what are ninjas

8/20/2019 what are ninjas

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A ninja (忍者?) or shinobi (忍び?) was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of the ninjaincluded: espionagesabotage in!ltration assassination and guerrilla warfare."#$ Their covert methods of waging irregular warfare were deemed %dishonorable%and %beneath% the samurai&caste who observed strict rules about honor and

combat."'$ The shinobi proper a specially trained group of spies and mercenariesappeared in the engou or %warring states% period in the #*th century "+$ butantecedents may have e,isted in the #-th century"-$ and possibly in the #'thcentury (eian or early /amaura era). "*$ "0$

1n the unrest of the engou period (#*th2#3th centuries) mercenaries and spiesfor hire became active in the 1ga 4rovince and the adjacent area around the villageof /5ga and it is from the area6s clans that much of our nowledge of the ninja isdrawn. 7ollowing the uni!cation of Japan under the Tougawa shogunate (#3thcentury) the ninja faded into obscurity."3$ A number of shinobi manuals oftenbased on 8hinese military philosophy were written in the #3th and #9th centuries

most notably the ansenshuai (#030). "9$

y the time of the ;eiji cult to separate fact from myth. omelegendary abilities purported to be in the province of ninja traininginclude invisibility waling on water and control over the natural elements. As aconseuence theirperception in western popular culture in the '@th century is oftenbased more on such legend and follore than on the spies of the engou period."citation needed$

tymology

The word %ninja% in anji script

=inja is an on6yomi (arly ;iddle 8hinese&inBuenced) reading of the two anji %忍者%.1n the native un6yomi anji reading it is pronouncedshinobi a shortened form ofthe transcription shinobi&no&mono (忍の者)."C$

The word shinobi appears in the written record as far bac as the late 9th century inpoems in the ;an6y5shD."#@$"##$ The underlying connotation of shinobi (忍) means%to steal awayE to hide% and F by e,tension F %to forbear% hence its associationwith stealth and invisibility. ;ono (者) means %a person%.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Installing_Japanese_character_setshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Installing_Japanese_character_setshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_agenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercenaryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudal_Japanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabotagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infiltration_tacticshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassinationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_325-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irregular_warfarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuraihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_5_6-2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_periodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull2003-3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Crowdy_2006_50-4https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heian_Periodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakura_periodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iga_Provincehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dka,_Shigahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_shogunatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Green_2001_355-7https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bansenshukaihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Green_2001_358-8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Restorationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisibilityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_on_waterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_element#Japanese_elementshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninjas_in_popular_culturehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanjihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On'yomihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Japanese_vocabularyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanjihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kun'yomihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Origin_of_word_Ninja-9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man'y%C5%8Dsh%C5%ABhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-takagi-10https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-satake-11https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%BF%8Dhttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%80%85https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Installing_Japanese_character_setshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_agenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercenaryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudal_Japanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabotagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infiltration_tacticshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassinationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_325-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irregular_warfarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuraihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_5_6-2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_periodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull2003-3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Crowdy_2006_50-4https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heian_Periodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakura_periodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-6https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iga_Provincehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dka,_Shigahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_shogunatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Green_2001_355-7https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bansenshukaihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Green_2001_358-8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Restorationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisibilityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_on_waterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_element#Japanese_elementshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninjas_in_popular_culturehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanjihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On'yomihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Japanese_vocabularyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanjihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kun'yomihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Origin_of_word_Ninja-9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man'y%C5%8Dsh%C5%ABhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-takagi-10https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-satake-11https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%BF%8Dhttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%80%85https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Installing_Japanese_character_sets


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istorically the word ninja was not in common use and a variety ofregional collouialisms evolved to describe what would later be dubbed ninja. Alongwith shinobi some e,amples include monomi (%one whosees%) noiGaru (%macaue on the roof%) rappa (%ru>an%)usa (%grass%) and 1ga&mono (%one from 1ga%)."3$ 1n historical documents shinobi is almost always used.

/unoichi meaning a female ninja"#'$ supposedly came from the characters くノ一

(pronounced u no and ichi) which mae up the three stroes that formthe anji for %woman% (女).

