Ford Model A

Dr. The Ninja (1980) series of thriller books by Eric Van Lustbader features a half-Japanese, half-Caucasian character who received ninjutsu training in his youth. The original Model A, also called the Fordmobile, was the first car produced by Ford beginning production in 1903. The idea of a Westerner being granted entry to the secret ranks of the ninja has long been a subject of fascination for Western writers. The name usually refers to the latter model. Western popular culture generally depicts the ninja as supremely well-trained martial artists and assassins, clad in a head-to-toe black or dark blue suit, using many kinds of exotic equipment and skills to accomplish their missions. The Model A was the designation of two cars made by Ford Motor Company, one in 1903 and one beginning in 1927. Several american ninja movies starring Sho Kosugi were released in the 1980s as well.

The series introduced the ninja concept to Australian audiences and the ninja soon became a cult favourite, with children dressing up as ninjas and making their own toy ninja weapons, notably the shuriken or "throwing stars". It was the first Japanese TV show ever broadcast there, and The Samurai rapidly became one of most popular programs ever screened on Australian TV, gaining a huge audience among pre-teen children; its success even led to star Ose Koichi and a troupe of performers touring there in a specially-produced show in 1966. Although only seen in Japan and a few other countries, the series was notably screened in Australia in 1964-65. Ninja-based films and books became a popular culture craze in Japan during the 1950s and early 1960s and as a result a TV series called The Samurai was created in 1962 to cash in on the fad.

Fukuro no Shiro was made into a hit movie, as was Shinobi no Mono. The Japanese novelist, Ryotaro Shiba wrote a novel and a collection of short stories, based on ninja, Fukuro no Shiro and Saigo no Igamono. The series keeps historical truths, such as weaponry, but allows itself many artistic liberaties. Ninja have long been a popular subject in tokusatsu, anime and manga, such as the manga/anime series Naruto.

Depictions range from realistic to the fantastically exaggerated. Ninja appear in both Japanese and Western fiction. At least one ninja was recorded to have faked his own death so people would think he was a ghost and therefore immortal. The ninja often encouraged rumors to make people believe they had magical powers.

These myths were caused by the secretive nature of ninja, and confusion with Tengu and yamabushi. Their special abilities are also often exaggerated, such as becoming invisible, turning into animals, jumping over buildings, and the ability to fly and foresee the future. There are many myths and legends concerning ninja, who were most prevalent during Japan's feudal era and often served daimyo, or feudal lords, for secret missions. Ninja techniques extended to the use of ordinary objects as lethal weapons.

There was always the possibility that weapons would need to be disposed of if something went wrong, so expensive swords were naturally poor choices. On assassination missions, ninja were more likely to use cheaper weapons. Ninja practiced a variant of jujutsu and kenjutsu that could be summed up as ninjutsu.. Karate, judo, kendo, and most other martial arts were never practiced as well, as they were mostly formalized in late Edo period to Meiji period.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that the nunchaku were used by the ninja, although it is possible, as the nunchaku was another common and inconspicious farming tool. Each combination carried certain meanings like "all clear" or "an enemy check point is ahead". They would be placed on the ground or handed to a ninja from a ninja. Irogome was uncooked rice seeds colored in five or six different colors: red, black, white, yellow, blue, and sometimes brown.

One known tool used by ninja is irogome (literally, "colored rice"). Many ninja tools were everyday tools that would not be conspicuous even when confiscated. Secrets of making desirable mixes of gunpowder were strictly guarded in many ninja clans. Even land mines were constructed that used a mechanical fuse or a lit, oil-soaked string.

Ōzutsu (cannons) they constructed could be used to launch fiery sparks as well as projectiles at a target. They used timed fuses to delay explosions. Ninja also employed a variety of weapons and tricks using gunpowder. If the second komusō did not respond, the first would know that the other was probably a spy.

These suizen melodies tended to be very difficult to outsiders of the sect. There were even short pieces that were supposed to be played by one komusō greeting another. Many government agents and ninja disguised themselves as komusō, since one could travel about in complete anonymity and gather information. Some ninjas were said to have disguised themselves as Fuke monks and used the traditional flute of the zen sect, the Shakuhachi, as a powerful blunt weapon.

Occasionally, makibishi would be loaded with gunpowder to explode upon impact, further damaging a pursuer's foot. It could be thrown on the ground to injure a pursuer's feet or thrown out on an enemy's escape path so that the targets could be cut down or shot down with bows and arrows while they looked for another escape route, but it could also be covered with poison so the victim would die slowly. The makibishi, a type of caltrop made of iron spikes, is also famous. It was the equivelent of a utility knife, often used to pry or cut rather than fight.

