Sent out by his ninja clan to assassinate the daimyo Uesugi Kenshin, Ukifune Jinnai had a tall task that only he could accomplish. He had a secret weapon, his height. Jinnai was a dwarf ninja! Wrapped in pitch black clothing, he used his grappling hook under the cover of night to climb the tower where Kenshin was residing. In his small arsenal of weapons, he combs through his shuriken, his smoke bombs and ninja sword to grab a spear and a straw-like tube.

Thanks to his small stature, he was able to sneak into Kenshin lavatory and hide beneath the excrement while using the straw to breathe while staying motionless for hours! When Daimyo Kenshin made his daily constitutions (sitting on the toilet), it was time for the tiny ninja Jinnai to strike! Stabbing upward from the lavatory to spear Kenshin from the backside all the way through his mouth!

The temporary gargled screams brought forth Kenshin’s guards. But Jinnai slipped back under the excrement to hide yet again until the coast was clear. Sneaking his way out and sneaking his way back out of the castle as if an invisible ghost!

This story of a dwarf ninja has circulated often over the years, along with my embellishments. Most notably this story was in Donn Draeger and Robert Smith’s book, Asian Fighting Arts. However, it’s highly unlikely to be true. Kenshin was assumed to have died from esophageal cancer based on symptoms listed at the time (1578). Since there were ninja clans as his rivals, there will always be the suggestion that he was assassinated by a ninja. But as I’ll discuss later in this blog, that’s not really the way the real ninjas worked.

What image do you conjure up when the word “Ninja” is brought up? Someone dressed all in black, all skin covered, split toed soft sole shoes, long slim sword across their back? Maybe walking across water, then scaling a wall to sneak into a building, tip toeing in the shadows? Then assassinating an unsuspecting person with a throwing star while throwing down a smoke bomb to escape in the night when the guards come running?

Is this all true? Or all fake? Are ninjas even real? Did they have their own fighting system? Are they still around? If you’re like me, you most likely grew up seeing ninjas in films and cartoons. In some cases, the ninjas were the good guys. Usually most known for their amazing fighting skills and MacGyver level craftiness. But in most scenarios, the ninjas are the bad guys and get destroyed by the truck load by the good guys delivering a simple punch.

The story of the ninja and how we have arrived at what the average person knows about them has an interesting story. There are a lot of books on ninjas and the history of the ninjas. Unfortunately, there is a flood of misinformation out there and repeating of lies and misunderstandings. Just finding which books to read on the subject was a process. But I was able to find and focus on a handful of great books and authors that have done the leg work.

John Man and his book, Ninja 1000 Years of the Shadow Warrior and Stephen Turnbull’s Ninja, Unmasking the Myth, provide a great deal of well researched history on the Ninja clans. Along with Antony Cummins & Yoshie Minami’s English translations of the only training manual scrolls supposedly written by the ninja clans, The Bansenshukai, The Secret Traditions of the Shinobi: Hattori Hanzo’s Shinobi Hidden and Other Ninja Scrolls, and True Path of the Ninja: The Definitive Translation of the Shoninki – An Authentic Ninja Training Manual. If you want more in-depth information on anything I write here, seek out these fantastic books!

Before I get into who the ninjas were and where they originated and what they did, I want to establish a few things that can get confusing as we proceed. You may have heard both “ninja” and “shinobi” regarding these shadow warriors. Both are acceptable. The best way I can explain is to give an example of the name Henry. Someone named Henry can also go by Hank. It’s not a shortened version of Henry, nor does it sound the same, but it’s the same. Ninja and shinobi both mean the same thing. From here on out, I’ll be using “ninja” as it’s the most recognized here in the states.

Next, ninjutsu is the art that a ninja practices. However, despite what most believe, ninjutsu is not a martial art. At least, it wasn’t originally. Ninjutsu is the art of spying and espionage, not a fighting system. Today, if you were to train in ninjutsu, it would most likely be a fighting system with additional techniques involving stealth, lock picking and possibly even herbal medicine/first aid.

