Samurai and Ninja: The Real Story Behind the Japanese Warrior Myth That Shatters the Bushido Mystique (23 page)

This basic outline highlights tasks and positions that a shinobi would undertake during wartime. In a time of peace, shinobi still under government employment would have traveled the land, infiltrating the enemy. Their priority was constant data collection. Through spy networks they would feed information to the spy-master, or sometimes directly to the lord. This data would then be analyzed and cross-referenced. The material would then be fed back to the lord and his council so that correct decisions could be made.

The Difference Between In-nin and Yo-nin

The same ideograms used for
In no shinobi
and
Yo no shinobi
as described previously are also used in a different way. The individual skills and arts of the shinobi can be roughly divided into two further sections and this division is heavily referenced in the shinobi manual,
Bansenshukai
.

1.
In-nin
—“Dark shinobi,” the arts of creeping in darkness or to be out of sight of the enemy. This can also be during the daytime, the main factor is that the enemy do not see the agent; this is classic shinobi infiltration.

2.
Yo-nin
—“Light shinobi,” the arts of disguise and moving through the enemy in the open, having a false identity and being visually observable, but ignored or perceived as something that they are not.

To avoid confusion between the two types of shinobi, the ideograms will always be defined as:

♦
In no shinobi
陰ノ忍
– hidden shinobi; to be hired in secret

♦
Yo no shinobi
陽ノ忍
– public shinobi; to be hired in the open

♦
In-nin
陰忍
– dark shinobi; infiltration through stealth

♦
Yo-nin
陽忍
– light shinobi; open infiltration and disguise

Now that an understanding of the tasks and aims of the shinobi have been identified, a more detailed look into the arts of the shinobi will be explored. Up until this point, environment, identity and the skills of the samurai—and foot soldier—have been discussed. A broad view of the Japanese “knight” has become a solid character. The basic tasks of the shinobi have been highlighted. Now, let us take that image and examine it through specialized training. Let’s see the development of the shinobi appear.

A Shinobi Curriculum

Upon reading a shinobi scroll, looking at the various translations the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team have made public, readers are sometimes left with a hole in the overall sketch of the shinobi. There seems to be no fixed place to lay these skills in the outline of the world they inhabited, it can be almost disappointing—seemingly ethereal and without an “anchor.”

It needs to be understood that the element that is always missing from any translated Japanese scroll is the
human
. It is the physical human being that holds these as practical skills. When the actual samurai is placed in the picture, with the skills and knowledge of war fixed on a human; our understanding of the scrolls comes to life. As a reader you have to fully imagine the world of the samurai–and the shinobi– in place with all of its details: The rules, customs, geography, and political climate. Then apply the shinobi skills to the already-accomplished warrior. What makes the shinobi popular in our image is that they moved beyond the normal ways of the samurai. They acquired a very special set of skills that elevated them to a new level. This is why the shinobi are compared to the special forces of today. They are sometimes officers, sometimes rank-and-file soldiers who have been trained outside of conventional arts. They perfected what we would see as “black ops” (with a hint of magic). Therefore, when you add this “special training” to the skill set of the samurai, the skills of the shinobi find their place and no longer float without meaning.

The following original ninja scroll is a complete list—and only a list—of the shinobi arts found in the Akutagawa family, and are skills that are added to conventional military training.
Only
the titles are recorded here and I have given a brief explanation of the skills indicated [inside brackets]. They are broad and they expand
beyond
the contents of the original scroll. This is so that a general understanding of all shinobi arts can be gained. This is to show you, the reader, the makeup of a real shinobi system. This also allows for a better understanding with further information. The original manual is titled
Akutagawa Kaden
芥川家伝
, that is,
Akutagawa Family Traditions
. It is translated with kind permission from Jin’ichi Kawakami.

The text:

Fundamental Teachings

忍術門入起證文

The Shinobi-Jutsu Oath

[A shinobi, having being chosen to train as such or who has been born into a family which specializes in shinobi no jutsu, will first make promises and oaths, maybe even exchange a hostage, giving a wife or child into the care of the lord to ensure trusty service. They must also understand the origins of their art and in the case of the Akutagawa, understand that the art is divine and was inherited from the gods.]

忍術来由

Shinobi-jutsu origin

Transmitted from the Akutagawa to the Kimura Family of Koka

[The Akutagawa family consider their skills to be given through the divinity of the gods to humans, who then passed them down the generations until they ended up in the area of Koka, with the Akutagawa Clan.]

Menkyo Level

[The first step for a shinobi is to master the basics. As a warrior they can fight; they have various levels of education and have been brought up in a medieval world where blood and death are not separated from life. The first part of their training consists of tools and the fundamental building blocks requiring mastery, before they progress further. From here the skills increase and move towards the more difficult. Sometimes the same skills are expanded upon.]

天之巻

Ten no maki

The Scroll of Heaven

入用道具之事

The Tools Needed

[Shinobi must be proficient in tools that allow them to infiltrate enemy mansions and castles. Ladders, climbing spikes, saws, nails, drills, lock picks, etc., are all manufactured and used when a shinobi needs to enter an enemy position.]

起臥ヲ知ル事

The Art of Knowing if Someone is Asleep or Awake

[Once inside an enemy position, the shinobi has to know if the enemy is asleep or awake. Sometimes this is done before the final infiltration, i.e., the shinobi has moved into the grounds of the target complex but has yet to reach the inner quarters and is listening to those “asleep” in the room. In Akutagawa-Ryu this is a mixture of folklore and skill and also appears in other schools. A string is tied to a roof beam and a rock or weight is hung from the string, allowing this weight to hang close to the ground. When the stone hits the floor (which is most likely when the roof beams have contracted in the coldest part of the night) the shinobi will enter, believing all inside to be asleep. This also has a religious element and a shinobi will pray for sleep to come over those inside.]

手火之事

The Art of Palm Fire

[Once inside a house the shinobi need to see where they are going. The use of small lights—often with a bluish flame—allows the shinobi to see inside. The “fire within the palm” is a popular torch among the shinobi and consists of small flammable mixtures, either rolled into a ball or applied to a small splint of wood. When the shinobi fears detection, they simply close their hand to extinguish the light.]

塀乗之事

The Art Climbing Fences and Walls

[The walls of samurai houses are set at around seven feet or more with the average Japanese man of the medieval period measuring only five feet in height. Castle walls are of course much larger. The shinobi have various skills for climbing, including sets of spikes for placing into cracks in a wall, grapples and ropes, and even pulley systems.]

Gabriel Rossa with the Cloud Ladder from the
Bansenshukai
manual and (below) a two-pronged grapple and rope ladder.

菱ヲ知事

The Art of Understanding Caltrops

[Caltrops are small objects thrown on the ground that will always stand with one point in the air; they are spread to stop people from giving chase. These are not normally scattered at random but are positioned where the shinobi feels they will be most effective. They are also attached to strings so that they can trail behind the shinobi, catching the feet of anyone in pursuit. They may be scattered while on the run if an emergency arises.]