In feudal Japan, ninja or shinobi (literally, "one who is concealed," or "one that endures") were sometimes assassins and agents of espionage. Ninja, like samurai, followed their own special code of conduct, called ninpo. Some modern practitioners of budo ninjutsu argue that ninja were hardly ever used as assassins, but rather for espionage. Ninja originally formed in the hills of Japan to escape brutal samurai law. They hid from the law studying ninjutsu to protect their friends and family from ruthless rulers. 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 spies in an underground intelligence network. 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 Fiction, below. == Etymology == The word ninja is derived from the Japanese phrase ''shinobi no mono''. This phrase is written with two Kanji (Chinese) characters, pronounced ''ren-zhe'' (忍者) in Mandarin (linguistics). The first character, the same one used for ninjutsu, means ''endurance''. The second character means ''person'', though this meaning has dropped from modern usage. The ninja are sometimes referred to in another Chinese term "Lin Kuei" meaning "demons of the forests" for the beliefs of possessing mystical powers. == History == Due to the fact that ninja rarely left anything in writing or boasted of their achievements, the history of the ninja is shrouded in secrecy, so the great majority of stories circulating about them are difficult to prove. 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 taught by Buddhist monks who educated him with Chinese books like The Art of War. One of the earliest roots of ninja, Togakure-ryu, reportedly originated in the late Heian era. ''Iga'' and ''Koga'' are two of the most famous ninja styles, and are often pitted against each other in fiction. In reality, they were allies and worked together in mutual defense pacts. Both of these claim that they originate in the Heian period. Only a few records remain from the Kamakura period. Kusunoki Masashige used some clever tactics against enemies that remotely resemble 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 began 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, also known as 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 daimyō 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 3,000 against an overwhelming force of 50,000 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 Jū 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. Tokugawa Ieyasu used ninja well, controlling both Iga and Koga in unifying and ultimately rising to the rank of Shogun. In his dramatic escape through the mountainous landscape of Nara after Oda's assassination, Iga ninja led by Hattori Hanzo 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 ''Oniwabanshu'', a semi-secret group of bodyguards and intelligence officers who worked tending gardens of the Edo castle and eavesdropping on unaware daimyō. A ninja master Fujibayashi Sabuji wrote Bansenshukai (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 the Edo period would continue for over 200 years. In the Edo period, ninja became popular heroes 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 misconstructions and some may have even written these stories themselves to increase their value should their services have become needed. One of the lesser known contributions made by ninja is their involvement in furthering the research of fireworks. At the end of the 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. == Culture of Ninja== A ninja organization would be headed by a ''jōnin'' (上忍) literally high ninja. Under ''jōnin'' would be several ''chūnin'' (中忍) lit. middle ninja. Under ''chūnin'' would be several ''genin'' (下忍) lit. low ninja. Upon receiving a mission from daimyō, the ''jōnin'' would use the ''chūnin'' to select necessary personnel from among the ''genin''. Some ninja groups would be smaller and may have been less structured. Other groups may have been structured more like an army and the leader may instead have been called ''shō'' or general. While ninja are often depicted as male, females were often ninja as well. A female ninja may be called ''kunoichi'' (くノ一); the characters are supposedly derived from the strokes that make up the kanji for woman (女). Though sometimes depicted as experienced prostitutes who learned the secrets of an 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 ''ninpō'' (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 severest crime is leaving a ninja family without authorization and never coming back. He or she would be called ''nukenin'' (抜け忍) and his or her family members 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 espionage. Some parallel to this over-dramatization can be drawn by comparing movie series of James Bond and actual works of a spy. In 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 included but were not limited to monks, yamabushi, waiter and waitress, traveling salesman, artist, and ronin. Disguises were selected on the basis of their unobtrusiveness in a given environment. 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 revealing that they were ninja. Because they were well disguised, some have even suggested Matsuo Basho, a traveling poet, was actually a ninja employed by the shogun to keep a watch over daimyō, and that haiku he published were really secret codes telling other ninja some unknown secrets. This is a view dismissed by almost all 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 they could be hidden easily. The ''makibishi'', a type of caltrop made of iron spikes, is also famous. 