The Illuminated Lantern: Ninja. Essays and Commentary. Ninja. A brief attempt to sort out a sort of history of the Ninja. Beware the beat of the cloth- wrapped feet!'Ninja?' What is this 'Ninja?' The short version of the origin of the Ninja, retold many times in books and on film, goes something like this: The Ninja arts originated in ancient China, then traveled to Japan during the Tang Dynasty. The Japanese developed the Ninja arts to the utmost, creating deadly assassins, who can enter any place undetected and strike when least expected. So we have to go back, and look into the history books, to see just what they're talking about in the passage above, and not only that to see what a more fact- based history of the Ninja might look like. And before we do that, we need to define some terms. Just what is a ninja, anyway? The word itself derives from the Japanese Shinobi- no- mono, which is written with two kanji characters that can also be pronounced as nin- sha, if the Chinese pronunciation is used instead. The first character, nin, suggests concealment, while the second, sha, means person. Ninja: a person who hides his presence. 20+ weeks on The New York Times. It was easily the biggest mass. Let’s be clear about one thing upfront: Ninja were (and, depending on who you ask, still are) a real thing. During the feudal era in Japan (largely beginning in the 15th Century), many isolated rural clans were resistant and even hostile to the idea of being ruled over by. Ryu is also known as 'the Super Ninja' or 'the Singular Super Ninja', 'Dragon Ninja', 'the Modern Day. James Bond: The popularity of ninja in Western media may have started with the Bond film You Only Live Twice from 1967. Most of those ninja were depicted as being more like members of an elite government special forces unit than invisible assassins, however. In Japanese, the word is applied to a person who does covert, military operations. We cannot leave the term with such a broad definition, though, else the CIA, the FBI, and the marines could all be considered ninjas. And though I'm sure there are many marines who would like to believe that they are, I'm afraid it just isn't so. When speaking of the Ninja, then, we also imply that they are a secret organization, fraternity, or clan, whose skills and knowledge have been passed down in secrecy from generation to generation. And finally, they have to occasionally wear that cool black outfit. In sum, to be considered a ninja, as we understand it through popular entertainment and modern ninjutsu masters, a ninja must: practice the art of concealment engage in covert military operations belong to a secret fraternity of ninja wear black, and lots of it. Nevertheless, a careful study of the history does indeed reveal ninjas of a sort operating in Japan, at the very least during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But before we arrive there, we must first take a look at claims of an ancient heritage of ninja arts, beginning as far back as ancient China. The Ninja History that Wasn't When the claim is made that Ninja arts originated in China, what is really being said is that Sun Tzu's The Art of War was written there around the fifth century BC, and contains a chapter about the importance of espionage. Some of the tactics described in this book, specifically the espionage chapter, were eventually put into use by the ninja. For this reason, ninja skills are often described as Chinese in origin. On the other hand, there was nothing particularly secret about this book, and the strategems were widely known, once the book finally made it over to Japan sometime in the seventh or eighth century AD. The set-bound cinematography is great, the use of natural light in the lush exteriors. Duel Combat Realism mod for Skyrim is a true warrior’s test (From http:// Plenty of gameplay-tweaking mods for Skyrim sparkle like Ayleid gems in our mod section, but LogRaam’s Duel Combat Realism overhaul somehow evaded our stealth. The Chinese often referred to it, and many other books which followed it, when planning for warfare and studying tactics. The Japanese, too, came to use the book and many of its teachings, not just the espionage chapter. Samurai battles used tactics laid out in The Art of War. Yet no one claims that the Way of the Samurai originated in China. It's sort of like claiming that Mormonism began in Israel thousands of years ago. While it's true Christianity did, Mormonism did not. A school of thought may have begun in China with Sun Tzu's The Art of War, but the system created in Japan which included some of this information and was known as the Ninja arts must be said to be a unique creation of Japan. So for those who prefer an ancient Japanese origin for the ninja, there is another myth. This story involves the legendary hero Prince Yamato and is recorded in two of the oldest written texts in Japan, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. Both tell origin myths and early history of the Japanese people, and are a mix of folklore, fact, and legend. Both were written in the early eighth century AD for the imperial household. The story of Prince Yamato is usually pointed to as an illustration of how old the arts of the ninja are, the events allegedly taking place in the first century AD. But not even the firmest believers in the Prince Yamato story can call him a ninja for it, rather he is a 'proto- ninja.' The story which interests ninja historians concerns Prince Yamato's mission to subdue the Komaso. He arrives in the Land of Kumaso, and the story continues as follows (as translated by W. G. Aston): Now the Kumaso had a leader named Torishi- kaya, also called the Brave of Kahakami, who assembled all his relations in order to give them a banquet. Hereupon Prince Yamato let down his hair, and disguising himself as a young girl, secretly waited until the banquet should be given. Then with a sword girded on him underneath his inner garment, he entered the banqueting muro of the Brave of Kahakami and remained among the women. The Brave of Kahakami, enchanted with the beauty of the young girl, forthwith took her by the hand, and made her sit by him. He also offered her the cup, and made her drink, and thus