1n the Hest the word ninja became more prevalent than shinobi in the post&HorldHar 11 culture possibly because it was more comfortable for Hestern speaers."#+$ 1n nglish the plural of ninja can be either unchanged as ninja reBecting the Japanese language6s lac of grammatical number or the regular nglishplural ninjas."#-$

istory

Iespite many popular foltales historical accounts of the ninja are scarce.istorian tephen Turnbull asserts that the ninja were mostly recruited from thelower class and therefore little literary interest was taen in them."#*$ 1nstead warepics such as the Tale of 5gen (5gen ;onogatari) and the Tale of the eie (eie;onogatari) focus mainly on the aristocratic samurai whose deeds were apparentlymore appealing to the audience."#+$ istorian /iyoshi Hatatani states that the ninjawere trained to be particularly secretive about their actions and e,istence:

o&called ninjutsu techniues in short are the sills of shinobi&no& jutsu and shinobijutsu which have the aims of ensuring that one6s opponent doesnot now of one6s e,istence and for which there was special training."#0$

4redecessors

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloquialismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_macaquehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Green_2001_355-7https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunoichihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Perkins_1991_241-12https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanjihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_worldhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_6-13https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-14https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Turnbull_(historian)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_5-15https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_H%C5%8Dgenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_the_Heikehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_6-13https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninjutsuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2007_144-16https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloquialismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_macaquehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Green_2001_355-7https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunoichihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Perkins_1991_241-12https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanjihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_worldhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_6-13https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-14https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Turnbull_(historian)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_5-15https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_H%C5%8Dgenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_the_Heikehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_6-13https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninjutsuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2007_144-16


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amato Taeru dressed as a maidservant preparing to ill the /umaso leaders.Hoodbloc print on paper. oshitoshi #990.

The title ninja has sometimes been attributed retrospectively to the semi&legendary-th&century prince amato Taeru."#3$ 1n the /ojii the young amato Taeru

disguised himself as a charming maiden and assassinated two chiefs ofthe /umaso people. "#9$ owever these records tae place at a very early stage of Japanese history and they are unliely to be connected to the shinobi of lateraccounts. The !rst recorded use of espionage was under the employment of 4rinceh5tou in the 0th century. "#$ uch tactics were considered unsavory even in earlytimes when according to the #@th century h5moni the boy spy /oharumaru wasilled for spying against the insurgent Taira no ;asaado."#C$ Kater the #-thcentury war chronicle Taiheii contained many references to shinobi "#3$ andcredited the destruction of a castle by !re to an unnamed but %highlysilled shinobi%."'@$

arly history

1t was not until the #*th century that spies were specially trained for their purpose."#*$ 1t was around this time that the word shinobi appeared to de!ne and clearlyidentify ninja as a secretive group of agents. vidence for this can be seen inhistorical documents which began to refer to stealthy soldiers as shinobi duringthe engou period."'#$ Kater manuals regarding espionage are often grounded in8hinese military strategy uoting wors such as The Art of Har (unGiingfa) by un TGu."''$

The ninja emerged as mercenaries in the #*th century where they were recruited

as spies raiders arsonists and even terrorists. Amongst the samurai a sense ofritual and decorum was observed where one was e,pected to !ght or duel openly.8ombined with the unrest of the engou era these factors created a demand formen willing to commit deeds considered disreputable for conventional warriors."#$"'$ y the engou period the shinobi had several rolesincluding spy (anch5) scout (teisatsu) surprise attacer (ishu) and agitator(onran)."'#$ The ninja families were organiGed into larger guilds each with theirown territories."'+$ A system of ran e,isted. A j5nin (%upper man%) was the highestran representing the group and hiring out mercenaries. This is followed bythe chDnin (%middle man%) assistants to the j5nin. At the bottom wasthe genin (%lower man%) !eld agents drawn from the lower class and assigned tocarry out actual missions."'-$

