Ninja
Shinobi or Ninja (忍者, literally, "One who moves in secrecy") were assassins, trained in the Japanese art of ninjutsu (roughly the art of stealth). Ninja, like samurai, followed their own special code of conduct, called ninpo. According to some modern practitioners of ninjutsu, the ninja's specialty was not assassination but rather espionage.
It is popularly believed that the ancient ninja were peasants, who were forbidden under law from studying the samurai swordplay techniques because of the caste structure of their society. This was not necessarily true as most ninja were also samurai, operating as special forces for jobs where normal samurai would be useless.
For references to ninja in popular western culture, including film and comic appearances and the recent spate of websites devoted to ninja-centric parody, see ninja in western fiction
History
The beginning of ninja is shrouded in a secret, not least because ninja rarely left anything in writing or boasted of their archievements. Minamoto no Yoshitsune who employed surprise as a major weapon in his victories, is said in a popular folktale to have been educated by a Tengu to learn the tactic and became a ninja. In truth, he was educated by Buddhist monks who educated him with Chinese books like The Art of War.
In the Nara period, shugendo, a style of Buddhism that focused on training one's body to archieve enlightenment, satori, became recognized and publicily accepted. Some of the trainees made a secluded village deep in a mountain to support themselves and some of these villagers would later evolve into Shinobi no Sato, literally "village of shinobi," when confusions of feudal period raised the need for a defense against local warlords. Mikkyo, introduced in the early Heian period, further enhanced the secretive nature of these villages and added mysterious aura by their indulgence in secret ceremonies. One of the earliest roots of ninja, Togakure-ryu, reportedly originated in the late Heian era. Iga and Kouga are two of the most famous ninja styles, and are often pitted against each other in fiction. Both of these claim that they originate in Heian period.
Only a few records remain from the Kamakura period. Kusunoki Masashige used some clever tactics against enemies that remotely resemble some of ninja tactics. From the Muromachi period there are even fewer records. Both of these times were generally peaceful, and many battles had tournament-like aspects that barred a surprise attack. Somewhere in these time periods, bushido begun to form as the proper and honorable way a samurai must follow. It would be well into Edo period that bushido was finally formalized and until then ninpo was not well separated from bushido.
In the Sengoku Period the warring states period, ninja flourished as a war was often determined by how well warlords collected information. Almost all famous daimyo had ninja, or a ninja-like group under his control and they served as their eyes and ears, sometimes as their hands. Some of daimyo were reportedly ninja themselves. The clan of Sanada, the most famous member being Sanada Yukimura, was reportedly a ninja clan. This is widely agreed due to the successful defense of their castle with only around 3000 against an overwhelming force of 50000 led by Tokugawa Hidetada. Their amazing tactics, complete with splitting the house in two each supporting Toyotomi and Tokugawa in order to survive no matter which side finally won, has given them a legendary status. Later, they would come to be called Sanada Jyuu Yushi, lit. Ten heroes under Sanada, in fictions where they used ninja skills to defeat everything but their jealous wives who would, of course be ninja themselves.
The most controversal and disputed claim is about Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His rise to the power from a seemingly simple peasant to the de-facto ruler of Japan is unprecedented even in the long history of Japan. Some claim he had a support of, or himself was, a ninja and was the Oda's chief of intelligence. This is somewhat supported in that Oda Nobunaga seemed to rarely employ ninja or a group skilled in intelligence gathering. The only fact that is well established is that Hachisuka Koroku who served under him had a position of leader among semi-samurai groups skilled in guerilla tactics in Mino and Owari.
Tokugawa Ieyasu used ninja well, controlling both Iga and Kaga in unifying and ultimately rising to the rank of Shogun. In his dramatic escape through the mountainous landscape of Nara after Oda's assasination, Iga ninja led by Hattori Hanzou helped Ieyasu escape, gaining his favor. The last battle where ninja reportedly fought is in the Siege of Shimabara under the Tokugawa shogunate. As the shogunate became stable, ninja were effectively unemployed. Some became Oniwabansyu, a semi-secret group of bodyguards and intelligence officers who worked tending gardens of the Edo castle and eavesdropping on unaware daimyo. A ninja master Hujibayashi Sabuji wrote Mankawashukai (万川集海) as collections of ninja knowledge. Yet most knowledge was still passed on by the oral method and by training as most ninja believed that their service would soon be needed once again. The peace of Edo period would continue for over 200 years.
