What is a ninja?

A black hood, a rope, and a farmer's knife. That is closer to the real shinobi than any glowing hand sign you have seen on screen.

The Japanese ninja is a shadow warrior who worked for the shogun in the feudal era as a mercenary. He is an expert in ninjutsu. This is the martial art practiced by this caste of Japanese warriors whose first historical facts date back to 1150 AD.

You will discover in this blog post:

• Everything you need to know about the real Japanese ninja of the feudal era
• What are the ninja Skills ?
• The imagined and mediated version of the ninja according to modern fiction

The ninja is a modern appellation of this warrior caste belonging to the ancestral folklore of the land of the rising sun. Surrounded by mystery and hidden behind a kitsune mask, they fuel the stories and legends of the Japanese archipelago with the utmost secrecy. It is time to find out the truth about the real ninja.

Everything you need to know about the ninja of feudal Japan

Image source Ilya Gagarin | Retouching team Shogun Japan

The Japanese culture describes the ninja as a warrior who uses unorthodox means to achieve his ends. The Western-derived term "ninja" is the most common one today, but it is not the original. The original name for these warriors was "Shinobi", and "Kunoichi" for women.

Etymology of these shadow warriors and their origin

Two words, two eras. One comes from medieval poems, the other from 20th century cinema. Both are written with the same characters.

Etymology of the terms for these feudal warriors

Historically, the term "ninja" was a name rarely used by Westerners. It spread from the 20th century onwards, carried by the success of fictional works. The name is made up of two Japanese characters: "Nin" for stealth and "Ja" for specialist.

The term "Shinobi" is the traditional name used in poems of the medieval era. Like its modern counterpart, it refers to the art of stealth, followed by "Mono" meaning person. Shinobi is the shortened version of "Shinobi-no-mono", a term still found in historical documents.

If the word Shinobi referred to the male class, its female gender was kunoichi (Ku, No, ichi, the strokes forming "woman" in kanji). She is not referenced in the books, yet modern fiction presents her as a female ninja. In reality the writings speak of kunoichi no jutsu, a term referring to the use of women for espionage purposes.

Shinobi Origin of the feudal era and their roles

The earliest records of ninja date back to 1150, at the end of the Heian period. At that time, governors asked the myōshu to send their sons to train in order to form a group of warriors. Historical sources relate that the ninjas are said to be direct descendants of the last heir of the Qin dynasty.

After the decline of the Qin, the ethnic Chinese population went to the mountainous regions south of Kyoto. There they found warrior-monks living as hermits, the Yamabushi. The latter transmitted all their fighting knowledge. The provinces of Iga and Koga became shinobi clans from which came most of the ninjas who marked the feudal era.

Ninjas were considered "outcasts" by Japanese society because of their criminal practices, from assassination to espionage. They were a warrior caste free of all movement and ethics, unlike the samurai attached to the daimyos. Yet these same bushido respectful samurai and daimyos employed ninjas as mercenaries during the Kamakura era. Bushido is the samurai code of honor.

The array of accessories and skills to be a true ninja

Clothing and weapons tell the same story as the texts. Nothing a shinobi carried was meant to be noticed.

The ninja costume: the black tunic of the stealth warrior

The Japanese ninja is considered a person who can blend into the darkness in order to carry out his crimes. His "all black" and light tunic is no longer a secret since the 19th century. The ninja is dressed in a breastplate and black pants that allow him to sneak into the shadows.

Aside from the lightness of this getup, the ninja wore Japanese socks, considered footwear, to avoid any suspicious noise. They also wore a black hood that concealed their identity, with an opening left for the eyes. In modern Japanese folklore, ninjas wear a mask much like the anbu in the Naruto manga. The village of Konoha wears a white kitsune mask, a Japanese mask featuring the fox demon.

The split-toe socks matter more than people expect. That divided toe grips the ground and keeps each step quiet, which is why tabi are still worn on Japanese building sites today.

While no medieval text is clear on the subject, the black tunic of the ninja remains the most plausible. The shinobi also disguised themselves as priests, peasants or merchants, to spy and stir up trouble. The monks of Zen Buddhism possessed a special outfit to go unnoticed and played the flute to meditate.

