Customer Rating: 
Summary: Perfect for Bujinkan students and other styles as well
Comment: This book offer's lots of advice on life and insights to training. It's an important addition to any warrior's library.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Real Gem
Comment: If you train in the Bujinkan, or the martial arts this is a book that will grow with your training as you do. So many times I've just opened it and started reading from any point and there is always something new, another layer to look at what sensei is saying.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great Bujinkan find
Comment: I have owned Ninpo: Wisdom for Life for a few years and think it is one of my favorite ninja books. Having read all of the English books by Masaaki Hatsumi, I can tell you that this book is page after page of martial arts philosophy! It is great to read about the philosophy behind the art of ninjutsu and having it from the source is excellent. When reading the book I feel like I am reading a Densho [traditional scrool].
Customer Rating:
Summary: Inside the Mind of a Ninja
Comment: Any translation issues aside, this English version of Hiden Togakure Ryu Ninpo is a profound and useful text for a student of the Bujinkan arts.
There have been many books in which Hatsumi sensei is interviewed about or writes regarding the martial arts, but in Ninpo: Wisdom for Life, the number of topics discussed is overwhelming! From diet to personal relationships, the Grandmaster reveals his unique thoughts and views on them all. In addition to philosophy, there are many references to and descriptions of techniques and methods of taijutsu and ninpo.
Customer Rating:
Summary: When in doubt, go to the source.
Comment: Translating is a difficult task. It's not easy to capture the nuances from one language and be able to offer the same sense in another. It goes without saying that a complete translation implies an understanding of the topic material FROM WITHIN and for those who train with Hatsumi-sensei, the difficulties in actually 'being within' ought to be well known. Basically, sensei can be notoriously difficult to translate.
I am currently translating the original into English as part of my own personal study and while difficult, I have been surprised to find that there are some quite glaring mistakes in the translation. I'm not refering to syntax or anything like that. Each translator has their way of capturing the style of the original and I guess that's fine. What I am refering to is that in the English translation, the meaning in a number of passages is quite the OPPOSITE OF WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE ORIGINAL JAPANESE. This is quite a serious flaw and in my opinion, stems from a lack of understanding of the 'sense' of what Hatsumi-sensei is actually writing about.
For sure, students of the Bujinkan will, and ought to, obtain a copy of this book. Serious students however, will understand the necessity of reading between the lines and of following Hatsumi-sensei's advice and 'converse with the book'. Given the kind of errors in the translation, this is a must.
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