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 with bow (weapon) while they looked for another escape route, but it could also be covered with deadly poison so the victim would die slowly. Occasionally, makibishi would be loaded with gunpowder to explode upon impact, further damaging a pursuer's foot. 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 that would burn down on the target after they left. ''ozutsu'' (cannons) they constructed could be used to fire fiery sparks as well as projectiles at a target. Even land mines were constructed that used a mechanical fuse or a lighted oil soaked string. These techniques were used to make fireworks in 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 conspicuous even when confiscated. It was through intelligence 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. Each combination carried certain meanings like "all clear" or "an enemy check point is ahead". Contrary to popular beliefs, nunchaku were never used by the ninja, or indeed any mainland Japanese traditional martial art. Karate, 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. Contrary to the marketing of sword manufacturers, there was no such thing as a ninjato or a sword that only ninja used. Typically "ninjatō" is confused with the ancient chokuto. Using a sword with inferior strength, blade geometry, and cutting ability would not have been useful to a ninja's purpose. Even more baffling would be a ninja carrying a sword that could have automatically identified him as a spy. To be less conspicuous, ninja carried daisho since many were of the samurai class. For deception, some ninja would carry a wakizashi in a katana saya to allow faster drawing of the sword and cause the opponent to miscalculate. On assassination missions ninja were more likely to use cheaper weapons. There was always the possibility that weapons would need to be disposed of if something went wrong, so expensive swords were naturally poor choices. Ninja techniques extended to the use of ordinary objects as lethal weapons. A ninja assassin was much more likely to pose as a tradesman and kill his target with a hammer than to dress in camouflage and use a sword. == Ninja in fiction == Ninja in fiction are divisible into 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. Ryotaro Shiba wrote two fictional works, 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. Shinobi no Mono is another movie about ninja. Eric Van Lustbader has written a series of closely ninja-related thriller books, the first one being The Ninja (1980). The series tells the story of half-Japanese, half-Caucasian Nicholas Linnear who received nearly full-scale ninjutsu training in his youth. Ninja appears in many games and their characters are loosely based on historical facts. In a fighting game, a ninja are typically quick to strike but lacking in power or defense. Many a computer role-playing game had a ninja as its character. In the Final Fantasy series, the ninja made its initial appearance in the first Final Fantasy as an upgrade from the Thief character class, adept at equipping an array of weapons and armor and casting black magic. Typical of ninja in Final Fantasy is the ability to simultaneously equip two weapons and throw weapons at the enemy, inflicting great damage at the cost of extremely low defense. Several Wizardry series had an odd twist, because wearing an armor reduced ninja's advantage of evading an enemy attack, ninja were typically unadorned by players. Ninja have long been a popular subject in anime and manga. The popular anime and manga series Naruto (manga) is a recent example of a ninja-based series. In western popular culture, the ninja are often depicted as 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 ninja's legendary costume, often makes up the western take on the ninja as a popular foe of fictional spies (especially on missions in East Asia), superheroes and supervillains. Ninja in western popular culture, though predominantly Asian, are not monolithically so—westerners have been depicted as ninja and as martial artists generally, as in Bruce Lee's ''Enter the Dragon''. By the late 1980s, many popular culture items were spoofs (''Beverly Hills Ninja'') or inaccurate (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''). However, "serious" depictions of the ninja continued to coexist with these exaggerations. Perhaps the most-evolved ninja parodies can be found on Real Ultimate Power, a website featuring ninja wailing on guitars and fighting pirates, and Ninja Burger, which features ninja delivering fast food. In the former, ninja have Real Ultimate Power, which means they are 1) mammals, 2) fighters who fight out ALL the time, and 3) prone to flip out and kill people. They are self-contradictions, being reckless while also careful and precise. In the latter, ninja are descendants of a long line of honorable ninja devoted to serving others, and the best way to serve in the 21st Century is to deliver fast food in 30 minutes or less. A recent Internet theme has pirates being the hated enemies of