1ga and /5ga clans

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukioka_Yoshitoshihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamato_Takeruhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_34-17https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kojikihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumasohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Chamberlain_2005_249-253-18https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Sh%C5%8Dtokuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Sh%C5%8Dtokuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_325-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koharumaruhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taira_no_Masakadohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-friday_2007_58_60-19https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiheikihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_34-17https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_7-20https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_5-15https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_periodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_9-21https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_strategyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Tzuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_324-22https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decorumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_erahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_325-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_5_6-2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconnaissancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_9-21https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guildhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_327-23https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-draeger_smith_1981_121-24https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukioka_Yoshitoshihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamato_Takeruhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_34-17https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kojikihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumasohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Chamberlain_2005_249-253-18https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Sh%C5%8Dtokuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Sh%C5%8Dtokuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_325-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koharumaruhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taira_no_Masakadohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-friday_2007_58_60-19https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiheikihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_34-17https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_7-20https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_5-15https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_periodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_9-21https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_strategyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Tzuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_324-22https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decorumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_erahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_325-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_5_6-2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconnaissancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_9-21https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guildhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_327-23https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-draeger_smith_1981_121-24


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The plains of 1ga nested in secluded mountains gave rise to villages specialiGed inthe training of ninja.

The 1ga and /5ga clans have come to describe families living in the provinceof 1ga (modern ;ie 4refecture) and the adjacent region of /5a (later writtenas /5ga) named after a village in what is now higa 4refecture. 7rom these regionsvillages devoted to the training of ninja !rst appeared."'*$ The remoteness andinaccessibility of the surrounding mountains may have had a role in the ninja6ssecretive development."'-$ istorical documents regarding the ninja6s origins inthese mountainous regions are considered generally correct."'0$ The chronicle Lo/agami 7urou writes of the two clans6 origins:

There was a retainer of the family of /awai Ai&no&ami of 1ga of pre&eminent sillin shinobi and conseuently for generations the name of people from 1ga becameestablished. Another tradition grew in /5ga."'0$

Kiewise a supplement to the =ochi /agami a record of the Ashiaga shogunatecon!rms the same 1ga origin:

1nside the camp at ;agari of the hogun "Ashiaga$ oshihisa therewere shinobi whose names were famous throughout the land. Hhen oshihisaattaced


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7ollowing the attle of NehaGama in #*0@ Tougawa employed a group of eighty/5ga ninja led by Tomo uesada. They were tased to raid an outpost ofthe 1magawa clan. The account of this assault is given in the ;iawa Lo 7udoiwhere it was written that /5ga ninja in!ltrated the castle set !re to its towers andilled the castellan along with '@@ of the garrison. "+#$ The /5ga ninja are said to

have played a role in the later attle of eigahara (#0@@) where several hundred/5ga assisted soldiers under Torii ;ototada in the defence of 7ushimi 8astle."+'$ After Tougawa6s victory at eigahara the 1ga acted as guards for the innercompounds of do 8astle while the /5ga acted as a police force and assisted inguarding the outer gate."+@$ 1n #0#- the initial %winter campaign% at the iege ofNsaa saw the ninja in use once again. ;iura oemon a ninja in Tougawa6s servicerecruited shinobi from the 1ga region and sent #@ ninja into Nsaa 8astle in aneOort to foster antagonism between enemy commanders."++$ Iuring the later%summer campaign% these hired ninja fought alongside regular troops at the attleof Tenn5ji."++$

himabara rebellion

A !nal but detailed record of ninja employed in open warfare occurred duringthe himabara


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uspecting that the castle6s supplies might be running low the siegecommander ;atsudaira =obutsuna ordered a raid on the castle6s provisions. erethe /5ga captured bags of enemy provisions and in!ltrated the castle by nightobtaining secret passwords."+0$ Iays later =obutsuna ordered an intelligencegathering mission to determine the castle6s supplies. everal /5ga ninja F some

apparently descended from those involved in the #*0' assault on an 1magawaclan castle F volunteered despite being warned that chances of survival were slim."+3$ A volley of shots was !red into the sy causing the defenders to e,tinguish thecastle lights in preparation. Mnder the cloa of darness ninja disguised asdefenders in!ltrated the castle capturing a banner of the 8hristian cross."+3$ TheMai diary writes

He dispersed spies who were prepared to die inside ara castle. ...those who wenton the reconnaissance in force captured an enemy BagE both Araawa hichirobeiand ;ochiGui o6emon met e,treme resistance and suOered from their seriouswounds for -@ days."+3$ F ntry: '3th day of the #st month