In Edo period, ninja became popular heros in books and plays. Many mythical ninja powers such as becoming invisible, jumping over tall fences, casting spells and calling up a giant toad larger than a human, were all invented in these fictitious accounts of ninja. Ninja did not correct these disinformations and some may have even written these stories themselves to increase their values should their services have become needed. One of the lesser known contributions made by ninja is their involvement in making fireworks.
At the end of Edo period, the ninja's service was once again needed. Ninja were called up to accompany delegates that met ambassadors from abroad. Some of them may have secretly been involved in servicing these ambassadors. With this, almost all records end. It is most likely that many ninja joined the newly christened Imperial Army to serve in the intelligence.
Culture of Ninja
A typical ninja village would not be any different from other medieval Japanese villages except for few very sharp-eyed adults who would keep a careful watch on a trespasser. Many would be tending their rice fields and harvesting vegetables and fruits. Others would be making craftworks and few would be blacksmiths making sickles and cooking knives. A ninja village's purpose is to support ninja and remain unnoticed.
As with another village, a ninja village would have Osa or a leader who often was the head of ninja group. Under him would be several Jyounin (上忍) lit. high ninja. Under jyounin would be several Chunin (中忍) lit. middle ninja. Under chunin would be several Genin (下忍) lit. low ninja. Upon receiving a mission from daimyo, osa would give order to jyounin to select necessary personnel. Some ninja groups would be smaller and may have been less structured. Other groups may have been structured more like a army and the leader may instead have been called Shou or general.
While ninja are often depicted as male, female were often ninja as well. A female ninja may be called Kunoichi (くのいち or くノ一). This is actually three strokes that make up the kanji for female, Onna "女". Though sometimes depicted as an experienced prostitute who gained secrets of enemy by seduction, they rarely used that method. Most prostitutes in medieval Japan were in brothels and few would take their chance with a freelance prostitute; in many places, it was illegal to do so.
The Ninpo (忍法) lit. laws of ninja, or simply Okite (掟) lit. rule, is the law that ninja followed. It had many rules and the most important rule is of keeping the secret of ninja themselves and of the daimyo who gave them the order. The most severe crime any ninja can commit is of betraying and killing fellow ninja. The punishment is by death and if deemed by the council of ninja, his or her family must be executed as well. The second severest crime is leaving ninja village without authorization and never coming back. He or she would be called Nukenin (抜け忍) and his or her family member would be tasked to bring him back, dead or alive.
Disguises, Tools and Weapons
Most of the time, a ninja did not, for obvious reasons, dress in an all black suit (Shinobishozoku (忍び装束)). Ninja rarely dressed as such, since an important aspect of their work was in espisonage. Some parallel to this over-dramatization can be drawn by comparing movie series of 007 and actual works of a spy. In the actual practice, ninja did not wear the commonly depicted all black suit. It was actually a shade of dark red, dark green, dark blue or dark brown as it offered a better camouflage.
Common disguises of ninja were but not limited to, monks, yamabushi, waiter and waitress, traveling salesman, artist, ronin, . Disguises were selected on their ease of travel and unsuspiciousness. When disguised as a traveling salesman, a popular choice of product was herbal medicine. This let ninja have weapons like a dagger or a sickle for the self defense without betraying that they are ninja. Because they were well disguised, some have even suggestted Matsuo Basho, a traveling poet, was actually a ninja employed by the Shogun to keep a watch over Daimyo, and that Haiku he published were really secret codes telling other ninja some unknown secrets. This is, of course, a view dismissed by almost all of historians.
Ninja used several special weapons against their enemies, the shuriken (throwing stars) and handclaws (shuko, tekagi) probably being the most famous. Kunai was also a popular weapon as it could be hidden easily. It is nothing more than a large, 10 to 15 centimeters long, flattened iron nail. It could be used as a climbing tool, substituted as a peg, dug the ground, or even thrown like a shuriken. Makibishi is also famous, and is a pyramid shaped object made of iron spikes. It could be thrown on the ground to injure the chaser's feet or laid down on an enemy's escape path so that the targets could be cut down or shot down withbows and arrows while they looked for another escape route, but it also be covered with deadly poison so the victim would die slowly. Ninja weapons could also be used cleverly as tools such as using the cord of their sword scabbard to construct a hammock between tree branches.