the ninja. Not only are the two ripe for stereotyping in a humorous fashion, but their antithetical outlooks on life make them obvious opponents (even if there is no basis in reality for such opposition); pirates are loud, flashy, rude, crude extroverts who clash swords on the high seas, and ninja are quiet, reserved, polite, refined introverts who work from the shadows. == Myths of Ninja == There are many myths and legends concerning ninja, who were most prevalent during Japan's feudal era and often served daimyo, 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. == List of Teaching Styles or "ryū" of Ninja == Each teaching style is gathered according to where they would be located under current prefectures and may not be completely accurate. They may or may not still be practised. *Akihabara - Akiba-ryu *Aomori - Nakagawa-ryu *Yamagata - Haguro-ryu *Niigata - Uesugi-ryu, Kaji-ryu *Nagano Prefecture - Koyo-ryu, Togakure-ryu, Aoki-ryu, Ito-ryu, Akutagawa-ryu *Tochigi - Matsumoto-ryu *Ibaraki - Matsuda-ryu *Kanagawa - Fuma-ninpo *Yamanashi - Takeda-ryu, Ninko-ryu *Toyama - Echizen-ryu *Gifu - Mino-ryu *Aichi - Matsuba-ryu, Ichizen-ryu *Shiga - Tarao-ryu, Rigyoku-ryu, Koga-ryu *Mie - Hattori-ryu, Momochi-ryu, Togakure-ryu, Iga-ryu *Nara, Nara - Kusunoki-ryu *Wakayama - Kishu-ryu, Negoro-ryu, Saika-ryu *Kyoto - Hatano-ryu *Okayama - Bizen-ryu *Shimane - Fukushima-ryu *Fukuoka - Kuroda-ryu *Nagasaki - Nanban-ryu (see also the Nanban period) *Kagoshima - Satsuma-ninpo ==External links== *[http://www.shinobi-kai.com Shinobi-kai Ninjutsu] *[http://www.ninjaburger.com Best Ninja page on the planet] *[http://www.realultimatepower.net The Offical NINJA Webpage] Ninjutsu Warriors Japanese warriors Japanese terms ms:Ninja
==Concerning the Peter Nepstad link== In Nepstad's article, it says that the two kanji characters for shinobi-no-monoo are pronounced nin-sha in Mandarin, nin meaning concealment and sha meaning person. I'm Chinese myself, and am self-studying Japanese and studying ninja for school. However, I don't know pinyin, as I'm Taiwanese. The pronounciation of the first character is close, but would be better sound-translated as ren, with the second rising tone. It also does not mean concealment, but means endurance. This can be double-checked at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninjutsu. The translation of the second character is accurate, meaning person. However, the pronounciation is not sha, but something more like zuh with the third tone, represented by a hook. I'm going to add an etymology section. If a mainland China person would come and correct my pinyin, it would be most appreciated. P.S. I've changed all the "ninjas" to "ninja". In Japanese, the plural form of nouns are the same as the singular. Actually, I don't know if the pinyin is correct. I'll get one of my mailand friends to fix it. ---- I'm not expert, so I'm not going to correct the page, but to me this page seems very biased. It is written in such a way that claims that Ninja's 'abilities' are exagerated or fictional. While this belief is common in the modern western supposedly scientific mindset, it is not the only belief. The ninja's did have quite a bit of spiritual training, and these abilities are believed by many to be real. This page really needs to be cleaned up to make it clear that this stuff being mythical is a common belief, but not the only belief. Neither side can claim with any knowledge to have the truth. ---- ''Ninja, like Bushido and Samurai, followed their own special code of conduct called Ninpo.'' :Something's wrong with this sentence. It's pretty vague about the relationship between Samurai and Ninja, and implies that Bushido is another class of warrior. It should clearly state (not verbatim) that Samurai are to Bushido as Ninja are to Ninpo. User:DryGrain 21:44, 23 Mar 2004 (UTC) ---- Apparently 203.45.155.14 has got it in for this page and related pages. See my comment on Talk:Ninjutsu. He's been at it for the last few days. User:Tim Starling 01:27 Nov 13, 2002 (UTC) :I've put his/her favourite pages on my watchlist, and will be keeping an eye out for him/her. This isn't something I know a heck of a lot about though, so I'm probably not the best person for the job. If you're listening in, by the way, anonymous editor, and you do have a genuine gripe with this and related pages, then explaining them here on this talk page or on Talk:Ninjutsu might help us to understand what you're trying to achieve - that way we may be able to improve the article. If you just remove content without explanation, on the other hand, it will just be put back. --User:Camembert ---- This needs integrating -- there are contradictory statements throughout the article. Simmmm, would you consider editing the original text instead of contradicting it with "The truth:"? If it's the truth, the original shouldn't be there at all! And if someone disagrees with your facts then the discussion can be had on this page until we get an agreed text. User:Mswake 11:43 Feb 3, 2003 (UTC) Just like to say I agree with his "truth" in this case; ninja did have their own code of honor. I don't agree that they were spies, they were also used as assassins, and on occasion as elite soldiers in field battle. There were also ranks but I really shouldn't go into that. Not that I remember the names