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Kosugi

30 Aug 2010

Now in the hands of… an American?

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 5 - Art and Advertising | 2

As a footnote to our American Ninja celebratory gripe-fest, here’s a mystifying trade ad from what has to be the early part of 1985, wherein Cannon heralded an upcoming project: Right studio, right producers, right creative team, right title, right … Continued

AMERICAN NINJA, Chuck Norris, Kosugi
17 Jun 2010

Happy Birthday SHO KOSUGI

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 1

Man, where would we be without Sho Kosugi? Probably in JAIL… This is the man, after all, who taught us how to catch arrows in our teeth, wear ninja stars on our belt buckles, scale office buildings with climbing claws, … Continued

Kosugi
2 Apr 2010

Awesome resource for MA mags!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

Check out this impressively thorough archive of martial arts magazine covers and topics going back 50 years: Vintage Martial Arts Magazines When the titles and decades are laid out like this, you can really see the trends and transitions of … Continued

Kosugi, Stephen K. Hayes, vintage magazines
16 Mar 2010

Eyes that melt, eyes that kill!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

Via a nifty article on mind control gimmicks in 80’s TV at the Dinner With Max Jenke blog: What about the supreme hamster? (Thanks to Dave Buscemi)

Kosugi, The Master
10 Jan 2010

The Illustrated Sho Kosugi

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 5 - Art and Advertising | 1

In the 80’s, Sho Kosugi posed for over 73 billion photos in full night gear, laden with weapons, in magazines like Black Belt, Ninja, even Karate Illustrated and Inside Kung Fu. Yet when it comes to movie and video game ad … Continued

9 DEATHS OF THE NINJA, Enter the Ninja, Kosugi, Kosugi Kick, Pray for Death, REVENGE OF THE NINJA, VHS art, vintage magazines
29 Nov 2009

To hell with NA, go S-n-M!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 1

NINJA ASSASSIN… It goes wrong in the very title. “Assassin.” Can we get past this notion of the ninja cult of hired assassins? Some historians question if there ever was a documented assassination in Japan reliably credited to a shinobi … Continued

Kosugi
6 Oct 2009

And while we’re discussing American flicks…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

…and it being horror-themed Halloween month, we’d be remiss in not throwing a shout out to what was the most ambitious of the 80’s Canon flicks, Ninja III: The Domination. The delicious desert that was Domination was part Kosugi ninja … Continued

Kosugi, Monsters and Masks 2009, Ninja III: The Domination
5 Oct 2009

The chrome demon!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 5

How many times did I watch Revenge of the Ninja on HBO during the ascension of the ninja craze? Sixteen? A million? Seemed like a week didn’t pass without it being on the TV… Sho Kosugi made a smart call … Continued

Kosugi, Monsters and Masks 2009, REVENGE OF THE NINJA
7 Sep 2009

Before “The Master”…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 5

…there was The Last Ninja. Michael Beck, perhaps known best as Swan from The Warriors, was hot on the heels of action masterpieces Warlords of the 21st Century and Megaforce when he made the ahead-of-its-time TV pilot about a lone … Continued

Kosugi, The Master
1 Aug 2009

Ninja Blowing Gun???

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 4 - Collectibles | 1

Don’t know if this is old stock, a warehouse find, or new print runs, but Ninja-Weapons.com has all sorts of old 80’s ninja posters for sale, and CHEAP! I got these two CLASSICS for Christmas, 1983 I think… I still … Continued

Henry Sanada, Kosugi

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Welcome to VINTAGE NINJA — dedicated to old ninja media from Japan’s 60s boom to the 80s American exploitation craze, and beyond — with a ton of ninja movies, vintage toys, comics, and sharp pointy stuff thrown in for good measure.

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