With that stated, let’s start with the first big question, “Are ninjas real?” And, if so, “Where did they originate from?” Most historians would say yes, and they originated in – and mostly contained to the provinces of – Koga and Iga during feudal Japan (approximately 1400 – 1600). This group of people practice the art of ninjutsu. Most military’s during this period had a group of spies similar to the ninja. Most people knew and studied Sun Tzu’s, The Art of War, in which the art of espionage and information gathering was written about.

But there was something special about the ninja clans that sets them apart from a basic group of spies in other areas. Most of Japan was run by various lords who ruled over the lower class. Their militaries would be made of up the feared Samurai and possibly some espionage groups, but all would be upper class. Koga and Iga were special provinces though. They had no ruling class. In fact, they couldn’t care less about any class.

Koga and Iga were essentially a form of democracy believe it or not. Every family was considered equal. While not every adult had the ability to vote or make big decisions, each province sent a group of people that represented all the families from their respected provinces to make decisions. Very similar to a democratic republic like we have here in the United States. It was somewhat of a commune where everyone helped each other. Other provinces and lords in Japan were not a fan of this, and attempted to conquer Koga and Iga, but to no avail. And the reason why is equally interesting.

Koga and Iga sat right next to each other and while different provinces and not always friendly with each other, they worked together on major things. These two areas sit between two mountain ranges that helped protect them. Most of the people in Koga in Iga were farmers/commoners and former/active Samurai. However, the area flooded often, making it impossible to farm at the base of the mountains. This led them to learn how to navigate and farm on the side of the mountains. The terrain in this area was harsh and hard to navigate. And the people of Koga and Iga were experts in navigating their land.

This skill and knowledge of navigating their terrain gave them a huge advantage to defend and ward off attackers. Knowing that they would be constantly attacked due to their lack of ruling class, they worked together to defend themselves. While they did have some Samurai that could fight, their best bet in defending themselves was through spying and espionage. They would infiltrate nearby provinces to create problems, distractions or at least gather information on any impending attack.

Most of the families that made up the Koga and Iga were also prepared to fight off any attackers. Again, there was no ruling class, so no specific military. Just a group of people that were a jack of all trades. Think of them as like the Minutemen during the American Revolutionary War. Some were just an average joe taking up arms to fight off invaders. Some were warriors, some trained in the art of stealth and infiltration, and some were healers.

This is where the ninjas and the art of ninjutsu was born. Out of necessity to defend their freedom. They successfully defended off attacks from surrounding militaries attempting to take control for about two hundred years! This all ended in 1600 however, during the Tokugawa era that brought all of Japan together in peace from internal fighting. The story of how Tokugawa finally conquered Koga and Iga may have involved a famous ninja, Hattori Hanzō. It’s a fascinating story that is beyond the scope and topic of this blog. But if you are interested, John Man’s book, Ninja 1,000 Years of the Shadow Warrior tackles this topic well.

Most historians agree that this peaceful era is what ended the original ninjas. There was simply no need for them anymore. This is also the era that seemed to produce the few ninja manuals that we have. The Bansenshukai (also written and pronounced with an “M” instead of a “B”, but it’s unknown which is actually correct). The Shoninki manual and the Ninpiden (aka Shinobi Hiden). The Shoninki was written 1681 during peace time, post feudal Japan. Well after the time of the ninja. The Ninpiden (shinobi Hiden) is harder to date. Possibly as early as 1560, possibly as late as 1731 as it seemed to be compiled and written by multiple people at multiple times. And the Bansenshukai, the biggest and most detailed, supposedly written and compiled in 1676.

Aside from possibly the ninpiden, the other manuals were written after the ninjas were active. This throws a lot of reliability out the window being written well after the ninja’s time. This seems to be the start of the transformation of what the original ninjas were and what they did, towards what we believe they were/are today. The manuals may have been written to make sure the ninjas’ efforts and skills were not lost to history. Or they may have been written to help create and perpetuate a myth that Japan could capitalize on. If you were to visit the areas where koga and Iga were located (now Mie and Shiga prefecture), you would see they rightfully capitalize on the ninja myths for tourists.

