Page 50 - All About History - Issue 34-16

SHA

WAR

THE SECRET WORLD OF THE NINJA

Surrounded by mystery, the elite ninja were the highly trained
masters of espionage, infiltration, sabotage and assassination called

upon for the most dangerous missions
Written by Matthew Moss

apan’s legendary ninja are shrouded in myth sabotage and murder their rivals. The term
and their exploits steeped in Japanese folklore, shinobi came to describe these mercenaries,
blurring the lines between fact and fiction. who originated from the warrior caste; they were
However, the real-life exploits of the ninja are not merely peasant farmers. They were at least
Jfar more fascinating than the legends that have ashigaru (foot soldiers), and in some cases even
grown around them since their golden age during samurai. At first, fathers passed the trade on to
the 15th and 16th centuries. their children, but as the profession grew,
The ninja, or ‘shinobi’, emerged in guilds and clans were created.
the mid-15th century. Although Ninja were called upon to
the skills most associated with DID carry out the most dangerous
them – spying, infiltration missions, and often their
and assassination – had YOU KNOW? survival was not guaranteed.
been practised before the Ninja would often carry Their abilities saw them act
emergence of ninja, it wasn’t as spies, scouts, infiltrators,
until the mid 1400s that a box of noisy crickets in assassins and arsonists. The
a class of specially trained their pockets in order to chief role of the ninja was to
warriors appeared. The ninja conceal the sound of gather intelligence, either by
have typically been seen as their footsteps infiltrating an enemy castle or
the antithesis of the honourable camp, or through reconnaissance.
samurai, but the relationship is in fact A contemporary instructional poem
much more complicated. Ninja were often advised ninja to “always draw what you
hired mercenaries, but examples can be found of have learned while scouting, and then report it to
samurai also acting as ninja. the strategist directly in person.” While another
Specially trained spies and assassins began recommended, “If guiding and planning the way
to appear during the 15th century, acting as whilst moving position, the essential information
mercenaries for hire by warlords to spy on, raid, you must bring are the mountains, the rivers,
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