Читать книгу Ninjutsu. Facts, Legends, and Techniques онлайн

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For those who are not interested in the political and military applications of ninjutsu, the book is filled with the type of intrigue and adventure that makes it read like bestselling fiction.

OSAKA CASTLE

Formidable and magnificent, its outer walls measured eight miles in circumference. The core of such a fortress was surrounded by a maze of concentric walls, which were under constant surveillance. Well-armed sentries were posted on the walls, alert and tuned to all possibilities of danger. The hours of darkness were most dangerous and all warriors became especially watchful for the dreaded ninja.

PROLOGUE

Becoming A Ninja

Take a giant mental step back into history. Imagine yourself to be a feudal-age Japanese warrior (bushi), serving a daimyo (clan lord) in the 16th century, a time when all of Japan was in the throes of domestic warfare. Influential clan lords vie with one another in constant attempts to secure positions of military supremacy.

As a fully trained, professional fighting man who specializes in methods of hand-to-hand combat, you have had occasion to take to the field of battle many times in the service of your lord. Each time you resolutely faced death with a state of mental calmness not only expected of a man of your honorable profession but required by the samurai warrior's sacred ethical code.