Ninja also employed a variety of weapons and tricks using gunpowder. Smoke bombs and firecrackers were widely used to aid an escape. They used timed fuses to burn down the target after they left. Oozutsu they constructed could be used to fire fiery sparks as well as projectiles to a target. Even landmines were constructed that used a mechanical fuse or a lighted oil soaked string. These techniques were used to make a firework in a peacetime of Edo. Secrets of making desirable mixes of gunpowder were strictly guarded secrets in many ninja clans.
Many of ninja's tools were everyday tools that would not be conspicous even when confiscated. It was through a clever use that ninja gained advantages. One known tool used by ninja is Irogome, lit. colored rice. Irogome was uncooked rice seeds colored in five or six different colors, red, black, white, yellow, blue, and sometimes brown. They would be placed on the ground or handed to a ninja from a ninja and each combination carried certain meanings like "all clear" and "an enemy check point ahead".
Contrary to popular beliefs, nunchaku were never used by the ninja, or indeed any mainland Japanese traditional martial art. Karate was also never practiced by ninja being introduced to the mainland Japan in late 19th century from Okinawa. Judo, Kendo, and most other martial arts were never practiced as well, as they were mostly formalized in late Edo period to Meiji period. Ninja practiced a variant of Jujutsu and Kenjutsu that could be summed up as Ninjutsu.
Ninja in Fiction
Ninja in fiction are dividable in two large categories, those based on realistic accounts and those based largely on imaginative accounts. Purely fictional accounts of ninja are often the image many Japanese have of an assassin in a fantasy.
Shiba Ryotaro wrote two fictions, a novel and a collection of short stories, based on ninja, Fukuro no Shiro and Saigo no Igamono. Fukuro no Shiro was made into a movie which also was a hit. The movie, Shinobi no Mono is also another movie about ninja.
Myths of Ninja
There are many myths and legends concerning ninja, who were most prevalent during Japan's feudal era and often served daimyos, or feudal lords, for secret missions. Their special abilities are also often exaggerated, such as becoming invisible, turning into animals, jumping over buildings, and the ability to fly and foresee the future. These myths were caused by secretive natures of ninja and confusion with Tengu and Yamabushi.
In western popular culture, ninja are often depicted as simply supremely well trained martial artists who use many kinds of exotic equipment and skills to accomplish their missions. This, combined with the popular image of the legendary costume of an all black suit and hood which leaves only the eye area of the face exposed, often makes up the western idea of the ninja (or ninjer as it is sometimes labeled) as a popular foe of fictional spies (especially on missions in East Asia), superheroes and supervillains.
List of Teaching Styles or "ryu" of Ninja
Each teaching styles are gathered according to where they would be located under current prefectures and may not be completely accurate. They may or may not still exist.
Aomori - Nakagawa-ryu
Yamagata - Haguro-ryu
Niigata - Uesugi-ryu, Kaji-ryu
Nagano - Kouyou-ryu, Togakure-ryu, Aoki-ryu, Itou-ryu, Akutagawa-ryu
Tochigi - Matsumoto-ryu
Ibaraki - Matsuda-ryu
Kanagawa - Fuma-ninpo
Yamanashi - Takeda-ryu, Ninkou-ryu
Toyama - Echizen-ryu
Gifu - Mino-ryu
Aichi - Matsuba-ryu, Ichizen-ryu
Shiga - Tarao-ryu, Rigyoku-ryu, Kouga-ryu
Mie - Hattori-ryu, Momochi-ryu, Togakure-ryu, Iga-ryu
Nara - Kusunoki-ryu
Wakayama - Kisyu-ryu, Negoro-ryu, Saika-ryu
Kyouto - Hatano-ryu
Okayama - Bizen-ryu
Shimane - Fukushima-ryu
Fukuoka - Kuroda-ryu
Nagasaki - Nanban-ryu
Kagoshima - Satsuma-ninpo