While the need for ninjas vanish post 1600, supposedly oral and some scrolls/manuals have been handed down from parent to child from some families that were a part of the original ninja clans in Koga and Iga. But these are just individuals and not full-on clans and not likely to be active with espionage. However, in 1938, Japan revitalized the essence of the ninja by
creating the Nakano Spy School.

The spy school obviously trained military participants heavily in updated ninjutsu ideas and techniques. But even with this spy school, the fight training was more for physical exercise as they trained in Kendo, Aikido and Karate. The most interesting part of this school for me and those who have read my previous blogs, is who they trained at that spy school.

If you’ve read my blog, What Suffering Would You Like to Choose?,  then you are familiar with Hiroo Onada. The Japanese soldier that was sent to the Philippines to live in isolation with a small unit of soldiers under him to disrupt the enemy forces in WWII. He refused to believe Japan lost the war and continued to fight for thirty years while living in the mountains and forests. Clearly his spy school training had paid off!

The question now is, when did ninjas and ninjutsu go from espionage and spying and avoiding altercations by any means necessary, to martial arts experts dressed in black while throwing ninja stars? The ninja explosion and myth building began in about 1967, and there were no known ninjutsu schools with martial arts elements until 1972. What led to this explosion of ninjutsu?

Shortly after WWII, the spy school was shut down and the likes of the ninja have since only resided in movies, TV, and comic books. And this is where ninjutsu and what we tend to “know” about ninjas were developed. Stories and books in Japan have had mentions of ninjas long before the rest of the world learned about them. But for most of the world, especially those here in the United States, it was the James Bond film, You only Live Twice that introduced the western world to ninjas.

This movie took a big step forward in shaping the misinformation we have about ninjas and their “fighting” system. The person hired as a ninja consultant on the film was Masaaki Hatsumi. It was he that introduced a fighting system to the ninjas in the film as well as other ninja elements such as black clothing. He stated he inherited his ninjutsu through scrolls given to him by his teacher, Toshitsugu Takamatsu, known as “The Last Shinobi”. However, Takamatsu’s claims of inheriting the art of ninjutsu from the original ninjas in Koga and Iga cannot be verified and many believe he made up at least some of his art.

This movie launched the ninja craze in the west. And when the United States finds a new craze, every form of media starts adding in their own embellishments and ideas. One movie, TV show, or comic book after another began implementing their versions of ninjas. While myths and misinformation on ninjas have been ongoing since the 1600’s, it’s through these films and books/comics that the ninja form that we know today took shape.

Now that we have set the background for the origins of ninjas and what ninjutsu is. Let’s tackle some of the most common misconceptions and flat out lies about the original ninjas.

Did ninjas wear all black?

Sometimes, probably. But the stereotypical full black uniform and face covering is not their “uniform”. They would have worn whatever best suited their mission. Most would prefer a dark blue to blend in at night as a pure black uniform would stand out. If they needed to infiltrate a group or village, they would dress in a disguise to fit in.

For instance, dressing as a monk or traveling performer was used often as those professions traveled often. Therefore, there wouldn’t be anyone questioning why a stranger was in their province. Or they would dress as samurai to infiltrate an upper-class area as they would have samurai guards regularly moving around them. The black uniformed ninja most of us think of though was highly unlikely in most scenarios.

Did ninjas assassinate often?

Not often, if at all. While virtually anything was on the table as options to complete their missions, killing was not top of that list. Keep in mind that their main goal was to never be noticed and leave no trace that they were there. They need to gather information, create misinformation, and not let anyone know who they were or what they were doing so as not sound alarms.

Killing would lead to that alarm to be sounded and the enemy knowing they were being attacked and would retaliate. If they were to assassinate, it would be something very subtle that would lead to suspicion. Such as provoking someone else to go assassinate their target so that person gets the ramifications.

Overall, the ninja’s efforts were to achieve peace. The point of many of their missions was to avoid battles and violence. If you could trick your enemy into believing you are not their enemy, they no longer want to attack you.

On a related note, ninjas didn’t regularly carry the long ninja sword normally associated with them. They would have carried a smaller sword, like a wakizashi to be used as a tool more so than for fighting. Such as cutting rope or used as a foot hold while climbing.