As the siege went on the e,treme shortage of food later reduced the defenders toeating moss and grass. "+9$ This desperation would mount to futile charges by therebels where they were eventually defeated by the shogunate army. The /5gawould later tae part in conuering the castle:

;ore and more general raids were begun the /5ga ninja band under the directcontrol of ;atsudaira =obutsuna captured the ni&no&maru and the san&no&maru(outer bailey)..."+C$ F ntry: '-th day of the 'nd month

Hith the fall of ara 8astle the himabara cethe oniwaban (%garden eeper%) were agents involved in collecting information ondaimyos and government o>cials."-'$ The secretive nature of the oniwaban 2 alongwith the earlier tradition of using 1ga and /5ga clan members as palace guards 2have led some sources to de!ne the oniwabanshD as %ninja%."-+$ This portrayal is

also common in later novels and jidaigei. owever there is no written lin betweenthe earlier shinobi and the later oniwabanshD.


7/19

A page from the h5nini(#09#) detailing a list of possible disguises

1n his ue ;y5moush5 military historian anawa oinoichi writes of the ninja:

They travelled in disguise to other territories to judge the situation of the enemythey would inveigle their way into the midst of the enemy to discover gaps andenter enemy castles to set them on !re and carried out assassinations arriving insecret."--$

The ninja were stealth soldiers and mercenaries hired mostly by daimyos."-*$ Theirprimary roles were those of espionage and sabotage although assassinations werealso attributed to ninja. 1n battle the ninja could also be used to cause confusionamongst the enemy."-0$ A degree of psychological warfare in the capturing ofenemy banners can be seen illustrated in the Pu iei Luni composed between

the #0th and #3th centuries:

Hithin ataya castle there was a glorious shinobi whose sill was renowned andone night he entered the enemy camp secretly. e too the Bag from =aoe/anetsugu6s guard ...and returned and stood it on a high place on the front gate ofthe castle."-3$

spionage

spionage was the chief role of the ninja. Hith the aid of disguises the ninjagathered information on enemy terrain and building speci!cations as well as

obtaining passwords and communiues. The aforementioned supplement tothe =ochi /agami brieBy describes the ninja6s role in espionage:

8oncerning ninja they were said to be from 1ga and /5ga and went freely intoenemy castles in secret. They observed hidden things and were taen as beingfriends."'3$

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_17-44https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimyohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_29-45https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_42-46https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2007_149-47https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_27-27https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_17-44https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimyohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_29-45https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_42-46https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2007_149-47https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_27-27


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Kater in history the /5ga ninja would become regarded as agents ofthe Tougawa baufu at a time when the baufu used the ninja in an intelligencenetwor to monitor regional daimyos as well as the 1mperial court."'+$

abotage

Arson was the primary form of sabotage practiced by the ninja who targetedcastles and camps.

The #0th century diary of abbot ishun (Tamon&in =ii) at Tamon&in monasteryin /5fuu&ji describes an arson attac on a castle by men of the 1ga clans.

This morning the si,th day of the ##th month of Tembun #@ the 1ga&shu entered/asagi castle in secret and set !re to a few of the priests6 uarters. They also set!re to outbuildings in various places inside the an&no&maru. They captured the 1chi&no&maru (inner bailey) and the =i&no&maru."-9$

F ntry: '0th day of the ##th month of the #@th ear of Tenbun (#*-#)

1n #**9


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4ortrait of Nda =obunaga by Jesuit painter Liovanni =iccolo #*9+2#*C@

The warlord Nda =obunaga6s notorious reputation led to several attempts on his life.1n #*3# a /5ga ninja and sharpshooter by the name of ugitani Renjub5 was hiredto assassinate =obunaga. Msing two aruebuses he !red two consecutive shots at=obunaga but was unable to inBict mortal injury through =obunaga6s armor."*#$ ugitani managed to escape but was caught four years later and put to deathby torture."*#$ 1n #*3+ ;anabe


10/19

abdominal problems modern historians have usually attributed his deathto stomach cancer esophageal cancer or cerebrovascular disease."*0$

8ountermeasures

A variety of countermeasures were taen to prevent the activities of the ninja.