of the ranks in Japanese. - Nocturnal :Well, it's all a bit vague, isn't it - there weren't many records kept. The most common thread I've seen were that the people who became ninjas were immigrants from China, who lived separately from the Japanese, who were barely, if at all, tolerated, who needed to develop their arts to avoid invasion from far greater forces, which lead to them becoming in demand as both spies and assassins. -- User:Jimregan 03:37, 10 Aug 2003 (UTC) :[http://www.illuminatedlantern.com/cinema/features/ninja.html This link] looks to be the best researched article around on the topic - among other things, it attributes the costume associated with ninjas as being an invention of kabuki. -- User:Jimregan 03:49, 10 Aug 2003 (UTC) :This link better illustrate or rather, the only external link seemed have been written by someone with a wildest imagination who never spent time reading books. I'll get back to this after I finished writing another article. User:Revth 15:03, 9 Jul 2004 (UTC) Am I mistaken in thinking the plural of ninja is also "ninja"? - Nocturnal :I guess so. Japanese language has no basic plural rule. When absolutely needed, ninja would be plurarized to "ninja-tachi" in Japanese. ''tachi'' can be used on other Japanese nouns that describe a person like "samurai" and "sensei". Theoretically, it could be "ninjas" if you follow general rules for making a plural form in English. User:Revth 15:03, 9 Jul 2004 (UTC) ---- Is it just me, or does this wiki entry seem like a joke... im going to make some changes to make it seem a little more ... I dont know if professional is the word, but maybe more relevant -- Catskul ---- The last paragraph of this article is basically a see-also to an article that doesn't exist (although something like it probably should). -- User:Jmabel 17:35, 21 May 2004 (UTC) :I'll see what I can do with that. There's some in the article already. User:Meelar 17:37, 21 May 2004 (UTC) Whisper to me, please stop reverting this page to add misleading and redundant information against the wishes of all other users who contribute to Japan-related articles who have joined the discussion. User:Exploding Boy 12:15, May 22, 2004 (UTC) == Ninja and nunchaku == The entry for Ninja contains the following: ''Contrary to popular belief, nunchaku were never used by the ninja, or indeed any mainland Japanese traditional martial art''. However, the entry for nunchaku claims: ''The most common martial arts to use nunchaku are the Japanese martial arts such as some forms of karate'', and talks about nunchaku in relation to Japan. Which is it? :Nunchaku is a weapon used in Okinawan style of martial art, namely karate, and Okinawa is some several hundred kilometers away from the mainland Japan. Until Meiji-era, Okinawa was an independent country called "Ryukyu" and none of the samurai or ninja had ever had a chance to see or learn karate. So both facts are true as they are. User:Revth 14:31, 9 Jul 2004 (UTC) == Ninja garb == The classical ninja Pajyamas, or so I understand it, is in fact, ''Kabuki Stagehand Wear'', derived from a need to make persons playing the role of Ninja in Kabuki theatre more or less invisible. As far as I understand, thus, they never wore anything like it, ever. Am I mistaken here, or is the article's statement about dark green suits et al really accurate?... :My understanding is that indeed it did result from the stagehand wear, not so much for the actual concealment value, but to take advantage of the tacit understanding that a stagehand so attired was considered to be invisible. Therefore, the "ninja" clad similarly would be considered invisible. One of those things which would be very nifty if true. User:SeanDuggan 21:53, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC) == Merging content from Ninja in western fiction == Hi, I've merged some content from Ninja in western fiction according to the Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/Ninja in western fiction there. I've merged the extra content in the Ninja#Ninja_in_fiction section. --User:DeathphoenixUser_talk:Deathphoenix 00:58, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Ninja Ranks == Is the jounin/chunin/genin info in this article under Culture of Ninja for real? What's the source? I don't believe this is common knowledge, and it sounds suspiciously like some made up detail from Naruto (manga).
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Ninja:
Ninja
Ninja
Ninja
Ninja-Pirate
NinjaCell
Ninjai
Ninjajace
NinjaKawn
NINJAM
Ninjamask
Ninjamask
NinjaPwnage
Ninjas
Ninjas
Ninjask
Ninjas_in_pajamas
Ninjas_in_pajamas
Ninjas_in_Pyjamas
Ninjas_in_Pyjamas
Ninjas_vs_Pirates
Ninjato
Ninjato
Ninjaturtlery
Ninjawailer
Ninjawailer
Ninjazord
Ninjazords
Ninja_Academy
Ninja_academy
Ninja_Burger
Ninja_Champion
Ninja_death_star
Ninja_Gaiden
Ninja_Gaiden
Ninja_gaiden
Ninja_Gaiden_2
Ninja_Gaiden_3
Ninja_Gaiden_Trilogy
Ninja_games
Ninja_high_school
Ninja_in_Western_Fiction
Ninja_in_Western_fiction
Ninja_in_western_fiction
Ninja_in_western_fiction
Ninja_Ken
Ninja_Ken
Ninja_Megafalconzord
Ninja_Resurrection
Ninja_Scroll
Ninja_Sentai_Kaku_Ranger
Ninja_star
Ninja_Strike_Force
Ninja_Tune
Ninja_tune
Ninja_Tunes
Ninja_turtle
Ninja_Turtles
Ninja_Zords
Ninja