Were ninjas treated as an expendable soldier who would happily die in battle?

We’ve all seen the ninjas in movies and tv shows jump out of nowhere and get killed from one punch, only to have another ninja jump in and take his place. Very expandable, right? Actually, the exact opposite. While the Samurai would gladly die in battle for their lord, the ninja would do anything to not die on a mission. As noted earlier, the ninjas’ missions were geared towards gathering information to bring back to their clan. If they died on a mission, that information wouldn’t make it back.

In addition, the amount of information and training they went through to even go on the mission was intensive. It would be disastrous to lose even one ninja. Most ninjas passed on their training to only one child in their family to keep the art alive. If that child were to die, the family lineage may be gone forever. Their mission and their lives were of utmost importance.

Did ninjas use shuriken (throwing stars)?

While a ninja would use a small object or dagger to throw at someone if needed, the shuriken as we know them today were not likely a part of their arsenal of tools. Nor would they throw it to kill someone. Anything thrown would be more for distraction. As mentioned above, attempting to kill someone bluntly like that was not a good idea. But if spotted, throwing an item or dropping caltrops (small sharp items that would pierce the foot if stepped on) would slow down the pursuer.

Is ninjutsu a martial art?

Much like killing/assassinating would be a bad idea, so would fighting. Ninjutsu, originally, was not a martial art. It was training in the art of espionage, spying, stealth, etc. Not an art of fighting. None of the ninja manuals mention anything about fighting. However, that doesn’t mean fighting was never trained.

Ninjas were people. Every person has their own set of skills and personal habits and interests. Martial arts training could very well have been trained, but not necessarily for the art of ninjutsu. However, some ninjas that needed to infiltrate and disguise as a Samurai would have needed to know the martial fighting systems to better fit in. Essentially, ninjutsu was not a fighting art, but many ninjas knew how to fight as they were also Samurai/former Samurai. They could have had family martial arts systems they trained that was not related to their ninjutsu training.

The ninja manuals did state, on numerous occasions, that “more will be explained orally”. It’s not known what was explained orally. It could be something that needed to be seen to understand or felt, or maybe just too complicated to write down. Due to this, it is possible that the fighting elements were simply taught orally/in person. The counterpoint to this would be that every martial art system I’ve ever read about had drawings or pictures pointing out vital points on the body to be attacked. If fighting was an important part of ninjutsu, I would expect to see drawings or pictures like this. But there is none discovered yet.

Nowadays though, if you signed up for ninjutsu training, it would be heavy on the martial arts training. But the fighting elements would either be that of what the Samurai trained in, such as traditional jujutsu systems. Possibly some Karate elements. Though that would have been added in later, as Karate wasn’t developed at the time of the original ninjas.

It’s possible that the martial arts elements being trained today were of specific families that were also training in ninjutsu. But there is no real evidence of that. At least none have been verified from what I have found. Unfortunately, Ninjutsu is one of the only arts I have never done any training in whatsoever. Therefore, I cannot claim one way or another of the martial arts elements. Though I’m guessing the fighting elements are effective and in line with most martial arts fighting systems.

Were ninjas magical, mystical or have special powers?

No, but there is a reason why this myth is out there. All the ninja manuals make mentions of spiritual elements, spells, strange techniques that seem magical, and suggestions of superhuman skills. The ninjas of Koga and Iga lived among Yamabushi priests and Shinto monks that heavily influenced their spiritual side. This is also where much of their healing techniques (herbal medicines and such) came from.

Spells are listed in the ninja manuals as well. It’s tough to know for sure if these spells are exactly as written or if there was any real belief that they would work. Or if it was more of a superstitious type of thing. Spells for protections, spells for either safe travel (though some think this is more of a teleportation spell), and even spells to get people to like another person or dislike another person. Whether or not the original ninjas did any of this is not known.

Think of these spells as more like astrology readings. There’s no science behind it, but people still believe in it and will swear by it. Maybe a placebo effect or wishful thinking that sets the brain in the right direction. Having the “correct mind” was noted often in these manuals.