4recautions were often taen against assassinations such as weapons concealed inthe lavatory or under a removable Boorboard."*3$ uildings were constructed withtraps and trip wires attached to alarm bells."*9$

Japanese castles were designed to be di>cult to navigate with winding routesleading to the inner compound. lind spots and holes in walls provided constantsurveillance of these labyrinthine paths as e,empli!ed in imeji 8astle. =ij58astle in /yoto is constructed with long %nightingale% Boors which rested on metalhinges (uguisu&bari) speci!cally designed to suea loudly when waled over."*C$ Lrounds covered with gravel also provided early notice of unwanted intrudersand segregated buildings allowed !res to be better contained."0@$

Training

The sills reuired of the ninja has come to be nown in modern timesas ninjutsu (忍術?) but it is unliely they were previously named under a singlediscipline but were rather distributed among a variety ofcovered espionage and survival sills.

This diagram from theansenshuai uses divination andesotericcosmology (onmy5d5) to instruct on the ideal time for taing certain actions.

The !rst specialiGed training began in the mid*th century when certain samurai

families started to focus on covert warfare including espionage and assassination."0#$ Kie the samurai ninja were born into the profession where traditions wereept in and passed down through the family."'+$ According to Turnbull the ninjawas trained from childhood as was also common in samurai families. Nutside thee,pected martial art disciplines a youth studied survival and scouting techniuesas well as information regarding poisons and e,plosives."0'$ 4hysical training wasalso important which involved long distance runs climbing stealth methods ofwaling"0+$ and swimming. "0-$ A certain degree of nowledge regarding common

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professions was also reuired if one was e,pected to tae their form in disguise."0'$ ome evidence of medical training can be derived from one account where an1ga ninja provided !rst&aid to 1i =aomasa who was injured by gun!re in the attle of eigahara. ere the ninja reportedly gave =aomasa a %blac medicine% meant tostop bleeding."0*$

Hith the fall of the 1ga and /5ga clans daimyos could no longer recruit professionalninja and were forced to train their own shinobi. Theshinobi was considered a realprofession as demonstrated in the baufu6s #0-C law on military service whichdeclared that only daimyos with an income of over #@@@@ ou were allowed toretain shinobi."00$ 1n the two centuries that followed a number of ninjutsu manualswere written by descendants of attori anG5 as well as members of the 7ujibayashiclan an oOshoot of the attori. ;ajor e,amples include the =inpiden (#0**)the ansenshuai (#03*) and the h5nini (#09#). "9$

;odern schools that claim to train ninjutsu arose from the #C3@s including that

of ;asaai atsumi (ujinan) tephen /. ayes ( To&hin Io) and Jinichi/awaami (ane hinobinoden). The lineage and authenticity of these schools area matter of controversy.

Tactics

The ninja did not always wor alone. Teamwor techniues e,ist: for e,ample inorder to scale a wall a group of ninja may carry each other on their bacs orprovide a human platform to assist an individual in reaching greater heights."03$ The ;iawa Lo 7udoi gives an account where a coordinated team of attacersused passwords to communicate. The account also gives a case of deception where

the attacers dressed in the same clothes as the defenders causing muchconfusion."+#$ Hhen a retreat was needed during the iege of Nsaa ninja werecommanded to !re upon friendly troops from behind causing the troops to chargebacwards in order to attac a perceived enemy. This tactic was used again later onas a method of crowd dispersal."++$

;ost ninjutsu techniues recorded in scrolls and manuals revolve around ways toavoid detection and methods of escape."9$ These techniues were loosely groupedunder corresponding natural elements. ome e,amples are:

itsue 2 The practice of distracting guards by starting a !re away from the ninja6s

planned point of entry. 7alls under %!re techniues% (aton&no&jutsu)."09$

Tanui&gaure 2 The practice of climbing a tree and camouBaging oneself withinthe foliage. 7alls under %wood techniues% (mouton&no&jutsu)."09$

Migusa&gaure 2 The practice of throwing ducweed over water in order to concealunderwater movement. 7alls under %water techniues% (suiton&no&jutsu)."09$

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MGura&gaure 2 The practice of curling into a ball and remaining motionless in orderto appear lie a stone. 7alls under %earth techniues% (doton&no&jutsu)."09$

Tactics martial arts ninja in sabotage and assassination was adaptation for surpriseattacs (night ambush in the bac) and for small space (thicet bush in the forest

low corridors and small room Japanese locs which reuires short andsmall weapons and short stries). =inja in espionage tried to avoid open battle!eldwith a numerically superior enemy forces therefore their techniue was adapted tostun the enemy and escape in case of failure.