In feudal Japan, ninja or shinobi (literally, "one who is concealed," or "one that endures") were sometimes assassins and agents of espionage. Ninja, like samurai, followed their own special code of conduct, called ninpo. Some modern practitioners of budo ninjutsu argue that ninja were hardly ever used as assassins, but rather for espionage. Ninja originally formed in the hills of Japan to escape brutal samurai law. They hid from the law studying ninjutsu to protect their friends and family from ruthless rulers. 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 spies in an underground intelligence network. 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 Fiction, below. == Etymology == The word ninja is derived from the Japanese phrase ''shinobi no mono''. This phrase is written with two Kanji (Chinese) characters, pronounced ''ren-zhe'' (忍者) in Mandarin (linguistics). The first character, the same one used for ninjutsu, means ''endurance''. The second character means ''person'', though this meaning has dropped from modern usage. The ninja are sometimes referred to in another Chinese term "Lin Kuei" meaning "demons of the forests" for the beliefs of possessing mystical powers. == History == Due to the fact that ninja rarely left anything in writing or boasted of their achievements, the history of the ninja is shrouded in secrecy, so the great majority of stories circulating about them are difficult to prove. 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 taught by Buddhist monks who educated him with Chinese books like The Art of War. One of the earliest roots of ninja, Togakure-ryu, reportedly originated in the late Heian era. ''Iga'' and ''Koga'' are two of the most famous ninja styles, and are often pitted against each other in fiction. In reality, they were allies and worked together in mutual defense pacts. Both of these claim that they originate in the Heian period. Only a few records remain from the Kamakura period. Kusunoki Masashige used some clever tactics against enemies that remotely resemble 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 began 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, also known as 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 daimyō 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 3,000 against an overwhelming force of 50,000 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 Jū 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. Tokugawa Ieyasu used ninja well, controlling both Iga and Koga in unifying and ultimately rising to the rank of Shogun. In his dramatic escape through the mountainous landscape of Nara after Oda's assassination, Iga ninja led by Hattori Hanzo 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 ''Oniwabanshu'', a semi-secret group of bodyguards and intelligence officers who worked tending gardens of the Edo castle and eavesdropping on unaware daimyō. A ninja master Fujibayashi Sabuji wrote Bansenshukai (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 the Edo period would continue for over 200 years. In the Edo period, ninja became popular heroes 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 misconstructions and some may have even written these stories themselves to increase their value should their services have become needed. One of the lesser known contributions made by ninja is their involvement in furthering the research of fireworks. At the end of the 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. == Culture of Ninja== A ninja organization would be headed by a ''jōnin'' (上忍) literally high ninja. Under ''jōnin'' would be several ''chūnin'' (中忍) lit. middle ninja. Under ''chūnin'' would be several ''genin'' (下忍) lit. low ninja. Upon receiving a mission from daimyō, the ''jōnin'' would use the ''chūnin'' to select necessary personnel from among the ''genin''. Some ninja groups would be smaller and may have been less structured. Other groups may have been structured more like an army and the leader may instead have been called ''shō'' or general. While ninja are often depicted as male, females were often ninja as well. A female ninja may be called ''kunoichi'' (くノ一); the characters are supposedly derived from the strokes that make up the kanji for woman (女). Though sometimes depicted as experienced prostitutes who learned the secrets of an 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 ''ninpō'' (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 severest crime is leaving a ninja family without authorization and never coming back. He or she would be called ''nukenin'' (抜け忍) and his or her family members 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 espionage. Some parallel to this over-dramatization can be drawn by comparing movie series of James Bond and actual works of a spy. In 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 included but were not limited to monks, yamabushi, waiter and waitress, traveling salesman, artist, and ronin. Disguises were selected on the basis of their unobtrusiveness in a given environment. 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 revealing that they were ninja. Because they were well disguised, some have even suggested Matsuo Basho, a traveling poet, was actually a ninja employed by the shogun to keep a watch over daimyō, and that haiku he published were really secret codes telling other ninja some unknown secrets. This is a view dismissed by almost all 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 they could be hidden easily. The ''makibishi'', a type of caltrop made of iron spikes, is also famous. 