Many of you out there were introduced to ninjas when watching popular TV shows like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”.
They often represent the ninjas as the brave warriors who are strictly against the evil and wrongful affairs. They are the savers and often eradicate the unlawful activities from the society. This is surely an attractive way to depict them but the real facts are far away from this.
The origin and historical background is absolutely different from the overgenerous stories told about the Ninjas. The real Ninjas developed in Japan and gradually they became quite popular in western countries. But there are no solid evidence found to support the exact time when they originated.
According to many people Ninjas have become almost obsolete now-a-days. It is pretty tough to find a class of people who can be called the modern Ninjas. But their unconventional war techniques still exist as they were quite effective. There are some modern Ninja organizations which teach the Ninja techniques. One of them is the Bujinkan.
It was established by popular “Ninja Grandmaster”, Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi. The techniques taught by him are the unique methods of Ninja which are also known as “Ninjutsu”.
“Parkour” and “free running” are both forms that are associated with ‘Ninja’ techniques which involve agility and strength.
Ninja, Parkour and Martial Arts Sponsor
These modern ninja methods are what we know as espionage (spying). W.O.N. recommends these books to learn about espionage activities of the CIA and other modern organisations. This is a great way to supplement your understanding. Follow the links to read a few pages of the books on Amazon.
Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA’s Spytechs, from Communism to al-Qaeda
Silent Warfare: Understanding the World of Intelligence, 3d Edition
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Spies and Espionage
Modern Ninja methods are mostly used by the Military organizations and sometimes by terrorist groups as well. But the average ninja enthusiast can learn about them here.
CWS
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Perhaps the most misunderstood weapon in a ninja’s arsenal is the shuriken (aka throwing star).
Contrary to popular belief, the shuriken was used to distract the opponent, not to kill. This was because technology in old Japan, unlike modern technology, could not produce shuriken that were razor-sharp and light-weight for precision throwing.
The original shuriken was nothing more than sticks that were sharpenned and tied together to look like stars or chiselled rocks. However, this does not discount the fact that shurikens could puncture the opponents flesh, or possibly knock them out.
Shuriken were not exclusively used by ninja. The samurai warriors also made use of throwing weapons. What differed between the ninja warrior and samurai warrior was how the shuriken was employed.
Remember! The ninja made use of society’s assumptions and fears to their advantage. In olden times, this meant taking advantage of scary folklores. The shuriken could be thrown in the dark at a sentry, and because the shuriken cannot be seen, the sentry would probably think that he was slashed by an invisible swordsman.
Ninja, Parkour and Martial Arts Sponsor
Guerrilla tactics used by ninja, relied on them being surprising and unconventional to be effective. Therefore, the shuriken was used mainly for distracting the enemy. The propogated belief that the shuriken could kill, served the ninja’s purpose in creating fear and consequently disorientation in the enemy.
Information from SHURIKEN: Mastering the Ninja Night Warrior’s Throwing Star by Shidoshi Jeffrey M. Miller.
The ebook covers the in-depth history of the shuriken, demonstrates how a ninja used a shuriken, and teaches you how to use the shuriken correctly. The above is merely a fragment of information that can be found in the said ebook. More information and sample chapters can be found on the ebook’s website.
Logen L.
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Ninjas were the opposing force of the samurai. Their code was ninjutsu and not bushido.
Yet, this didn’t mean that a ninja organisation lacked order.
Hierachy of a Ninja Organisation
The general structure of a ninja organisation is headed by the jonin (literally ‘high ninja’), followed by some chunin (‘middle ninja’). Finally, under each chunin were several genin (‘low ninja’).
Ninjas usually receive their missions from feudal lords. Depending on the mission, jonin would pick chunin to choose necessary manpower from the genin. If the mission requires small units, the group of ninja would be less structured. On the other hand, other ninja groups deployed, may be structured like the army. The leader would then likely be called the ‘general’, rather than jonin.
