Ninjutsu

Ninjutsu
(忍術)

The kanji for "ninja".
Also known as	Ninjitsu, Ninpō, Shinobi-jutsu
Hardness	Non-competitive
Country of origin	Japan
Creator	Ninja
Parenthood	Military Tactics

Ninjutsu (忍術), sometimes used interchangeably with the modern term ninpō (忍法), is the strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage purportedly practiced by the shinobi (commonly known outside of Japan as ninja). Ninjutsu was more an art of tricks than a martial art. Ninjutsu was a separate discipline in some traditional Japanese schools, which integrated study of more conventional martial arts (taijutsu) along with shurikenjutsu, kenjutsu, sojutsu, bōjutsu and others.

While there are several styles of modern ninjutsu, the historical lineage of these styles is disputed. Some schools claim to be the only legitimate heir of the art, but ninjutsu is not centralized like modernized martial arts such as judo or karate. Togakure-ryū claims to be the oldest recorded form of ninjutsu, and claims to have survived past the 16th century.

History

Main article: Ninja

Spying in Japan dates as far back as Prince Shōtoku (572–622), although the origins of the ninja date much earlier. According to Shōninki, the first open usage of ninjutsu during a military campaign was in the Genpei War, when Minamoto no Kuro Yoshitsune chose warriors to serve as shinobi during a battle; this manuscript goes on to say that, during the Kenmu era, Kusunoki Masashige used ninjutsu frequently. According to footnotes in this manuscript, the Genpei War lasted from 1180 to 1185, and the Kenmu Restoration occurred between 1333 and 1336. Ninjutsu was developed by groups of people mainly from the Iga Province and Kōka, Shiga of Japan.

Throughout history, the shinobi were assassins, scouts, and spies who were hired mostly by territorial lords known as the daimyo. They conducted operations that the samurai were forbidden to partake in. Shinobi are mainly noted for their use of stealth and deception. Throughout history many different schools (ryū) have taught their unique versions of ninjutsu. An example of these is the Togakure-ryū, which was developed after a defeated samurai warrior called Daisuke Togakure escaped to the region of Iga. He later came in contact with the warrior monk Kain Doshi, who taught him a new way of viewing life and the means of survival (ninjutsu).

Ninjutsu was developed as a collection of fundamental survivalist techniques in the warring state of feudal Japan. The ninja used their art to ensure their survival in a time of violent political turmoil. Ninjutsu included methods of gathering information, and techniques of non-detection, avoidance, and misdirection. Ninjutsu involved training in free running, disguise, escape, concealment, archery, and medicine. Skills relating to espionage and assassination were highly useful to warring factions in feudal Japan. At some point the skills of espionage became known collectively as ninjutsu, and the people who specialized in these tasks were called shinobi no mono.

The eighteen skills

According to Bujinkan members, Ninja Jūhakkei ("the eighteen disciplines") were first stated in the scrolls of Togakure-ryū and became definitive for all ninjutsu schools. Ninja jūhakkei was often studied along with Bugei jūhappan (the "eighteen samurai fighting art skills").

The 18 disciplines are:

Ninjutsu as depicted in a 19th-century sketch

1. Bajutsu – horsemanship
2. Bōjutsu – stick and staff techniques
3. Bōryaku – tactics
4. Chi-mon – geography
5. Chōhō – espionage
6. Hensōjutsu – disguise and impersonation
7. Intonjutsu – escaping and concealment
8. Kayakujutsu – pyrotechnics
9. Kenjutsu – sword techniques
10. Kusarigamajutsu – kusarigama (chain-sickle) techniques
11. Naginatajutsu – naginata (polearm) techniques
12. Seishinteki kyōyō – spiritual refinement
13. Shinobi-iri – stealth and infiltration
14. Shurikenjutsu – throwing weapons techniques
15. Sōjutsu – spear techniques
16. Sui-ren – water training
17. Taijutsu – unarmed combat
18. Tenmon – meteorology

Weapons and equipment

The following tools may not be exclusive to the ninja, but they are commonly associated with the practice of ninjutsu.

Composite and articulated weapons

• Kusarigama - kama linked to a weight, either by a long rope or chain.
• Kyoketsu-shoge - hooked rope-dart, featuring a metal ring on the opposite end.
• Bō - 3' (Han Bō), 4', 5' (Jō) and 6' (Rokushakubō) wooden pole techniques.
• Kusari-fundo, also known as manriki or manriki-gusari - a chain and weight weapon.