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 with bow (weapon) while they looked for another escape route, but it could also be covered with deadly poison so the victim would die slowly. Occasionally, makibishi would be loaded with gunpowder to explode upon impact, further damaging a pursuer's foot. 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 that would burn down on the target after they left. ''ozutsu'' (cannons) they constructed could be used to fire fiery sparks as well as projectiles at a target. Even land mines were constructed that used a mechanical fuse or a lighted oil soaked string. These techniques were used to make fireworks in 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 conspicuous even when confiscated. It was through intelligence 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. Each combination carried certain meanings like "all clear" or "an enemy check point is ahead". Contrary to popular beliefs, nunchaku were never used by the ninja, or indeed any mainland Japanese traditional martial art. Karate, 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. Contrary to the marketing of sword manufacturers, there was no such thing as a ninjato or a sword that only ninja used. Typically "ninjatō" is confused with the ancient chokuto. Using a sword with inferior strength, blade geometry, and cutting ability would not have been useful to a ninja's purpose. Even more baffling would be a ninja carrying a sword that could have automatically identified him as a spy. To be less conspicuous, ninja carried daisho since many were of the samurai class. For deception, some ninja would carry a wakizashi in a katana saya to allow faster drawing of the sword and cause the opponent to miscalculate. On assassination missions ninja were more likely to use cheaper weapons. There was always the possibility that weapons would need to be disposed of if something went wrong, so expensive swords were naturally poor choices. Ninja techniques extended to the use of ordinary objects as lethal weapons. A ninja assassin was much more likely to pose as a tradesman and kill his target with a hammer than to dress in camouflage and use a sword. == Ninja in fiction == Ninja in fiction are divisible into 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. Ryotaro Shiba wrote two fictional works, 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. Shinobi no Mono is another movie about ninja. Eric Van Lustbader has written a series of closely ninja-related thriller books, the first one being The Ninja (1980). The series tells the story of half-Japanese, half-Caucasian Nicholas Linnear who received nearly full-scale ninjutsu training in his youth. Ninja appears in many games and their characters are loosely based on historical facts. In a fighting game, a ninja are typically quick to strike but lacking in power or defense. Many a computer role-playing game had a ninja as its character. In the Final Fantasy series, the ninja made its initial appearance in the first Final Fantasy as an upgrade from the Thief character class, adept at equipping an array of weapons and armor and casting black magic. Typical of ninja in Final Fantasy is the ability to simultaneously equip two weapons and throw weapons at the enemy, inflicting great damage at the cost of extremely low defense. Several Wizardry series had an odd twist, because wearing an armor reduced ninja's advantage of evading an enemy attack, ninja were typically unadorned by players. Ninja have long been a popular subject in anime and manga. The popular anime and manga series Naruto (manga) is a recent example of a ninja-based series. In western popular culture, the ninja are often depicted as 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 ninja's legendary costume, often makes up the western take on the ninja as a popular foe of fictional spies (especially on missions in East Asia), superheroes and supervillains. Ninja in western popular culture, though predominantly Asian, are not monolithically so—westerners have been depicted as ninja and as martial artists generally, as in Bruce Lee's ''Enter the Dragon''. By the late 1980s, many popular culture items were spoofs (''Beverly Hills Ninja'') or inaccurate (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''). However, "serious" depictions of the ninja continued to coexist with these exaggerations. Perhaps the most-evolved ninja parodies can be found on Real Ultimate Power, a website featuring ninja wailing on guitars and fighting pirates, and Ninja Burger, which features ninja delivering fast food. In the former, ninja have Real Ultimate Power, which means they are 1) mammals, 2) fighters who fight out ALL the time, and 3) prone to flip out and kill people. They are self-contradictions, being reckless while also careful and precise. In the latter, ninja are descendants of a long line of honorable ninja devoted to serving others, and the best way to serve in the 21st Century is to deliver fast food in 30 minutes or less. A recent Internet theme has pirates being the hated enemies of the ninja. Not only are the two ripe for stereotyping in a humorous fashion, but their antithetical