Ninja

Everyone is familiar with ninjas. They feature heavily in pop culture both in Japan and in the rest of the world. However, few people know the truth about these warriors — or much of what they think they know is fiction. Learning the critical facts about ninjas is not only fascinating, but it also gives you a greater understanding of Japanese history. Ninjas Were Actually Called Shinobi Historical documents show that ninjas were called shinobi no mono, often shortened to shinobi. The first of such documents dates back to 1375. The word “ninja” is actually an on’yomi reading of the kanji. Ninjas Didn’t Just Fight Ninjas were hired to perform a wide range of tasks, ranging from spying and surveillance to raiding and arson. They did anything that would strike terror into their enemies, including psychological warfare. The wider their range of skills, the easier they could infiltrate enemy lines. Female Ninjas Had Unique Weapons Kunoichi, also known as female ninjas, often turned what they had at their discretion into weapons. One example of this was their ornate hairpins, or kanzashi, which they could sharpen to a point or dip in poison. They also used neko-te (which means cat hand),…