The ''Ninpiden'' (a.k.a. ''Shinobi Hiden'', or ''Legends of Ninja Secrets'') is an authentic

ninjutsu , sometimes used interchangeably with the modern term , is the martial art strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage purportedly practised by the ninja. ''Ninjutsu'' was a separate discipline in some tradit ...

manual written by

Hattori Hanzō or ''Second Hanzō'', nicknamed , was a famous Ninja of the Sengoku era, who served the Tokugawa clan as a ninja, credited with saving the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu and then helping him to become the ruler of united Japan. He is often a subjec ...

in 1560. It is regarded as one of the three key historical texts of ninjutsu, along with the ''

Shōninki The ''Shōninki'' ( Japanese 正忍記) is a medieval ninja document from Kishū province. Written by Natori Masatake in 1681 it describes the espionage strategies of the shinobi from Kishū. Together with the Bansenshukai and Ninpiden it is ...

'' and the '' Bansenshukai''. It was passed down in the Hattori family, and was considered a secret transmission; it was not shared with outsiders and even within the family, few had access to it.

References

Bibliography

* Antony Cummins & Yoshie Minami, eds. & trans. ''The Secret Traditions of the Shinobi: Hattori Hanzo's Shinobi Hiden and Other Ninja Scrolls''. Berkeley, Calif.: Blue Snake Books, 2012. {{Martialart-stub Ninjutsu Martial arts manuals