outlooks on life make them obvious opponents (even if there is no basis in reality for such opposition); pirates are loud, flashy, rude, crude extroverts who clash swords on the high seas, and ninja are quiet, reserved, polite, refined introverts who work from the shadows. == Myths of Ninja == There are many myths and legends concerning ninja, who were most prevalent during Japan's feudal era and often served daimyo, 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. == List of Teaching Styles or "ryū" of Ninja == Each teaching style is gathered according to where they would be located under current prefectures and may not be completely accurate. They may or may not still be practised. *Akihabara - Akiba-ryu *Aomori - Nakagawa-ryu *Yamagata - Haguro-ryu *Niigata - Uesugi-ryu, Kaji-ryu *Nagano Prefecture - Koyo-ryu, Togakure-ryu, Aoki-ryu, Ito-ryu, Akutagawa-ryu *Tochigi - Matsumoto-ryu *Ibaraki - Matsuda-ryu *Kanagawa - Fuma-ninpo *Yamanashi - Takeda-ryu, Ninko-ryu *Toyama - Echizen-ryu *Gifu - Mino-ryu *Aichi - Matsuba-ryu, Ichizen-ryu *Shiga - Tarao-ryu, Rigyoku-ryu, Koga-ryu *Mie - Hattori-ryu, Momochi-ryu, Togakure-ryu, Iga-ryu *Nara, Nara - Kusunoki-ryu *Wakayama - Kishu-ryu, Negoro-ryu, Saika-ryu *Kyoto - Hatano-ryu *Okayama - Bizen-ryu *Shimane - Fukushima-ryu *Fukuoka - Kuroda-ryu *Nagasaki - Nanban-ryu (see also the Nanban period) *Kagoshima - Satsuma-ninpo ==External links== *[http://www.shinobi-kai.com Shinobi-kai Ninjutsu] *[http://www.ninjaburger.com Best Ninja page on the planet] *[http://www.realultimatepower.net The Offical NINJA Webpage] Ninjutsu Warriors Japanese warriors Japanese terms ms:Ninja
Ninja
==Concerning the Peter Nepstad link== In Nepstad's article, it says that the two kanji characters for shinobi-no-monoo are pronounced nin-sha in Mandarin, nin meaning concealment and sha meaning person. I'm Chinese myself, and am self-studying Japanese and studying ninja for school. However, I don't know pinyin, as I'm Taiwanese. The pronounciation of the first character is close, but would be better sound-translated as ren, with the second rising tone. It also does not mean concealment, but means endurance. This can be double-checked at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninjutsu. The translation of the second character is accurate, meaning person. However, the pronounciation is not sha, but something more like zuh with the third tone, represented by a hook. I'm going to add an etymology section. If a mainland China person would come and correct my pinyin, it would be most appreciated. P.S. I've changed all the "ninjas" to "ninja". In Japanese, the plural form of nouns are the same as the singular. Actually, I don't know if the pinyin is correct. I'll get one of my mailand friends to fix it. ---- I'm not expert, so I'm not going to correct the page, but to me this page seems very biased. It is written in such a way that claims that Ninja's 'abilities' are exagerated or fictional. While this belief is common in the modern western supposedly scientific mindset, it is not the only belief. The ninja's did have quite a bit of spiritual training, and these abilities are believed by many to be real. This page really needs to be cleaned up to make it clear that this stuff being mythical is a common belief, but not the only belief. Neither side can claim with any knowledge to have the truth. ---- ''Ninja, like Bushido and Samurai, followed their own special code of conduct called Ninpo.'' :Something's wrong with this sentence. It's pretty vague about the relationship between Samurai and Ninja, and implies that Bushido is another class of warrior. It should clearly state (not verbatim) that Samurai are to Bushido as Ninja are to Ninpo. User:DryGrain 21:44, 23 Mar 2004 (UTC) ---- Apparently 203.45.155.14 has got it in for this page and related pages. See my comment on Talk:Ninjutsu. He's been at it for the last few days. User:Tim Starling 01:27 Nov 13, 2002 (UTC) :I've put his/her favourite pages on my watchlist, and will be keeping an eye out for him/her. This isn't something I know a heck of a lot about though, so I'm probably not the best person for the job. If you're listening in, by the way, anonymous editor, and you do have a genuine gripe with this and related pages, then explaining them here on this talk page or on Talk:Ninjutsu might help us to understand what you're trying to achieve - that way we may be able to improve the article. If you just remove content without explanation, on the other hand, it will just be put back. --User:Camembert ---- This needs integrating -- there are contradictory statements throughout the article. Simmmm, would you consider editing the original text instead of contradicting it with "The truth:"? If it's the truth, the original shouldn't be there at all! And if someone disagrees with your facts then the discussion can be had on this page until we get an agreed text. User:Mswake 11:43 Feb 3, 2003 (UTC) Just like to say I agree with his "truth" in this case; ninja did have their own code of honor. I don't agree that they were spies, they were also used as assassins, and on occasion as elite soldiers in field battle. There were also ranks but I really shouldn't go into that. Not that I remember the names of the ranks in Japanese. - Nocturnal :Well, it's all a bit vague, isn't it - there weren't