The traditional weapons of the ninja: throwing weapons and weapons in close combat

During the Sengoku era, ninjas used specific weapons, often close to peasant tools. These weapons are also represented in Japanese culture, in anime films and manga. Here is a non-exhaustive list of traditional weapons commonly used by the shinobi of the time:

• Katana: this is a Japanese sword and the quintessential weapon of the ninja. It was placed diagonally across his back so as not to impede his movements. It was used as a fulcrum to climb the walls.
• Ninjatô: it is a kind of dagger-katana of modern folklore. As an example, Leonardo of the ninja turtles has it.
• Kunai: this is a peasant work knife that quickly became a throwing weapon. The konoha ninjas in the anime manga Uzumaki Naruto carries it.
• Shuriken: this is a metal star used as throwing weapons. Ninja schools are specialized in the projection of this weapon. Itachi and Sasuke Uchiwa of the Naruto mangas, are experts in it.
• Kusarigama: it is a sickle connected to a chain.

Let's now look at the secret skills of these shadow warriors.

The skills of the ninja: Ninjutsu, the essence of the true shinobi

The ninja had a very specific mission: intelligence. Coming back alive was the priority, which meant avoiding combat whenever possible. He used dodging and defensive techniques to escape the fight.

Ninjutsu is a Japanese martial art whose teaching was kept secret, which fed the legend of these warriors without honor. The technique is also called "Shinobi no jutsu". It is the full skill set of the ninja: combat techniques focused on weapon handling, camouflage, Taijutsu, and more.

When weapons were no longer an option, the ninja fought with his bare hands. This is when he resorted to taijutsu, a martial skill for close combat. It is a body technique allowing the projection of his opponents, pressure on vital points, strangulation, and similar holds.

Loose, tapered trousers do most of the work in a shinobi silhouette. They let the knee rise without the fabric pulling, which is exactly what the old work clothes were designed for.

The mysterious teaching of the shinobi

Ninjutsu was never taught in public. It moved from mouth to ear, inside a handful of schools tied to specific valleys.

The ninja schools, famous in medieval Japanese culture

The various ninja schools of the feudal era gathered a good number of people. Originating in Iga, now Mie Prefecture, the Iga-ryu school trained apprentices in the art of espionage and assassination. During the troubled period when clans were at war, Iga needed stealthy members to maintain its independence.

Originating from Koga, currently Shiga Prefecture, the Koga-ryu school trained experts in taijutsu and weapons handling. They were neighbors and rivals of Iga province, and gave the same type of instruction.

The Togakure-ryu school teaches the fighting and espionage art of ninjutsu as well as its philosophy. It was founded in the 11th century by Daisuke Nishini, a samurai who lost the Gempei War. He fled and refused to practice the suicide ritual of seppuku. After renouncing his honor, he became an apprentice of the ninjas of Iga.

The training of the feudal ninja in the modern era

We have no written evidence covering the teachings of ninjutsu, because feudal schools preferred oral learning. They feared that knowledge written on scrolls would fall into the wrong hands.

You can, however, visit the Togakure ninpo museum. It is no longer the Togakure-ryu of the feudal era, but a museum. There you will discover evidence of its secret past and its specialty in ninjutsu: Aikido and shuriken throwing. It is a place to learn about the history of the ninja legend while having fun.

You can also visit Akame Ravine in Mie Prefecture, in the heart of Iga ninja territory. This is the medieval training ground of these shinobi, when Akame was still part of Iga province. It is a real natural trail, and maybe you will have the chance to walk on water thanks to the powers of the ninjas, who knows.

Do ninjas still exist today?

Ninja myth and reality. What remains of their descendants?

Jinichi Kawakami, the engineer considered the last ninja in Japan

Jinichi Kawakami is the last ninpo apprentice and the father of the Banke shinobinoden academy. He claims to be the 21st head of the Ban clan, a title he inherited after completing his ninjutsu training. Since the age of 6, he studied this dark art with the Buddhist sensei, or master, Masazo Ishida.

For Kawakami, ninjutsu is the art of survival. He routinely performed breathing and physical endurance exercises. Ninjutsu is an art that brings together physical exercises, meteorology, and chemistry.

