When Japanese cultural historian and folklorist Hiroko Yoda visited the 2026 Melbourne Writers Festival, it was to promote her latest book Eight Million Ways to Happiness. Her husband and creative partner Matt Alt was also a guest, participating in a “Translation Slam” to highlight the challenges and joys of working across languages and cultures.
Yoda and Alt are co-authors of Ninja Attack!: True Tales of Assassins, Samurai, and Outlaws, an informative and entertaining graphic novel that introduces “dozens of unforgettable real-life ninja straight out of the annals of Japanese history – many of whom are all but unknown outside their home country”.
The book can be rather illuminating to those who think they know their ninja from movies, TV shows, comic books, anime, and video games. Rather than regurgitating various ninja-related stereotypes regularly circulated by mass media, the authors delve into a great variety of historical, literary and academic sources to chronicle the true stories of Japan’s most famous masters of espionage.
As the authors point out: “The trappings so intimately associated with ninja both in Japan and abroad – the outfits, the death-defying leaps and jumps, the exotic weapons and accoutrements – are, in the end, secondary to the men and women behind the masks… The key points of what constitute a ninja in the public mind – the masks, the shuriken stars, the black outfits – have been honed into a visual shorthand that happens to appeal to people around the world.”
Particularly eye-opening is how innovative and unorthodox ninja were, adopting all sorts of modern military tactics and technologies to accomplish their missions. For example, in 1183, Togakushi Daisuke strapped flaming torches to the horns of a herd of cattle and stampeded them against energy forces. In 1570, Sugitani Zenjubo used an early type of matchlock rifle called arquebus in his attempt to assassinate warlord Oda Nobunaga.
Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645), Japan’s most famous swordsman, relied more on strategic use of psychological warfare than any one type of weapon or fighting style. Meanwhile, Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751) was not only a shogun but also the man who established Japan’s first true clandestine intelligence service.
The dramatic stories of these and many other “shadow warriors” are revealed in individual “dossiers”, which are divided into groups such as “Ninja’s Ninja”, “Ninja Gone Bad”, “Ninja’s Magic”, “Ninja Masters” and “The Ninja Destroyer”. These are accompanied by timelines, maps, photos, and visually striking full-page manga-style drawings.
Perhaps the most enlightening section is “The Illustrated Ninja”, which depicts ninja styles, tools, tricks, techniques, weapons, foods, and even their homes as heavily fortified hideouts. These are followed by pages explaining the ninja legacy, how these ancient “special agents” have inspired and influenced all forms of art in Japan and across the world.
This is a wildly delightful book that reads like a well-researched academic work disguised as a comprehensive and accessible guide, full of thrilling action and funny anecdotes, capable of bridging the gap between times and cultures. Highly recommended.
Note: This book review was originally titled “A wildly fascinating read” and was published under the title “Ninja Attack review: a wild read” by Ranges Trader Star Mail, June 2, 2026, P.21.
Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音 