects much of the content will be inaccurate. Hence it is not recommended.
Bonnie Malmstrom, organizer of many Atlanta Taikai, has died (12 March 2007). More details here.

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