The Roles of Male and Female Ninja
Most ninjas are portrayed as men, but there certainly were women ninja as well. However, the roles of male and female ninja differed vastly.
Male ninja, also known as shinobi, partook in dangerous professions that resulted in fatalities. For example, assasinations. While female ninja, known as kunoichi, were spies who gathered information through seduction or the disguise as a household servant of the enemy. Thusfar, there are no historical evidence of any kunoichi who did assasination missions.
Logen L.
Photo retrieved from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/90933305@N00/64756990/
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Commonly referred to as ninja magic, kuji-in was thought to be the source of a ninja’s powers of spiritual and mental strength. Kuji-in translate to mean Nine Syllable Seals, and are nine different seals performed by ninja in the form of hand signs.
While there are 81 seals in total, 9 make up the core.
These seals represent nine different levels of powers. They are:
- Rin – Mental and physical strength
- Hyo/Pyo – Channeling of energy
- To – Harmony
- Sha – Healing
- Kai – Sensing danger
- Jin – Reading thoughts
- Retsu – Mastering space and time
- Zai -Controling the elements of nature
- Zen – Enlightenment
These Kuji-in hand signs are techniques used by ninja to focus the mind, will and energy towards a specific intention. When activated, the ninja may gain momentary mystical powers that aid in the ninja’s survival.
Kuji-in seals are used, also to develop a ninja’s intuitive abilities. For example, the Kai seal activates the ninja’s sense of danger and the Hyo seal could help the ninja in stealth by directing energy around him.
Though unlikely that Kuji-in works in mystical ways, the symbolism and handsigns will no doubt help the ninja gain confidence against a greater enemy. One should know that old ninja tradition was marked by strong esoteric Buddhist beliefs. From these beliefs, came the Kuji-in.
Note also that Kuji-in was not exclusive to ninjutsu. The seals featured here are often used for meditation, enlightenment, strength and agility training, and training in martial arts.
Logen L.
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[ Read a few pages of 'Ninja Volume 1: Spirit of The Shadow Warrior' ]
Discover the true history of ninja and how Ninjutsu has evolved to today’s world.
Within this paperback, contains useful knowledge written by Stephen Hayes who trained under Bujinkan Grandmaster and founder, Masaaki Hatsumi. The excellent photos that accompanies the text aids readers in their understanding of ninjutsu’s basic postures, combat elemental manifestations, meditation exercises and a ’self-help’ section.
This self-help section aims to guide one to keep their emotions in check. No doubt, a stable state of mind helps a ninjutsu practitioner deal with situations more effectively.
If you have any intention in studying ninjutsu, this is the book for you.
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There are a number of people who strongly believe that ninjas used to wear all-black costumes with masks, which revealed only the eyes.
But if you have a look at the historical facts and appeal to common sense, then there is only disappointment for you. None of the evidences support this myth.
The idea that ninja wore all-black costumes came from prop-handlers of the Kabuki theatre. The black costume would not make them stand out from the actors.
In reality, the ninja strove to look ordinary and mundane. Their lives depended on not drawing suspicion from others. They were masters at making use of the assumptions made by society to look like common people.
However, it is also true that there were the ’sneak-in-the-dark’ missions for ninjas. What did the ninja wear then for those missions?
Definitely not black. Even during the night, black would create an unnatural moving silhouette. It is believed that red or dark blue were better choices. In the dark, red wasn’t visible and if there was sudden light from the enemy’s lamp, the red would strike fear in the enemy due to the likeness of blood.
Furthermore, no ninja was going to wear black when sneaking around a snowy terrain. It would be a sure way to be killed.
The fact is, the ninja of old Japan looked ordinary, and mundane. And they dressed appropriately for each mission, so as not to arouse suspicion. You must admit, an all-black costume just screams unusual.
However, it is fine to use ninja costume as uniform for training. These are specially made for training purposes, unlike the ones for costume parties.