His closest disciple was Yasushi Kiyomoto, the master of a dojo in Kanagawa Prefecture. Kawakami stated in an interview that there will be no successor, and that ninjutsu belongs to the Edo period. He teaches ninja history at Mie University.

Hatsumi Masaaki, the most famous ninja grandmaster in the

Hatsumi Masaaki is the 34th grandmaster of Togakushi ninjutsu and the author of several books on martial arts. He was Takamatsu Toshitsugu's disciple for 15 years and inherited the 9 martial arts traditions. He renamed this legacy "Bujinkan budo" and founded a dojo in Noda, Chiba Prefecture.

Master Hatsumi welcomed individuals from all over the world to train on the dojo's tatami mats. In the eyes of his disciples, he performs movements so vivid they sometimes laugh, because it seems incredible. He explains that he is not teaching anything, but rather showing the movement.

Katas, the coded succession of martial movements, are the foundation. You can learn the kata perfectly and still understand nothing about ninpo. Ninjutsu is not a combat sport, it is a survival skill.

The famous ninjas of medieval Japan

In feudal Japan, two warrior castes emerged: the samurai linked to the daimyos, and the ninja. Because this shadow warrior was a secret agent, records about them are rare. And yet, some ninjas of the dark world stood out:

• Fujibayashi Nagato : he was the leader of the ninjas of Iga in the 16th century
• Momochi Sandayu: he is famous for teaching that ninjutsu should be used to save the life of a ninja or else, to protect his lord
• Ishikawa Goemon: he is the Japanese robin hood and the disciple of Momochi
• Hattori Hanzo: he is a samurai of the Iga clan who lived as a ninja with the Mikawa family. His most famous act was to help Tokugawa Ieyasu install the Tokugawa shogunate in 1502
• Mochizuki Chiyome: she had ninja roots considering she belonged to the Koga clan
• Fuma Kotaro: legend has it that he is the murderer of Hattori Hanzo

Japanese ninjas and Japanese popular culture

The Japanese ninja myth has shaped modern culture so strongly that ninjutsu is now shown in a fanciful, exaggerated form. You see it in martial arts movies, books and manga, Naruto being the obvious example.

The powers of ninjas in Japanese folklore

Popular folklore grants ninjas magical attributes, quite similar to those of Buddhist monks. In the manga Naruto, the main reference, you find powers of immobilization and even the summoning of animals. This comes from the fact that ninjas lived in the mountains alongside monks who were seen as wizards.

Still with Naruto, the manga equates ninjas with practitioners of Shugendo. It adds the ability to form mudras, the incantation signs that monks probably used to impress apprentices. The most famous story is that of Jiraya, who supposedly summoned a toad to fight a snake.

So it is easy to see how different the ninjas of history are from the ninjas of fiction. These stealthy experts were, for the most part, spies. The art of ninjutsu nearly disappeared, then popular culture reshaped it and gave its men fantastic, grandiose powers.

The influence of ninja on Japanese culture

Information on real ninjutsu is thin, so the art can seem overrated. Its impact on popular folklore is real all the same. You find it in particular in:

• Ninja cosplay costumes
• Video games: "Ninja Blade" on the Xbox console
• "Ninja" movies directed by Isaac Florentine which tends to modernize the myth
• The Ninja Turtles comic book
• The manga "Basilisk" which tells the war between the Koga clan and the Iga clan, etc.

The myth of the ninja shinobi crosses the ages

Feudal Japan knew two warrior castes: the free ninjas and the subservient samurai. Historical sources tell that the ninjas were warriors without honor who lived through the decline of the Qin. They would therefore be of Chinese origin, taking refuge in the mountains of Iga and Koga where they lived beside the Yamabushi.

The ninja is the modern appellation used by Westerners to name these shadow warriors. It crept into Japanese culture and pushed aside the traditional name Shinobi-no-mono. The female version called Kunoichi was in fact a technique based on the seduction of women.

Ninjutsu is a secret art to which popular folklore attributed magical abilities. Ninjas were primarily spies dressed in dark clothes and using peasant weapons. Two names still carry the lineage into our era: Hatsumi Masaaki and Jinichi Kawakami.

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