6 Amazing Facts About Real Ninjas

Because of the secrecy that surrounded them for centuries, (Chinese) ninjas and (Japanese) shinobi are romanticized in fiction and theater, and their role and skills are greatly exaggerated and excessive.

The whole story is escalated when the ninjas arrived on the big screen, where they appear as a superior invisible warriors who had no trouble moving underground, run on water … and fly.

Well, today we know that the modern view of ninjas mainly based on a romanticized version of the drama. Simply to say that all the ninjas were extremely capable fighters and assassins would be as say that all of today’s intelligence agents and spies capable as James Bond.

Unlike samurai, ninjas nobody loved or respected (except jonins, masters and supreme commanders). The ninjas were doing jobs that nobody else wanted to do. Killing people ambushed was considered dishonorable in Japan and ninjas are often treated as a necessary evil.

Who was the first ninja warrior?

Like any ancient skills, and one that are ninjas adopted is full of myths and legends. But careful monitoring history, historians have concluded that the original source of the skills and philosophy that were later adopted by ninjas in Japan comes from India where it all began 6000 years ago. Philosophy and skills are slowly traveled from India to China, then to Korea and finally, in the 6th century came to Japan.

According to the official history of Japan, the first ninjas was a man named Otomono Sahiti, a spy who worked for Prince Shotoku (574-622), but the term first became formal and 1162, when they met Daisuke Togakure, samurai who lost their possessions, and then gave up the Samurai bushido code and title and Kain Doshi, a Chinese warrior-monk.

Daisuke and Cain are merged their knowledge and experience under one name – Ninjutsu, which has become a set of different skills including martial arts, strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare, espionage, information gathering, coping and survival in nature, cloaking and stealth, camouflage, avoiding enemy infiltration, overcoming natural and man-made obstacles, fight with their bare hands, different weapons ….

Ninjutsu is soon to become the exact opposite of bushido, the code of the samurai. While the samurai were primarily valued loyalty and honor, ninjas code has valued the only accomplishment of the mission – at any cost.

What do ninjas do?

The main task for a ninja was not to kill the enemy, but to be part of a network of eyes and ears on the ground, to spy and to successfully transfer the information to the other ninjas …

There is no doubt that they were the assassins, however, most of their time they spent doing a day’s work, on the farm or market, dressed like any other man in their environment. Always avoided any physical confrontation that could reveal their skills.

Just like today’s intelligence agents, some ninjas were more than able to kill the enemy, but their primary task was to merge with the surroundings and gather information. Ninjas had no formal martial arts school. In fact, in the history there is no evidence that the ninjas possess martial skills, and those who did, they learned them from their fathers or older brothers.

Do ninjas wear black costumes?

In modern movies and comic books, ninjas are shown in a black suit, with masks on their faces through which can be seen only their eyes. This costume has nothing to do with real ninja, and it comes from the kabuki theater, one of the traditional Japanese form of entertainment that was created in the early 17th century.

It was in these theaters generated numerous myths about ninja who romanticized through fun, something like exaggerating the capabilities of today’s secret agents through the characters of James Bond or Jason Bourne. During the show, ninjas (actors) were wearing black uniforms and masks because they looked so dramatic, and uniforms worn simply borrowed from decorators (if you regularly go to the theater certainly noticed them).

In reality, during the day, ninjas wore everyday clothes like everyone around him (as any reasonable spy), and during night missions clothes are dark blue. Black color would revealing Ninja like silhouette, while the dark blue far better fit in nightlight. During the potentially hazardous mission, ninjas are often worn under clothing chain mail, type of armor consisting of small metal rings linked together. It is believed that it was this armor is responsible for the legend that says that ninjas were demons who could not be killed.

Ninjas maintain family tradition

Like the samurai, ninja were born into the profession, the families who have maintained the tradition that has been passed from generation to generation. The ninja was trained from childhood, as was common with samurai family.

In addition to martial arts, ninjas children from an early age are taught survival techniques and reconnaissance, learn all about poisons and explosives – and most importantly – their training demanded a certain degree of knowledge related to interest that will be addressed in the future, which will cover up their true profession.

Today no one knows for sure whether there has ever been an organized army consisting of ninjas. They have always been trained as individuals in their family, and they rarely act as a group.

What was the mission of ninja?

As we wrote above, the primary task of ninjas was to collect information about the enemy, but from time to time, they were required to put their other skills into practice, such as the assassination from ambush, brutal murder, sabotage …

In these situations, ninjas have been well prepared and equipped. One of the main tools were a rope that was attached hook, which allowed ninja to climb the wall or roof. There were also other equipments for the opening doors or windows, like a chisel, hammer, drill, hand hook … Knives and small saws (hamagari) are also used for drilling holes in walls, a portable device for listening is used for eavesdropping conversations and detect sounds.

What weapons did ninjas use?

As for the weapons, they used all – from small knives to katana whose peaks are often put a combination of red pepper, dust and iron dust to when drawing the sword from its sheath disable enemy (dust in the eyes) before they kill the enemy.

A number of different types of darts, spikes, knives and ninja star, known collectively as shuriken, were an important part of the arsenal, but at that time not only ninjas used. Shuriken, despite popular belief, are generally not used to kill at a distance, but to fight with fists (ninjas would fists hidden spike), or to throw on the floor, so that the enemy stepped on them.

They were very skilled with poisons, but also with gunpowder, which are used to create smokescreen, or even for making bombs. Some of the bombs were designed to release toxic gases, while others were filled with pieces of iron or ceramic shrapnel. In addition, the ninjas were carrying a handful of different weapons, adjusted agricultural tools, landmines, sword cane, boxers and bows and arrows.

You read also great article How was samurai Armor Made and also about Vietnamese Guerrilla Army.