To buy training ninja uniform, browse through affordable W.O.N.’s store ninjutsu uniform or Amazon’s Ninja Training Uniform
.
Logen L.
Photo retrieved from Flickr, at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir0cko/2455144185/
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The Ninjas were a special warrior class who originated in Japan and they mastered the martial art perfectly. The actual historical background of the Ninjas is still unknown as most of the facts about them were scripted by the outsiders who were mere observers. The Ninjas had their special techniques and weapons to combat the external enemies as well as for handling the sabotages.
This is assumed that at around 522 A.D. the priests of Japan started the act spying as part of their religious rituals and the purpose was to assist the rulers of that time. But gradually they felt the need to use this art as a mode of self-defense. They became the first ones to practice the unconventional techniques of ninja.
Then a privileged class evolved who realized the urgency of the methods like killing, stealth, spying etc in order to acquire power as well as for survival. This is the reason why the groups and organizations formed who was popularly known as the Ninjas.
Where did the Ninja legends form?
The ninja groups mostly developed in the villages or around the families. Their motto was to protect the society from the robbers, killers and attackers etc. in fact the evidences say that the women also had the privilege to become a Ninja and take part in activities like spying using their seductiveness.
There is a common myth about the Ninjas that they used to wear the all-black costumes in order to hide themselves which has to historical proof. Many of the theatre actors used to wear these sorts of costumes which might have played an important role in this myth.
Powers of the legendary Ninjas of Japan
The Ninjas had various power and knowledge which were rare. This is said that they were able to assess the time looking at the eyes of a cat. The explanation behind it is that the cats’ eyes are very sensitive and they change the shape according to the movement of the sun which was observed by the Ninjas. The Ninjas were also able to locate the directions wit the help of the stars just like the sailors.
But the unique method they used was looking at the age-rings of the trees and calculating the directions. They knew the method of hiding themselves even while they were resting. Their favorite hiding place was the top bushy part of a tree. These are the few tricks which the most popular Ninja legends of Japan used to perform easily.
CWS (edited by Logen)
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The history of Japan describes the ninjas as the best combatants who used to be perfectly trained in martial art that involves strange but effective techniques. Few of the unconventional methods, which were used by the Ninjas were stealth, surveillance and disguise.
They had some special weapons and tricks up their sleeves that were simply inescapable. The actual origin of the Ninja is not clear. Yet it seemed they evolved as an opposing force to the samurai.
Where the samurai had the code of bushido (aka honour and loyalty), the ninja followed Ninjutsu. Bushido was noble. The samurai would state their challenge against a single opponent and announce his clan name. But this wasn’t effective. The ninjutsu code, on the other hand, prized the accomplishment of a mission by any means necessary above honour.
Ninja, therefore, were the olden day’s spies and assasins. It was the ninja who promoted the “Guerilla” technique of war, influenced by Sun Tzu and his Art of War manual.
The method of “Stealth” originated in Japan approximately at 522 AD. This was linked with the religion and the priests were the ones to practice this. There was no violence involved and the priests used to practice this in order to support the ruling power of that time. At around 645 A.D these priests mastered the art and realized the need to use it for their self-defense.
Later during the 1192 A.D. many of the wealthy and established clans emerged. They fought and killed for reasons that included survival and power. Gradually there was need of using techniques like stealth, surveillance and disguise. Who better to seek help from than those who had already mastered the art. This was how ninja slowly evolved.
According to the historical facts the ninja groups were developed in small villages or around the elite families. They were into protecting the residents of the villages and communities from external enemies. Women had the privilege to become the Ninjas, like men. While male ninja were called shinobi, female ninja were called kunoichi. It was said that female ninja were used to seduce enemies while accomplishing the task of spying on others.
There were various rules decided solely for the ninja and they were often kept as secrets. The facts that have been retrieved about the origin and purposes of the Ninjas are mostly the records kept by the outsiders who observed and scripted the history. But if you are looking for assured historical proofs for this, then they are not discovered to date.
CWS
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