Some of the strange and seemingly magical or superhuman techniques include interlocking ones fingers together in a specific manner for numerous different effects, such as seeing through someone’s disguise. As well as looking at a cat’s eyes to determine the time of day based on how dilated their eyes are. Most of this doesn’t make much sense. There are numerous better ways to determine the time of day without wrangling a random cat to look in their eyes.

Maybe these magical or supernatural elements were actually believed. Maybe they were written to perpetuate the mystical side of ninjutsu. Maybe some of it is just a misinterpretation or misunderstanding. Maybe it’s all the above. There just isn’t currently a way to know exactly why these elements were written about in the ninja manuals. But it’s yet another reason why there is so much misinformation and misunderstandings of who the ninja were and what they did.

Could ninjas walk on water?

There’s a good chance you’ve seen a video or movie where a person being chased by an attacker on land. As this person reaches a body of water, he simply keeps running. Lightly tapping his feet across the top of the water without sinking. Leaving behind the attacker who simply sinks in the water. Ninjas can do this, right? Just need to have fast feet!

Unless the ninja recruited Jesus Christ to join their clan, the laws of physics just won’t allow a human to run across water. However, among the tools listed in the ninja manuals is something called the water spider. Many have taken this water spider tool as shoes used to run across water. But that seemingly is a misunderstanding of the device drawn and listed in the ninja manual, The Bansenshukai. This device was used to move along the top of water, but more like a paddle board that the ninja would sit or lay down on.

The ninja also had tools such as a leather bladder that was inflated with air to wear or hold on to in an effort to float in water. Like with many ninja myths, it wasn’t that the ninja couldn’t move across water, they just didn’t do it the way we are told in movies and comics.

Did ninjas work and fight in large numbers?

We all know that ninjas hide in trees in large numbers to jump down to attack someone in one wave of ninjas after another. Right? Probably not. The number of ninjas sent out on a mission always depended on what was needed for the mission. Most information gathering missions would require only one or two ninjas. Some bigger missions, such as infiltrating an armies headquarters or a lords residence, may have taken a number of ninja in strategic places to accomplish their mission.

In most of the historical stories I’ve read, as few ninjas possible were sent out to accomplish a mission. As mentioned above, they were not seen as expendable. Their lives were valued. They would not want to send out numerous ninjas and risk losing all of them.

Where ninjas just thieves who stole for personal benefit?

I believe this might be one of the biggest and most incorrect myths of the list. Nothing the ninja did was for personal gain. It was heavily shunned to do anything for personal gain. Whatever unsavory act the ninja did, was done for the greater good to maintain peace. Far too many movies and the like present ninjas as simple thieves who had no morals. This couldn’t be further from the truth. While they were essentially hired mercenaries, they were always very loyal to who hired them and/or their clan, above all else.

As you can see, there is so much misinformation, myths and uncertain information out there when it comes to the ninja. Virtually everything I’ve written so far could be all made up and we have no way of knowing. The ninjas’ entire effort was based on leaving no trace of what they did or who they were. They purposely left no written documentation down during the time of the original ninjas.

What little we know came mostly from the ninja manuals, in which most or all were written after the ninjas were active. The myth of the ninja and ninjutsu was clearly the most complicated and lengthy myths I’ve tackled. Some authors suggest that ninjas were never real. Stating that any mention of the word ninja or shinobi was doing so as a verb, not a noun. While others believe that ninjas have been active well past the 1600s and possibly still active.

Most, though, believe the ninjas were active for a couple hundred years until the unifying of Japan in 1600. Beyond this time period, aside from the few years in 1938 when the Nakano Spy School was active, there were no active ninjas being used. But without any authentically dated documents stating otherwise, we just don’t know for sure.

The best information we have is that the ninjas were active pre 1600s and were simply a group of people (some commoners, some samurai) trained in the art of espionage, stealth and spying to help maintain peace and independence during feudal Japan era. Nearly everything the average person knows about ninjas is either a misunderstanding or completely wrong. All made up and perpetuated by movies, TV, comics and even the country of Japan itself to promote and capitalize on something that is distinctly Japanese.