Kunai (a gardening tool) were also a popular weapon as they could be hidden easily or carried if the ninja was disguised as a gardener. Ninja allegedly used several special weapons against their enemies, the shuriken (throwing blades) and handclaws (shuko, tekagi) probably being the most famous. Thus, these spies and assassins were far more likely to be disguised as samurai, priests, or peasants or when situation dictates, dark green, blue or dark red outfit which offers better camouflage to its surroundings. This would only result in capture, torture, and probably a very slow and painful execution.

Another idea supporting the absence of a ninja outfit and any specific weaponry is that, if caught or seen, they would have been identified as enemies. The audience would obviously see the prop handlers but would pretend they were invisible. Prop handlers would dress in black and move props around. The classic black ninja outfit (shinobi shokuzu) is said to have come from the Noh theater.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that the ninjas dressed in all black suits. Disguises were selected on the basis of their unobtrusiveness in a given environment. He would be called nukenin (抜け忍) and his family members would be tasked to bring him back, dead or alive. Stories say that the most severe crime was leaving a ninja family without authorization, with no intention of returning.

Ninja were said to have had many rules, and the most important rule was of keeping the secret of ninja themselves and of the daimyo who gave them the order. Ninja are said to have actively encouraged such superstitions about their abilities to inspire fear in potential enemies. The nimpō (忍法), literally "methods of ninja", refers to various skills used by ninja, but mostly supernatural and fictional. They were sometimes depicted as experienced prostitutes who learned the secrets of an enemy by seduction.

A female ninja may be called kunoichi (くノ一); the characters are supposedly derived from the strokes that make up the kanji for woman (女). While ninja are often depicted as male, females were supposedly ninja as well. Other groups may have been structured more like an army and the leader may instead have been called shō or "general". Some ninja groups would be smaller and may have been less structured.

Upon receiving a mission from daimyō, the jōnin would use the chūnin to select necessary personnel from among the genin. Under chūnin would be several genin (下忍, "low ninja"). Under jōnin would be several chūnin (中忍, "middle ninja"). A ninja organization was said to be headed by a jōnin (上忍), literally "high ninja".

He claimed that he was the last master of Koga ryu Ninjutsu and that his grandfather had trained him. A Japanese young man in the 1900s named Fujita Seiko demonstrated extraordinary feats like walking on glass and walking on his hands. In the 1900s, the Yamabushi monks knew some ancient secrets and were believed to be ninjas. Ninjas were not known for holding a high code of honour.

The latter is more likely as there are records of samurai who knew Ninjutsu although this contradicts the traditional code of honour. Others say the Ninja were an elite group of Samurai trained for Assassination and spying missions. Some say ninja were a tribe of assassins below the samurai caste. One of the lesser known contributions made by ninja is their involvement in furthering the research of fireworks as a result of their development of pyrotechnic weaponry.

Ninja did not correct these misconceptions and some may have even written these stories themselves to increase their value should their services be needed. Many mythical ninja powers such as becoming invisible, jumping over tall fences, casting spells and calling up a giant toad larger than a human were all invented in these fictitious accounts of ninja. In the Edo period, ninja became popular heroes in books and plays. The peace of the Edo period continued for over 200 years.

Yet the stories go that most knowledge was still passed on through oral tradition and training, as most ninja believed that their services would soon be needed again. A purported ninja master Fujibayashi Sabuji wrote Bansenshukai (万川集海) as a collection of ninja knowledge. Some were said to have become Oniwabanshū, a semi-secret group of bodyguards and intelligence officers who worked tending gardens of the Edo castle and eavesdropping on the daimyō. As the shogunate became stable, ninja were effectively unemployed.

The last battle where ninja reportedly fought is in the Siege of Shimabara under the Tokugawa shogunate. In his dramatic escape through the mountainous landscape of Nara after Oda's assassination, Iga ninja led by Hattori Hanzō allegedly helped Ieyasu escape, gaining his favor. Tokugawa Ieyasu was claimed to have used ninja, controlling both Iga and Koga in unifying Japan and ultimately rising to the rank of Shogun. Ten heroes under Sanada, in tales where they used ninja skills to defeat everything but their jealous wives (who were, of course, ninja themselves).

Later, they would come to be called Sanada Jū Yushi, lit. Their tactics, which are said to have included splitting their house in two, one each supporting Toyotomi and Tokugawa in order to survive no matter which side finally won, has been the subject of much legendary discussion. This is attributed to the successful defense of their castle with approximately 3,000 soldiers against an overwhelming force of 50,000 led by Tokugawa Hidetada. The clan of Sanada, the most famous member being Sanada Yukimura, was reportedly a ninja clan.

Some daimyō were reportedly ninja themselves. Almost all famous daimyō are said by modern ninja schools to have had ninja, or a ninja-like group under his control and they served as eyes and ears. In the Sengoku Period, also known as the Warring States period, ninja supposedly flourished. It would be well into the Edo period that bushido was finally formalized.

