ninjatrainingguide

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To put too fine a point on ninjutsu would be to misrepresent it, something that's done in so many accounts that describe it simply as a practice of guerrilla warfare and espionage.

The Ninja: Ancient Shadow Warriors of Japan, by Dr. Kaecem Zoughari

Throughout Japan's history, espionage and deception are common. In our research, we found many names for spies (Graham Introduction to Masazumi, 1-4), references to people from Kouga or Iga acting as shinobi (Zoughari, 46) and ordinary retainers of daimyo acting as shinobi  (Zoughari, 46). Most of the sources are at least a little suspect, but the older sources just mention the action of "stealthy people" or one of the many spy names.

It is not until the Edo period, that we have evidence of shinobi scrolls, that describe training techniques. As we have already explained, by the Edo period, the shinobi were already being moved from the arena of active military participation into artistic reinterpretation. 

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The Problem with Researching Ninja

Among our research in trying to establish a historically accurate training manual to become a ninja (which is why our blog is called Ninja Training Guide) we came upon an interesting and reoccurring problem; the lack of academic historical documents that established how they trained, what exactly they did and how they lived their lives.

A common excuse on this part was that since the ninja were spies and assassins and they would have little reason to keep written records if their activities were meant to be secret. Yet, they still managed to have written scrolls of some of their techniques that can only be seen by a specific set of individuals and not available to the public. 

So instead, we have the interesting opportunity to parse through a figure as mythologized as the ninja and come to our own conclusion as to what makes the most sense. But everywhere we look and in everything we see, there hangs a big [citation needed] because we can never be quite sure as to what was the actual truth of the time. 

According to co-author of Ninja Attack Matt Alt, as well as various other sources, the term "ninja" didn't appear until the 19th century. It's a different way to pronounce the word "shinobi" with the same characters, and "shinobi" means literally "person of stealth". They were more likely to act as spies, provide reconnaissance or act as guides. But still, I say "they" very loosely, because the idea of there being a distinct group of warriors that were categorically different than the samurai and referred to themselves as shinobi is fairly unlikely.

The warring states period of Japan (1467-1603) didn't so much require a new breed of warrior to counteract the honourable and dutiful samurai as a lot of historical narratives seem to establish, but more so needed more warriors. A common theme running among literature about Japanese warriors, starting as early as the 8th century, emphasizes the use of trickery and deception. The Daimyos of the warring states didn't need a new breed of warriors that could practice trickery and deception because those practices had already been ingrained in the culture and were utilized even by the "honourable and dutiful" samurai. That state of warfare merely increased, much as it did in Europe around the same time, and spies and mercenaries and tactical information was more necessary than ever. The shinobi didn't magically appear during this time, the "person of stealth" always existed in the lore and war of Japan. It was just during this time that the skills that are commonly attributed to them became more in demand. 

http://kotaku.com/5932403/all-you-know-about-ninja-is-probably-wrong

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Histories of the Ninja, fact or fiction?

Although no one claims to have a complete history of the Ninja here are two books that attempt to give an realistic portrayal of the shinobi.

1) The Ninja: Ancient Shadow Warrior of Japan written by researcher and ninjustu instructor, Dr. Kacem Zoughari. He puts the ninja in context with Japan’s other martial arts, Japanese culture, and Japanese history. For example, during the Genroku era (1688-1704), [not the Sengoku period (1467-1573) when they were active] shinobi, who were later known as ninja, were portrayed in what we now recognize as their black costume in art and kabuki. These artistic portrayals were fanciful and focused on their misdeeds (Zoughari, 20-21). Dr. Zoughari, also claims that during the Sengoku period is “rich with documentation” of the presence of shinobi missions (Zoughari, 42). He makes this claim based on the public records. In his book, he also mentions private scrolls of the Togakure-ryū ninpō an “authentic school of ninjutsu” (Zoughari, 69). 

Overall it seems to be a good overview founded in the historical documents and with rich insights. 

2) Ninja: the Shadow Warrior, by Joel Levy, is a artistically pleasing book, that also gives a decent overview of the ninja. It has pages that look like they are from an old scroll and lots of interesting illustrations. It looks more like a children’s book than an academic source, however, it have a bibliography, index, and glossary. As well, the book gives a decent overview of the ninja without making too many claims. For example, Levy includes, both the eight and eighteen categories of technique, often associated with the ninja (Levy, 86-87). 

