-Ninja(shinobi in Japanese) was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan capable of working in unorthodox methods and arts of war. They were masters of espionage, sabotage, infiltration, assassination, and also open combat situations.
-They used covert methods of waging war, they clashed basically with the samurai, who had strict rules about honor and combat, where as ninjas don't care.
-By the time of the Meiji Restoration(1868), the time of the shinobi had become a topic of popular culture, and mystery and imagination. Some of the abilities included walking on water, invisibility, control over the natural elements.
-Pronounced shinobi, meaning "to steal away"
-Also can apply to kunoichi(female ninja), which became more known in the post WWII world
-Ninjas made their debut in the 15th century, as spies, raiders, arsonists, and even terrorists
-Among the samurai, a sense of ritual was established.
-There was a ranking system for ninjas. Spy was called kancho, scout was called teisatsu, surprise attacker was called kishu, agitator was called konran. Jonin was referred to as upper man, with chunin as middle man and genin as lower man, who were the ones to carry out the dirty work
Roles
Espionage
-Chief role of the ninja
-With the help of disguises, the ninja could gather info on enemies, obtain passwords, and communiques.
Sabotage
-Arson was the primary form of sabotage practiced by ninjas. They often targeted camps and castles
Assassination
-Most well known cases of assassination involves famous historical figures.
Countermeasures
-There were various measures to prevent ninjas. Such as weapons in lavatory, or under moveable floorboard, buildings made with traps and trip wires attached to alarm bells
-Japanese castles were made to be hard to navigate, with winding routes to the inner compound. Blind spots and holes in walls provided constant surveillance of these labyrinth paths. Such examples are seen in Himeji Castle, Nijo Castle in Kyoto. They are made with "nightingale floors", which rested on metal hinges specifically designed to squeak loudly if walked over. Grounds with gravel over it also gave early notice of intruders
Tactics
Hitsuke: practice of distracting guards by starting fire away from ninja's planned point of entry
Tanuki-gakure: practice of climbing a tree and camouflaging themselves
Ukigusa-gakure: practice of throwing duckweed over water to conceal underwater movement
Uzura-gakure: practice of curling into a ball to remain motionless to look like a rock
Disguises
-Could disguise themselves as anything, such as fortune tellers, priests, entertainers, merchants, monks
Clothing
-Black was a common color to show invisibility
-Similar to the samurai, but loose clothing
-Lightweight armor for protection
Tools
-Ropes and grappling hooks for climbing
-Chisels, drills, picks, hammers
-Kunai(Japanese masonry trowel, which it looks like)
-Katana(aka Samurai sword)
-Darts, spikes, knives, shuriken(throwing stars)
-Bows and arrows
-Kusarigama(chain and sickle)
-Soft cased bombs with shrapnel, glass, poison gas, smoke inside
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