Ninja

Ninja means people who hiding or people who avoid something silently. Ninja was existed for 250 years, between Edo Age until Meiji Age. They appeared in 12^th centuries when there were wars in every city in Japan.

In Edo Age, under Shogun Tokugawa government, ninja had very active and important part like spy, propaganda, camouflage. All of them were ninja’s abilities.

According to history, ninja – in working on their mission - very loyal to their leader. Ninja willing to die for their leader’s life and willing to die in working on their mission, called seppuku.

Ninja was the most professional spy. Between Edo to Meiji Age, there were some ninjas who became spy in temple and samurai.

In feudal government, they duties were to gather information, as Kancho (spy agent), to gather foods and weapon from enemy, and had very important part in night attack.

In that time, there were ninja’s schools, that is training centre for ninja candidates. The most famous schools were Koga and Iga. Those schools were in Midpoint, between Owari area and Nikawa Area (Now Aichi and Kyoto prefecture).

Ninja’s existence developed and spread, and then, Magari no jin happened, that is Magari war in old city named Shiga. It was conflict between Ashikaga Yoshinao – 9^th shogun on Shogun Kamakura – with Sasaki Rokkaku, that is governor of south Shiga. The conflict held for 3 years until Ashikaga Yoshinao died.

Since Sasaki family didn’t want to guide a tour to Omi Area (Shiga), Oda Nobunaga – when he tried to made Japan united – destroyed all Sasaki family in an operation named Tensho-Iga no Ran (Ninja killing). In 1581, Sasaki family already destroyed because Koga Ninja didn’t help them. This situation was used by Tokugawa Ieyasu to employed ninjas and use their abilities to open a conflict or made propaganda.

Ninja collapsed because of there were so much Ninjas which specialist in using fire weapon in Shogun Tokugawa Era, and they wanted to get the top in government and made a war between ninjas. So that, Ninja in Shogun Tokugawa Era became collapse and lost their new generation.

Because of Ninjas main duty was to gather intelligent data, they must used ‘uneasy to saw’ cloth. Usually they used brown in front and black or grey in back.

Their mantel had many pockets to hide their katana (sword), and keep thin tools like Shikoro (small sword with two head) and San shaku tenugui (3 feet towel).

These are some of ninjas tools :

Geta (shoes made from wood)

Mizugumo (Water spider)

Shinobi Gatana (Ninja’s sword)

Shuriken (throw knife)

Every tools that ninja use was united from many style, used to prevention in war.