Movies vs. TV is by itself an interesting topic when dealing with the pop-culture (and dealing with the ninja *is* dealing with the pop-culture). As for the end of the 60s in Japan I suppose it wouldn't be irrelevant to look at the anime sereis of that time, and the way they took on (and/or contributed to creating) the contemporary ninja lore. Shows like Kamui gaiden or Sasuke, the huge impact of Shirato Sanpei, being out of the cinemas, but still penetrating minds of the whole generation... There is so much to get into. It would be great to read your views in the (hopefuly not too distant) future :-) (I'm not trying to suggest a competition with the Vintage Ninja's takes on the topic, btw.). Thanks.
That’s the thing, there is *so* much material to potentially cover and almost none of it has any coverage in existing scholarship. The more I look into it, the more points of connection I tend to see, like reading Turnbull 1991 writing about Yagyū Jūbei and wondering whether that actually emerges from Yagyū bugeichō in the late 1950s. It’s a target rich environment, as they say. The good thing is that I do have something of a research budget and can get most of this stuff, but it’s also knowing where to start.
It’s also valuable to consider the pop media stuff because the existing lit, especially in English, adopts a rigidly historical framework (or thinks it does, anyway) in which ninja “stories” are only interesting or valuable insofar as they point towards or reveal the TRUE HISTORY OF THE NINJA. That strikes me as a very one-dimensional and limited approach to the topic.
I love Vintage Ninja, btw, but it seems like their posting rate has slowed down quite a bit lately.
Movies vs. TV is by itself an interesting topic when dealing with the pop-culture (and dealing with the ninja *is* dealing with the pop-culture). As for the end of the 60s in Japan I suppose it wouldn't be irrelevant to look at the anime sereis of that time, and the way they took on (and/or contributed to creating) the contemporary ninja lore. Shows like Kamui gaiden or Sasuke, the huge impact of Shirato Sanpei, being out of the cinemas, but still penetrating minds of the whole generation... There is so much to get into. It would be great to read your views in the (hopefuly not too distant) future :-) (I'm not trying to suggest a competition with the Vintage Ninja's takes on the topic, btw.). Thanks.
That’s the thing, there is *so* much material to potentially cover and almost none of it has any coverage in existing scholarship. The more I look into it, the more points of connection I tend to see, like reading Turnbull 1991 writing about Yagyū Jūbei and wondering whether that actually emerges from Yagyū bugeichō in the late 1950s. It’s a target rich environment, as they say. The good thing is that I do have something of a research budget and can get most of this stuff, but it’s also knowing where to start.
It’s also valuable to consider the pop media stuff because the existing lit, especially in English, adopts a rigidly historical framework (or thinks it does, anyway) in which ninja “stories” are only interesting or valuable insofar as they point towards or reveal the TRUE HISTORY OF THE NINJA. That strikes me as a very one-dimensional and limited approach to the topic.
I love Vintage Ninja, btw, but it seems like their posting rate has slowed down quite a bit lately.