Visually pleasing and good introduction to the ninja and some of the mythology surrounding them. 

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Interesting American retro/vintage representation of the ninja. I think it's interesting that the ninja is said to possess a "stone-like mental discipline" and be capable of "thunderous violent action", which are mainly invented traditions typically related to the samurai. (see: Bushido: The Soul of Japan, by Inazo Nitobe, a book which is the perfect example of "Invented Tradition").

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"Basilisk" Anime Review, or, "Romeo and Juliet and Shinobi"

*POTENTIAL SPOILERS* 

So, first off, despite any historical inaccuracies, this anime was really, really entertaining. Suspending my disbelief and enjoying the story and romantic subplots was really fun, and overall I would probably rate it an 8/10. The quality of the animation is also very good, and the fight scenes are well "choreographed". It was also very similar to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", especially in the fact that the two main characters are in love but are from two warring villages and so their love is "taboo" or "forbidden". Also, just like in Shakespeare's version, (this is the main SPOILER that I warned you about) everyone dies in the end  lives happily ever after. Like I said earlier, it is a decent anime overall and I'd recommend it.

However...

This anime is somewhat lacking in the "historical fact" department, and here's why:

1. The ninjas literally have super-human powers, and I don't need to (or, I hope I shouldn't have to) cite any academic sources to tell you that people cannot come back from the dead or turn their body hair into some kind of razor-sharp-pin-like projectile.

Fiction: 1, Fact: 0.

2. This anime is based on a manga written by Masaki Segawa in 2003 which is not even the first manga adaptation. Furthermore, the manga is based off of a fictional novel written by Futaro Yamada in 1958. The "broken telephone" effect just begs for facts to be twisted.

Fiction: 2, Fact: 0.

3. The Iga and Kouga (not "Koka", as some would translate it) weren't exactly established as opposing clans, and Antony Cummins points this out when he presents a translation of a ninja manual (the Gunpo Jiyoshu) in his book In Search of the Ninja: the Historical truth of Ninjutsu: "It is common knowledge that there used to be people who were good at this path in Iga and [Kouga] in ancient times. Their skills have been handed to their descendants and that means they still exist. Thus, the people in charge of this job are called Iga or [Kouga] Shu and are hired in every clan across Japan.". As unsure as I am about Cummins' research, this is a quote from a historical document, and not his actual analysis. Circumstances surrounding the "scroll" itself notwithstanding, this is historical evidence that the Kouga and the Iga weren't villages constantly at war, and nowhere can I find evidence of any "star-crossed lovers" except for the pages of playwrights and the imagination of hopeless romantics. 

Fiction: 3, Fact: 0.

THREE STRIKES, and BASILISK IS OUT!

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Drawing of the archetypical ninja, from a series of sketches (Hokusai manga) by Hokusai. Woodblock printon paper. Volume six, 1817

Which we now know was an invention of the Edo Period.

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Ishikawa Goemon... Ninja?

I am not sure,  and it is also really difficult to tell because Ishikawa Goemon is so popularized and prevalent in media, from Edo-period Kabuki plays (where this image originated) up to today's modern animation.

That's the reason why I picked this as our profile image, because Goemon's many fantastic tales (including a supposed attempt to assassinate Hideoshi Toyotomi) are a testament to the myth of the ninja, despite the interesting connection between kabuki and the ninja (see below).

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Translated Ninja Scrolls

As mentioned earlier, ninja (shinobi) scrolls are both an important and a difficult source of information. 

Two of the books in the further reading section of this blog have translations of some of the better shinobi scrolls. Secret Traditions of the Shinobi: Hattori Hanzo’s Shinobi Hiden and other Ninja Scrolls, edited and translated by Anthony Cummins and Yoshie Minami and Shoninki: the Secret Teachings of the Ninja, by Master Natori Masazumi translated by Jon E. Graham. 

Unfortunately, all of these scrolls were either written or transcribed during the early Edo period, between 1600 and 1800. This is not the period when the shinobi were active. They were active during the earlier Sengoku period (1467-1573). Unfortunately, during the time when these scrolls were written, the historic shinobi were becoming part of popular mythology. This was the time when Kabuki and other art forms were inventing the image of the shinobi as “supermen” without faith or law (Zoughari, 67). 

However, these scrolls give us some idea of what the shinobi may have done and the skills that they may have employed. 

