You probably saw a ninja many times in several movies or video games. But let’s have a closer look to these ancient mysterious warriors. What exactly are ninjas?
Ninjas (忍者) were a group of professional spies, who appeared in the 15th century during the Sengoku period. They entered enemy territories stealthily and they ran away with top secrets of their enemies. For instance, a ninja would creep into a residence where lords of his enemies lived and listening on conversations of important people. They sneaked into a castle of their targets and stay on an attic or under the floor for many days! They gained the abilities to survive with just a little food from their training.
Another way of reading the first kanji (漢字) for ninja is “shinobi” (忍), what means stealing and hiding, hence its association with stealth and invisibility. The second kanji (者) means person. Female ninjas are called kunoichi (くノ一), even though it is more used in fiction, because historically there is no evidence for female ninja. Kunoichi means women and derived for the parts of the kanji (女), which can be parted to く(ku), ノ(no) and 一(ichi).
The strongest fingers on earth!
Ninjas had to be extremely flexible. It would be a disaster if they would have been heard by their enemies, so ninjas could move with perfectly silent steps. They also had to stay light. Ninjas would typically weight under 60kg. Why 60kg? Because it corresponded to almost the same weight of a straw rice‐bag. It was considered that if a ninja was heavier than a rice bag, it would be hard for a ninja to accomplish his activities. But despite the low weight, ninjas were extremely strong. Especially on their fingers was a focus in their hard training, because they needed to climb stone walls of castles with their bare hands. Therefore, a ninja had to acquire the techniques of what we call “free climbing” or “parkour” today.
In order to gather information in the territory of his enemies, ninjas disguised themselves. So he could listen to discussions from people directly linked to the enemy. It was necessary for a ninja to obtain a perfect skill of disguise including the dialect of a territory. A Ninja had to possess the manners and knowledge of those persons he was disguised as to make it looks natural. These disguise techniques of ninjas were classified into 7 patterns:
1. Zen priest (禅僧 zenso) 2. Monk (虚無僧 komuso) 3. Mountain priest (山伏 yamabushi) 4. Merchant (商人 shonin) 5. Magician (放下師 hokashi) 6. Funny Bandsman (猿楽師 sarugaku-shi) 7.Ordinary form, like a farmer or a samurai (侍)
Komuso monk
The skills a ninja obtained are called ninjutsu (忍術). The techniques he uses are a bit like conjuring tricks. A ninja was able to make illusions by playing with the imagination of human psychology and make it seem like supernatural phenomena. Close combat techniques belong to ninjutsu as well. Overall there are 18 skills which are part of ninjutsu, such as Intonjutsu – escaping and concealment (隠遁術), Kenjutsu – sword techniques (剣術), or Taijutsu – unarmed combat (体術). There is even a technique that can kill the enemy with just one punch to the heart, without any weapons. Even today there are a few people who still master this deadly punch. One of the most famous techniques used by ninjas, because they often appear in movies or cartoons, is the shadow cloning technique (Bunshin-no-Jutsu 分身の術). To the enemies, a singular ninja seems plural, like cell division. This is achieved by using the effect on the human brain by running and stopping around the enemy at high speed, which produces a kind of after image.
Today ninjutsu is mostly known as a martial art and can be still practiced in martial art schools worldwide. The purpose of practicing ninjutsu today is not becoming a real ninja as an occupation anymore for sure. It’s a good opportunity for physical training, health, aesthetics, mental training, and self‐defense. Some people even consider ninjutsu as way of life. Various techniques were also used by FBI and CIA. The modern ninjitsu may vary from the original training hundreds of years ago, but there still can be found some places in Japan where masters can teach you classical types of ninjutsu which were passed down since the Edo period. One of them is Masaaki Hatsumi (初見 良昭) who owns several schools in Japan and worldwide. He is called “The Last Ninja”.
Ninjutsu training in Iran
Ninjas made use of several weapons as well. The most famous one must be the Shuriken (手裏剣 : Ninja Star), a sharpened piece of metal which is thrown towards the enemies.
Kusarigama (鎖鎌) is a weapon that has a sickle and a weight, which are connected with a chain. To use it, the weight was thrown at the enemy’s weapon to drop it or used to coil the weight around an arm or the enemy’s weapon with the chain. After that, a finishing blow was dealt with the sickle to the enemy.
Kunai (苦無) is a tool used for breaking a fence or a castle wall. Ninjas make holes on a wall with a kunai, and they climb the wall by putting their feet into the holes. On other occasions, ninjas can break the wall itself with a kunai. Ninjas have ways of using kunai to reach high places. For a start, ninjas pass a rope into the hole on the end of a kunai and tie the rope tightly. Next, Ninjas throw the kunai to a high place like a tree branch and hook the kunai on it so ninjas can climb to the high place along the rope. Thanks to the sharpened blade, it can be used as a weapon too.
One of the most famous ninjas in history is Hattori Hanzo. He was a samurai in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu and also served as a ninja during Japan’s Sengoku period. He was a major driving force in Ieyasu becoming the shogun and ruler of all Japan. His most famous act was escorting Tokugawa Ieyasu to safety. Hattori led Tokugawa across Iga and Koga, assisted by the survivors of the local ninja clans. Hattori also may have helped to recover Ieyasu’s family, which had been captured by a rival clan. After Hanzo’s death in 1596, his successor would take the name “Hattori Hanzo” for himself, and caused a myth that Hattori Hanzo was immortal. The legend still lives on. His image features in numerous manga and movies, often with magical powers such as the ability to disappear at will, predict the future, and move objects with his mind. His name was also used for the swordsmith in Quentin Tarantinos masterpiece “Kill Bill”.
A portrait of Hattori Hanzo from the 17th century
Hattori Hanzo portrayed in the movie “Kill Bill”
After the active years of ninjas, in the 17th century in Japan ninjas started becoming an interesting object for art forms like kodan (講談 – storytelling). After the Second World War, there was a boom of ninja related novels and mangas in Japan. In the 80s, a ninja boom started in the US thanks to several ninja movies. Nowadays, ninja appear in many forms of Japanese and Western media, including television (Ninja Warrior,Power Rangers Ninja Storm), movies (Ninja Assassin, The Last Samurai), video games (Tenchu, Mortal Kombat, Ninja Gaiden), anime (Naruto), manga (Basilisk) and US comic books (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).
Chris Farley in Beverly Hills Ninja
Scott Adkins in Ninja – Revenge Will Rise
Important words used in this article:
忍者 にんじゃ ninja (spies in feudal Japan)
忍 しのび shinobi (endurance; forbearance; patience)
漢字 かんじ kanji (chinese characters)
者 もの mono (person)
くノ一 くのいち kunoichi (female ninja)
一 いち ichi (one)
女 おんな onna (woman)
侍 さむらい samurai (military of early modern Japan)
忍術 にんじゅつ ninjutsu (fighting art and skills of the ninja)
隠遁術 けんじゅつ kenjutsu (swordmanship)
手裏剣 しゅりけん shuriken (ninja star)
講談 こうだん kodan (art form of storytelling)