Fistload weapons

• Kakute - rings resembling modern wedding bands with concealed, often poison-tipped spines, typically worn by kunoichi and enabling ninja to quietly strangle enemies with the pointed ends against the neck or throat.
• Shobo - a jabbing or piercing weapon, similar in shape to kubotan and yawara, but often featuring a center grip ring.
• Shuriken - various small hand held weapons including throwing stars, darts and blades that could be used to stab, slash or they could be thrown.
• Kubotan - or "hand stick". Used mainly for pressure points, subduing opponents.
• Tekko - an earlier version of brass knuckles.
• Tessen - a folding fan with an iron frame. It could be used to club or cut and slash the enemy.
• Jitte - A weapon similar to the sai.

Modified tool weapons

• Kunai - multi-purpose tool.
• Shikoro - used as a tool for opening doors and stabbing or slashing.

Projectile weapons

• Fukiya - Japanese blowgun, typically firing poison darts.
• Makibishi/tetsubishi - the Japanese type of caltrop.
• Shuriken - various small hand held weapons including throwing stars, darts and blades that could be used to stab, slash or thrown at the enemy.
• Yumi and Ya - traditional Japanese bow and arrow.
• Bo-hiya - fire arrow.
• Tekagi-shuko and Neko-te - hand "claw" weapons.
• Chakrams - disk like projectiles like boomerangs.

Staffs and polearms

• Hanbō, bō, jō, and Tambō - various sized staff weapons.
• Yari - traditional Japanese spear that's similar to the naginata.
• Nagamaki - pole arm with roughly equal length blade and handle.
• Naginata - traditional Japanese pole-arm used by women and samurai.

Swords

• Katana - a long curved and single-edged sword, more commonly used by samurai or ninja who disguised themselves as samurai.
• Wakizashi - short sword that can be hidden on the ninja's body, also a backup weapon.
• Ninjatō - an edged weapon used by ninja as swords. Ninjato can be stolen katana from samurai or forged by ninja themselves with varying lengths. There's some doubt as to whether or not ninja actually used such swords.
• Tantō - dagger.
• Kaiken (dagger) - Similar to the tantō.
• Bokken - traditional wooden sword use in Japanese martial arts typically modeled off of katanas.
• Shinai - bamboo sword used in kendo.

Stealth tools

• Kaginawa or grappling hook - climbing and Hojojutsu composite tool that also functioned as a makeshift gaff hook weapon.
• Shinobi shōzoku - the reputed ninja clothing.
• Ono (weapon) - Japanese axe and hatchet.

See also

• Kunoichi
• Modern schools of ninjutsu
• Ninja
• Ninja in popular culture

Further reading

• Hatsumi, Masaaki. Essence of Ninjutsu, 1988. ISBN 0-8092-4724-0
• Callos, Tom. "Notable American Martial Artists", Black Belt Magazine, May 2007, pp. 72–73.
• Hatsumi, Masaaki. Ninjutsu: History and Tradition, 1981. ISBN 0-86568-027-2
• Hatsumi, Masaaki. Ninpo: Wisdom for Life, 1998. ISBN 1-58776-206-4, ISBN 0-9727738-0-0
• Hayes, Stephen K. The Ninja and their Secret Fighting Art, 1990. ISBN 0-8048-1656-5
• Dillon, Thomas. Wingspan: Culture-Society-People in Japan, Where Have All the Ninja Gone?, September 2007, No.459.
• Hiroshi, Kuroi. Historical group image editorial staff compilation, 2007. ISBN 978-4-05-604814-8
• Toshitora, Yamashiro. Secret Guide to Making Ninja Weapons, Butokukai Press, 1986. ISBN 978-99942-913-1-1
• DiMarzio, Daniel. A Story of Life, Fate, and Finding the Lost Art of Koka Ninjutsu in Japan, 2008. ISBN 978-1-4357-1208-9
• Bertrand, John. "Techniques that made ninjas feared in 15th-century Japan still set the standard for covert ops", Military History 23(1), March 2006, pp. 12–19. Retrieved on July 11, 2008 from Academic Search Premier database.
• Hayes, Stephen K. and Masaaki Hatsumi. Secrets from the Ninja Grandmaster (Rev. Ed.), 2003. Boulder, Colorado; Paladin Press.
• Zoughari, Kacem. The Ninja: Ancient Shadow Warriors of Japan, Tuttle Publishing, 2010. ISBN 0-8048-3927-1
• T.A. Green, J.R. Svinth. Martial arts of the world: An Encyclopedia of History and innovation. East Asia. Japan:Ninpo

External links

• Ninjutsu techniques Ninjutsu kata and techniques in the AKBAN wiki
• Ninjutsu History History of Ninjutsu and Its Evolution