A omus5 mon is one of many possible disguises

Iisguises

The use of disguises is common and well documented. Iisguises came in the formof priests entertainers fortune tellers merchants r5nin and mons."0C$ The ue;y5moush5 states

hinobi&monomi were people used in secret ways and their duties were to go intothe mountains and disguise themselves as !rewood gatherers to discover andacuire the news about an enemy6s territory... they were particularly e,pert attravelling in disguise."'3$

A mountain ascetic (yamabushi) attire facilitated travel as they were common andcould travel freely between political boundaries. The loose robes of uddhist priestsalso allowed concealed weapons such as the tant5."3@$ ;instrel or sarugau out!tscould have allowed the ninja to spy in enemy buildings without rousing suspicion.Iisguises as a omus5 a mendicant mon nown for playing the shauhachi werealso eOective as the large %baset% hats traditionally worn by them concealed thehead completely."3#$

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uipment

=inja utiliGed a large variety of tools and weaponry some of which were commonlynown but others were more specialiGed. ;ost were tools used in the in!ltration ofcastles. A wide range of specialiGed euipment is described and illustrated in the

#3th century ansenshuai"3'$ including climbing euipment e,tending spears"0*$ rocet&propelled arrows"3+$ and small collapsible boats. "3-$

Nuterwear

Antiue Japanese gappa(travel cape) and cloth Guin(hood) with usari (chainarmour) concealed underneath.

Hhile the image of a ninja clad in blac garb (shinobi sh5Gou) is prevalent inpopular media there is no written evidence for such a costume."3*$1nstead it wasmuch more common for the ninja to be disguised as civilians. The popular notion ofblac clothing is liely rooted in artistic conventionE early drawings of ninja wereshown them dressed in blac in order to portray a sense of invisibility."--$ Thisconvention was an idea borrowed from the puppet handlers of bunrau theater who

dressed in total blac in an eOort to simulate props moving independently of theircontrols."30$ Iespite the lac of hard evidence it has been put forward by someauthorities that blac robes perhaps slightly tainted with red to hide bloodstainswas indeed the sensible garment of choice for in!ltration."--$

8lothing used was similar to that of the samurai but loose garments (such asleggings) were tuced into trousers or secured with belts. Thetenugui a piece of

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cloth also used in martial arts had many functions. 1t could be used to cover theface form a belt or assist in climbing.

The historicity of armor speci!cally made for ninja cannot be ascertained. Hhilepieces of light armor purportedly worn by ninja e,ist and date to the right time

there is no hard evidence of their use in ninja operations. Iepictions of famouspersons later deemed ninja often show them insamurai armor. There werelightweight concealable types of armour made with usari (chain armour) and smallarmor plates such as aruta that could have been worn by ninjaincluding atabira (jacets) made with armour hidden between layers of cloth. hinand arm guards along with metal&reinforced hoods are also speculated to mae upthe ninja6s armor."--$

Tools

A page from the =inpiden showing a tool for breaing locs.

Tools used for in!ltration and espionage are some of the most abundant artifactsrelated to the ninja.


15/19

The miGugumo was a set of wooden shoes supposedly allowing the ninja to wal onwater."3-$ They were meant to wor by distributing the wearer6s weight over theshoes6 wide bottom surface. The word miGugumo is derived from the native namefor the Japanese water spider(Argyroneta auatica japonica). The miGugumo wasfeatured on the show ;ythusters where it was demonstrated un!t for waling on

water. The uidari a similar footwear for waling on water also e,isted in the formof a round bucet but was probably uite unstable."9'$ 1nBatable sins andbreathing tubes allowed the ninja to stay underwater for longer periods of time."9+$

Iespite the large array of tools available to the ninja the ansenshuai warns onenot to be overburdened with euipment stating %...a successful ninja is one whouses but one tool for multiple tass%."9-$