many records kept. The most common thread I've seen were that the people who became ninjas were immigrants from China, who lived separately from the Japanese, who were barely, if at all, tolerated, who needed to develop their arts to avoid invasion from far greater forces, which lead to them becoming in demand as both spies and assassins. -- User:Jimregan 03:37, 10 Aug 2003 (UTC) :[http://www.illuminatedlantern.com/cinema/features/ninja.html This link] looks to be the best researched article around on the topic - among other things, it attributes the costume associated with ninjas as being an invention of kabuki. -- User:Jimregan 03:49, 10 Aug 2003 (UTC) :This link better illustrate or rather, the only external link seemed have been written by someone with a wildest imagination who never spent time reading books. I'll get back to this after I finished writing another article. User:Revth 15:03, 9 Jul 2004 (UTC) Am I mistaken in thinking the plural of ninja is also "ninja"? - Nocturnal :I guess so. Japanese language has no basic plural rule. When absolutely needed, ninja would be plurarized to "ninja-tachi" in Japanese. ''tachi'' can be used on other Japanese nouns that describe a person like "samurai" and "sensei". Theoretically, it could be "ninjas" if you follow general rules for making a plural form in English. User:Revth 15:03, 9 Jul 2004 (UTC) ---- Is it just me, or does this wiki entry seem like a joke... im going to make some changes to make it seem a little more ... I dont know if professional is the word, but maybe more relevant -- Catskul ---- The last paragraph of this article is basically a see-also to an article that doesn't exist (although something like it probably should). -- User:Jmabel 17:35, 21 May 2004 (UTC) :I'll see what I can do with that. There's some in the article already. User:Meelar 17:37, 21 May 2004 (UTC) Whisper to me, please stop reverting this page to add misleading and redundant information against the wishes of all other users who contribute to Japan-related articles who have joined the discussion. User:Exploding Boy 12:15, May 22, 2004 (UTC) == Ninja and nunchaku == The entry for Ninja contains the following: ''Contrary to popular belief, nunchaku were never used by the ninja, or indeed any mainland Japanese traditional martial art''. However, the entry for nunchaku claims: ''The most common martial arts to use nunchaku are the Japanese martial arts such as some forms of karate'', and talks about nunchaku in relation to Japan. Which is it? :Nunchaku is a weapon used in Okinawan style of martial art, namely karate, and Okinawa is some several hundred kilometers away from the mainland Japan. Until Meiji-era, Okinawa was an independent country called "Ryukyu" and none of the samurai or ninja had ever had a chance to see or learn karate. So both facts are true as they are. User:Revth 14:31, 9 Jul 2004 (UTC) == Ninja garb == The classical ninja Pajyamas, or so I understand it, is in fact, ''Kabuki Stagehand Wear'', derived from a need to make persons playing the role of Ninja in Kabuki theatre more or less invisible. As far as I understand, thus, they never wore anything like it, ever. Am I mistaken here, or is the article's statement about dark green suits et al really accurate?... :My understanding is that indeed it did result from the stagehand wear, not so much for the actual concealment value, but to take advantage of the tacit understanding that a stagehand so attired was considered to be invisible. Therefore, the "ninja" clad similarly would be considered invisible. One of those things which would be very nifty if true. User:SeanDuggan 21:53, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC) == Merging content from Ninja in western fiction == Hi, I've merged some content from Ninja in western fiction according to the Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/Ninja in western fiction there. I've merged the extra content in the Ninja#Ninja_in_fiction section. --User:DeathphoenixUser_talk:Deathphoenix 00:58, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Ninja Ranks == Is the jounin/chunin/genin info in this article under Culture of Ninja for real? What's the source? I don't believe this is common knowledge, and it sounds suspiciously like some made up detail from Naruto (manga).
Ninja
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
N
NA | NB | NC | ND | NE | NF | NG | NH | NI | NJ | NK | NL | NM | NO | NP | NR | NS | NT | NU | NW | NX | NY | NZ |Words begining with Ninja:
Ninja
Ninja
Ninja
Ninja-Pirate
NinjaCell
Ninjai
Ninjajace
NinjaKawn
NINJAM
Ninjamask
Ninjamask
NinjaPwnage
Ninjas
Ninjas
Ninjask
Ninjas_in_pajamas
Ninjas_in_pajamas
Ninjas_in_Pyjamas
Ninjas_in_Pyjamas
Ninjas_vs_Pirates
Ninjato
Ninjato
Ninjaturtlery
Ninjawailer
Ninjawailer
Ninjazord
Ninjazords
Ninja_Academy
Ninja_academy
Ninja_Burger
Ninja_Champion
Ninja_death_star
Ninja_Gaiden
Ninja_Gaiden
Ninja_gaiden
Ninja_Gaiden_2
Ninja_Gaiden_3
Ninja_Gaiden_Trilogy
Ninja_games
Ninja_high_school
Ninja_in_Western_Fiction
Ninja_in_Western_fiction
Ninja_in_western_fiction
Ninja_in_western_fiction
Ninja_Ken
Ninja_Ken
Ninja_Megafalconzord
Ninja_Resurrection
Ninja_Scroll
Ninja_Sentai_Kaku_Ranger
Ninja_star
Ninja_Strike_Force
Ninja_Tune
Ninja_tune
Ninja_Tunes
Ninja_turtle
Ninja_Turtles
Ninja_Zords
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