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火と水ははなさねものぞしのびには野山にねるを役とおもひて Keep water and fire with you at all times, as sleeping outdoors is an inseparable part of a shinobi's life.

Ise no Saburo Yoshimori?(Cummins & Minami, 143) 

ーAttributed to Ise no Saburo Yoshimori (1159-89), one of Minamoto Yoshitsune’s four great retainers, however, there is no proof he wrote this poem or the rest of the poems found in the Gunpo Jiyoshu, dated around 1612. However, although the poems are included in the Gunpo Jiyoshu, they were written earlier, between the 12th and 17th Century, making them “the oldest collection of written ninjutsu information in the world” (Cummins & Minami, 131). 

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This is not a person being accosted by some ninja, but rather an actor on stage being helped by Kuroku, or stagehands in traditional Japanese theater. One theory as to why it has entered into popular culture that ninjas wear black is that it originates in the Edo period theater. These stagehands wore black on stage to be denoted as "invisible" and had become a trope in theater at the time. Some playwrights would use this trope and have a Kuroku come out and commit an assassination as part of the plot and having it turn out that they were a ninja sneaking in the background all along.

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Misconception about Japanese ninja.

Takes a look at ninjas wearing black, ninjas being a distinct and separate class other than the samurai and that there are ninjas training even to today.

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I've read some things (none very academic) which mention a Chinese origin of the ninja. This is a cool map.

Macro Areas in Chinese History

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What Do the Historical Texts Reveal About the Ninja?

Historical texts always cause problems.

This is because they may exist in multiple versions, written at multiple times, such as the Taiheiki. Antony Cummins points out in his book In Search of the Ninja: The Historical Truth of Ninjutsu, that the surviving earliest version of the Taiheiki (Which roughly translates to "Great Peace Chronicle") doesn't mention the shinobi or ninja at all. Although the version he quotes was written sometime between 1520 and 1550, he explicitly states that the character "忍” which is both part of the word "ninja" and "shinobi", does not appear in the highly damaged earliest version. 

This is good for us though, because we now have a legitimate historical reference of the ninja, but it is only that, a brief mention among many other stories. 

I think that the Sengoku period is a good place to look for the ninja, as this mentioning indicates. Even though the version of the Taiheiki discussed probably blends a fair bit of fiction in with the facts, we know that it was written just before the Edo/Tokugawa period. This is important because the Tokugawa period is known for its commercial ninja schools and "scrolls", but that is another story and another knotted string needing to be untangled in this search for the "real" ninja.

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Ninja's Food

Ninja's food are mainly grains, and only allow to take food that is low calories, low fat, and high proteins. The principle food usually are brown rice, wheat and sweet potatoes, as well as nuts. Side dishes are tofu, miso, with plum prunes, vegetables, sesame, quail eggs and etc. Foods that will make body odors are not allowed, such as, leeks, meat, onions, garlics, gingers, as well as cigarettes. Ninja always change clothes and taking showers, all serves to reduce the odor.

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學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆。 To learn without thinking is fruitless, to think without learning is perilous.

The Analects of Confucius, II:15.

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Koga Vs. Iga? Think before you think!

This is an idea which I keep seeing in relation to the ninja. Basically, the idea is that there were two "clans" of "ninja families" which were at war at any time between the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and into the Tokugawa or Edo period (1603-1868). The information varies depending on which website you visit, which should be your first clue that the story may not be 100% true.

Here are some of the places were you can find these "stories". Please note the lack of cited sources! (it even says at the top of the wikipedia articles that they need to be fixed because they DO NOT CITE SOURCES!)

Iga Wikipedia article

Koga Wikipedia article

Article from random "create a free website" page

The "international Ninjutsu society" website, where they promote "honor, perserverance, and loyalty.(which are actually retrofitted samurai values, as per Nitobe Inazo's Bushido: The Soul of Japan)

Article from some "Jigoku Dojo" (in English, "Hell Dojo"?????), where they probably just want you to pay to take their seminars and what not, which may or may not be actual ninjutsu.

Stay tuned for more on the Koga and Iga, including a review of the popular animes "Basilisk" and "Ninja Scrolls"!

[ninjatrainingguide]

忍者にとって一番の敵は、 天狗になることでござる

忍者ハットリくん ハットリくんの台詞 藤子不二雄Ⓐ作より (via shouichiondemand)

（brief english translation: "The number one enemy of the Ninja is that they might become a braggart". Context unknown, quote reblogged for interest)