Somewhere in these time periods, bushido began to form as the proper and honorable way a samurai must follow. Both of these times were generally peaceful, and many battles had tournament-like aspects that prevented surprise attacks. From the Muromachi period there are even fewer records. Kusunoki Masashige used tactics against enemies that remotely resemble ninja tactics.

Only a few records remain from the Kamakura period. Both of these claim that they originated in the Heian period. Some also say that they were allies and worked together in mutual defense pacts. Iga and Kōga are two of the most famous ninja styles, and are often pitted against each other in fiction.

One of the earliest roots of ninja, Togakure Ryū, reportedly originated in the late Heian Period. He is said in a popular folktale to have been educated by a tengu to learn tactics and became a ninja. Historical examples of ninja are said to include Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who employed surprise as a major weapon in his victories. Because ninja rarely left anything in writing or boasted of their achievements, the history of the ninja is mostly apocryphal and blatantly legendary, so the great majority of stories circulating about them are difficult to prove.

Mono (者, likewise pronounced sha or ja) means "person." The nin of ninjutsu is the same as that in ninja, whereas jutsu (術) means skill or art, so ninjutsu means "the skill of going unperceived" or "the art of stealth"; hence, ninja and shinobi-no-mono (as well as shinobi) may be translated as "one skilled in the art of stealth." Similarly, the pre-war word ninjutsu-zukai means "one who uses the art of remaining unperceived.". The underlying connotation of shinobi (忍, pronounced nin in Sino-Japanese compounds) is "to do quietly" or "to do so as not to be perceived by others" and—by extension—"to forebear," hence its association with stealth and invisibility. The word shinobi itself, written phonetically with the kanji 志能備, has been traced as far back as Japan's Asuka period, when Prince Shotoku is alleged to have employed one of his retainers as a ninja. Ninja and shinobi-no-mono, along with shinobi, another variant, became popular in the post-World War II period through the works of authors like Tomoyoshi Murayama, Sampei Shirato, and Ryotaro Shiba; before the war, the expressions ninjutsu-zukai and yōjutsu-zukai were more common.

Ninja is a Sino-Japanese compound derived from the two kanji (Japanese characters of Chinese origin) used to write shinobi-no-mono (忍の者), one of the native Japanese words for people who practice ninjutsu (sometimes erroneously called ninjitsu). . For references to ninja in popular Western culture, including film and comic appearances and the recent spate of websites devoted to neo-ninja and other ninja-centric parody, see Ninja in fiction, below. The shikoro ken supposedly could also be used to cut (or saw) through opponents.

The shikoro ken was said to be used to gain entry into fortresses. Another version of the ninja sword was the shikoro ken (saw sword). The ninja-to was more of a utilitarian tool than a weapon. Ninja-ken are smaller than katana but larger than wakizashi.

In popular folklore, ninja also used special short swords called ninja-ken (or ninja-to see below for explanation). Weapons commonly attributed to them included shuriken and bo. Ninja are said to have made use of weapons that could be easily concealed or disguised as common tools. Outside of the modern schools teaching ninjutsu, there is little verifiable evidence that ninja existed as such in feudal times, at least in the form known from modern movies, videogaming and popular fiction.

It is popularly believed that the ancient ninja were peasants, forbidden under law from studying the samurai swordplay techniques because of feudal Japan's caste structure. Some modern practitioners of budo ninjutsu argue that ninja were used primarily as spies, not assassins. Ninja (忍者) were said to be agents of espionage and assassination in feudal Japan in legend and popular fiction. Yamanashi - Takeda-ryū, Ninkō-ryū.

Yamagata - Haguro-ryū. Wakayama - Kishu-ryū, Negoro-ryū, Saika-ryū. Toyama - Echizen-ryū. Tokyo (Akihabara) - Akiba-ryū.

Tochigi - Matsumoto-ryū. Shimane - Fukushima-ryū. Shiga - Tarao-ryū, Rigyoku-ryū, Kōga-ryū. Okayama - Bizen-ryū.

Niigata - Uesugi-ryū, Kaji-ryū. Nara - Kusunoki-ryū. Nagasaki - Nanban-ryū (see also the Nanban period). Nagano - Kōyō-ryū, Togakure-ryū, Aoki-ryū, Itō-ryū, Akutagawa-ryū.

Mie - Hattori-ryū, Momochi-ryū, Togakure-ryū, Iga-ryū. Kyōto - Hatano-ryū. Kanagawa - Fuma-ninpō. Kagoshima - Satsuma-ninpō.

Ibaraki - Matsuda-ryū. Gifu - Mino-ryū. Fukuoka - Kuroda-ryū. Aomori - Nakagawa-ryū.

Aichi - Matsuba-ryū, Ichizen-ryū.