Heaponry

Although shorter swords and daggers were used the atana was probably theninja6s weapon of choice and was sometimes carried on the bac."3#$ The atanahad several uses beyond normal combat. 1n dar places the scabbard could bee,tended out of the sword and used as a long probing device."9*$ The sword couldalso be laid against the wall where the ninja could use the sword guard (tsuba) togain a higher foothold."90$ The atana could even be used as a device to stunenemies before attacing them by putting a combination of red pepper dirt ordust and iron !lings into the area near the top of the scabbard so that as the swordwas drawn the concoction would By into the enemy6s eyes stunning him until alethal blow could be made. Hhile straight swords were used before the invention ofthe atana"93$ the straight ninjat5 has no historical precedent and is liely amodern invention.

A pair of usarigama on display in1wauni 8astle

An array of darts spies nives and sharp star&shaped discs were nowncollectively as shurien. Hhile not e,clusive to the ninja"99$they were an importantpart of the arsenal where they could be thrown in any direction."9C$ ows wereused for sharpshooting and some ninjas6 bows were intentionally made smallerthan the traditional yumi (longbow). "C@$ The chain and sicle ( usarigama) was also

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used by the ninja."C#$ This weapon consisted of a weight on one end of a chain anda sicle (ama) on the other. The weight was swung to injure or disable anopponent and the sicle used to ill at close range. imple gardening tools suchas unai and sicles were used as weaponry so that if discovered a ninja couldclaim they are his tools and not weapons despite their ability to be used in battle.

,plosives introduced from 8hina were nown in Japan by the time of the ;ongol1nvasions in the #+th century. "C'$ Kater e,plosives such as hand&held bombs andgrenades were adopted by the ninja."9+$ oft&cased bombs were designed torelease smoe or poison gas along with fragmentation e,plosives paced with ironor pottery shrapnel."03$

Along with common weapons a large assortment of miscellaneous arms wereassociated with the ninja. ome e,amples include poison"3'$ maibishi (caltrops)"C+$ cane swords (shiomiGue)"C-$ land mines "C*$ fuiya (blowguns) poisoneddarts acid&spurting tubes and !rearms."9+$ The happ5 a small eggshell !lled with

blinding powder (metsubushi) was also used to facilitate escape."C0$

Kegendary abilities

uperhuman or supernatural powers were often associated with the ninja. omelegends include Bight invisibility shapeshifting the ability to %split% into multiplebodies the summoning of animals and control over the !ve classical elements. These fabulous notions have stemmed from popular imagination regarding theninja6s mysterious status as well as romantic ideas found in later Japanese art ofthe do period. ;agical powers were sometimes rooted in the ninja6s own eOorts todisseminate fanciful information. 7or e,ample =aagawa hoshujin the #3th

century founder of =aagawa&ryD claimed in his own writings (Nufuji ;onogatari)that he had the ability to transform into birds and animals."00$

4erceived control over the elements may be grounded in real tactics which werecategoriGed by association with forces of nature. 7or e,ample the practice ofstarting !res in order to cover a ninja6s trail falls under aton&no&jutsu (%!retechniues%)."C+$

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Adams_1970_55-91https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kama_(weapon)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunaihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Invasions_of_Japanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Invasions_of_Japanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Bunch_Hellemans2004_161-92https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_329-83https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragmentation_(weaponry)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_22-67https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_19-72https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makibishihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Mol_2003_176-93https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikomizuehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Mol_2003_195-94https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-draeger_smith_1981_127-95https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukiyahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acidhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_329-83https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metsubushihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Mol_2003_124-96https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhumanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernaturalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisibilityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapeshiftinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_elements_(Japanese_philosophy)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_periodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_13-66https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Mol_2003_176-93https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Adams_1970_55-91https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kama_(weapon)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunaihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Invasions_of_Japanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Invasions_of_Japanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Bunch_Hellemans2004_161-92https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_329-83https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragmentation_(weaponry)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_22-67https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_19-72https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makibishihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Mol_2003_176-93https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikomizuehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Mol_2003_195-94https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-draeger_smith_1981_127-95https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukiyahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acidhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-ratti_1991_329-83https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metsubushihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Mol_2003_124-96https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhumanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernaturalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisibilityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapeshiftinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_elements_(Japanese_philosophy)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_periodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_13-66https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Mol_2003_176-93