amused himself with her. By and by the night grew late, and the company fewer. Also the Brave of Kahakami became intoxicated. Hereupon Prince Yamato drew the sword which he had in his inner garments, and stabbed the Brave of Kahakami in the breast. Beats me, unless of course ninjas are infamous cross- dressers. Unfortunately, in the historic literature, there are no references of any ninja disguising themselves as a woman, at least that I have been able to verify. Sadly, no records indicate they ever were. Moving forward in history about four hundred years, a ninja- like night raid does show up in the Heike Monogatari, which documents the battles between the Taira and Minamoto clans for command of the nation in 1. A couple samurai warriors secretly sneak into the enemy's camp. But even though by this time Sun Tzu's The Art of War has been lying around for hundreds of years, apparently they didn't read it, since the first thing they do is shout a challenge to announce their arrival, and are promptly killed for their trouble. Clearly, no one had figured out that whole ninja thing yet. So, when exactly do ninjas show up in the historical record? And it seems the earliest reference to a band of ninja occurs in the Taiheiki, written around 1. And unfortunately, it's an unmitigated disaster - - the ninjas are discovered before the raid is even carried out and they are slaughtered to a man. Not an auspicious beginning! From that point, references to ninja activity increase in the histories and romances written at the time, with ninja activity finally coming into its own during the age of Sengoku, when all of Japan was plunged into war, a state of affairs which lasted throughout the sixteenth century, with the most ninja activity seemingly occuring around the Iga and Koga provinces. Iga and Koga Ninja. The Sengoku era marks a century of warfare in Japan, during the latter half of which the powerful daimyo Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu struggled for dominance, sometimes allied together, sometimes dramatically opposed, until at last Tokugawa Ieyasu was named Shogun in 1. Battle of Sekigahara, and Japan was united once again. During this time, documented ninja activity was at its peak, a peak that would not be reached again until the 1. Ninja raids, attempted assassinations, reconnaisance missions, and other military operations were recorded in semi- historical documents such as the Hodo Godai- ki, a chronicle of the Hojo clan who once ruled Japan as regents to the shogun, the Shinchoko- ki, a biography of Oda Nobunaga, and the Iran- ki, the chronicle of Iga province. These references, when taken as a whole, reveal exactly what role the ninja played in warfare of the time. Siege Warfare: This is by far the most often referenced skill of the ninja. The ability to enter into a castle by means of stealth, and launch a suprise attack on the inhabitants, causing confusion within while the main army storms the castle from without. Typically the ninja party would scale the walls of a castle under the cover of night, then start lighting everything in sight on fire. They would not wear black, but rather, wear the costume of the castle defenders, making it difficult to tell friend from foe, and so make it seem like there is a rebellion within the ranks. Once chaos reigns inside the castle, the army lays siege on its walls from without. If there was any special skill, then, that these ninjas were famous for, this was it. These ninjas were also able to perform valuable services if they were part of the force under siege in a castle. The ninja could sneak out of the castle at night, and steal the banner of the opposing army, and hang it on the battlements in the morning to demoralize the attackers. One source tells of the ninja going out nearly every night from a castle to frighten and harass the attacking army, without doing any physical damage - - however, the troops had to always be on the alert, and being unable to ever get a good night's sleep, the soldiers constantly on edge waiting for an attack all night, they were ineffective when the time came to launch an assault on the castle. Scouts: Ninjas were often employed to assay the relative strength of the enemy. By one account, a ninja would lay in the tall grass just outside an enemy encampment and remain there until dawn before returning to report. In most cases, however, the scout simply goes on horseback, and is indistinguishable from scouts used in warfare anywhere in the world. Assassins: This is what the Ninja is known for now. Even in the seventeenth century, the Daimyo feared assassination attempts by ninjas. All of the major generals seemed to have an assassin make an attempt on their life at some point or another. List of ninja films - Wikipedia. The following is a list of films where at least one ninja character appears as a significant plot element. Japanese films (live- action)! Jigoku- ken) (1. 97. The Executioner II: Karate Inferno (Chokugeki Jigoku- ken Dai Gyakuten) (1. K. Other films include: Genkotsu to Ninjutsu no Many. Demonic Resurrection: Portrait of Hell (1. Futaro Yamada. Samurai XXX (Yoka no Ken) (2. Robot Monster Number Two (2. The Last Gaucho Ninja (El ! The films were recorded without sound, so although the gweilo actors spoke English while recording their lines, they were dubbed over by other voice actors. Ho reportedly used multiple pseudonyms to direct these films, so the exact number of films that can be credited to him as such is unclear. The production and distribution of the majority of these cut- and- paste films were through Joseph Lai's companies IFD Films & Arts Limited (3. ADDA Audio Video Limited (2 films), and Tomas Tang's Filmark International Ltd. Ninja (1. 98. 7 Ocean Shores). Minor roles? Ladies: Return to Savage Beach (1. Let's Talk About Sex (1. Licence to Kill (1. Millionaires Express (1. My Lucky Stars (1. Nikos the Impaler (2. Ong Bak 2 (2. 00. Ong Bak 3 (2. 01. Operation Dance Sensation (2. Operation Las Vegas (1. Order of the Eagle (1. Pee- wee's Big Adventure (1. Pervirella (1. 99. Pineapple Express (2. Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1. Prison- A- Go- Go!
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