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Actor portraying =ii Ianj5 a villain from the abui play endai agi. hown withhands in a uji&inseal which allows him to transform into a giant rat. Hoodbloc

print on paper./unisada #9*3. The ninja6s adaption of ites in espionage and warfare is another subject of legends.Accounts e,ist of ninja being lifted into the air by ites where they Bew over hostileterrain and descended into or dropped bombs on enemy territory."3-$ /ites wereindeed used in Japanese warfare but mostly for the purpose of sending messagesand relaying signals."C3$ Turnbull suggests that ites lifting a man into midair mighthave been technically feasible but states that the use of ites to form a human%hang glider% falls suarely in the realm of fantasy."C9$

/uji&iri

/uji&iri is an esoteric practice which when performed with an array of hand %seals%(uji&in) was meant to allow the ninja to enact superhuman feats.

The uji (%nine characters%) is a concept originating from Taoism where it was astring of nine words used in charms and incantations."CC$ 1n8hina this traditionmi,ed with uddhist beliefs assigning each of the nine words to a uddhist deity. The uji may have arrived in Japan via uddhism"#@@$ where it Bourishedwithin hugend5."#@#$ ere too each word in the uji was associated with uddhistdeities animals from Taoist mythology and later hinto ami."#@'$ The mudrS aseries of hand symbols representing diOerent uddhas was applied to the uji by

uddhists possibly through the esoteric ;iy5 teachings."#@+$ The yamabushi ascetics of hugend5 adopted this practice using the handgestures in spiritual healing and e,orcism rituals. "#@-$ Kater the use of uji passedonto certain bujutsu (martial arts) and ninjutsu schools where it was said to havemany purposes."#@*$ The application of uji to produce a desired eOect was called%cutting% (iri) the uji. 1ntended eOects range from physical and mentalconcentration to more incredible claims about rendering an opponent immobile or

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuji-inhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunisadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-draeger_smith_1981_128-74https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Buckley_2002_257-97https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_glidinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_22_23-98https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuji-kirihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuji-inhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_2_3-99https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_8_11-100https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shugend%C5%8Dhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_13-101https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_24_27-102https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudr%C4%81https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikky%C5%8Dhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_24_25-103https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamabushihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exorcismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Teeuwen_Rambelli_2002_327-104https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bujutsuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninjutsuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_31_33-105https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuji-inhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunisadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-draeger_smith_1981_128-74https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Buckley_2002_257-97https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_glidinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Turnbull_2003_22_23-98https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuji-kirihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuji-inhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_2_3-99https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_8_11-100https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shugend%C5%8Dhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_13-101https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_24_27-102https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudr%C4%81https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikky%C5%8Dhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_24_25-103https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamabushihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exorcismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Teeuwen_Rambelli_2002_327-104https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bujutsuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninjutsuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Waterhouse_1996_31_33-105


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even the casting of magical spells."#@0$ These legends were captured in popularculture which interpreted the uji&iri as a precursor to magical acts.

7amous people

;any famous people in Japanese history have been associated or identi!ed as ninja

but their status as ninja are di>cult to prove and may be the product of laterimagination.


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;ochiGui 8hiyome (#0th century) 2 The wife of ;ochiGue ;oritoi. 8hiyomecreated a school for girls which taught sills reuired of geisha as well asespionage sills."###$

;omochi andayD (#0th century) 2 A leader of the 1ga ninja clans who supposedly

perished during Nda =obunaga6s attac on 1ga province. There is some belief thathe escaped death and lived as a farmer in /ii 4rovince."##'$ ;omochi is also abranch of the attori clan.

7ujibayashi =agato (#0th century) 2 8onsidered to be one of three %greatest%1ga j5nin the other two being attori anG5 and ;omochi andayD. 7ujibayashi6sdescendents wrote and edited the ansenshuai.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochizuki_Chiyomehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geishahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Green_2001_671-111https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kii_Provincehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Adams_1970_42-112https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochizuki_Chiyomehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geishahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Green_2001_671-111https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kii_Provincehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#cite_note-Adams_1970_42-112

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