I, Mineyuki Hattori, have made it my life’s work to research ninja. I have two children, and my eldest—Shinichiro—is now ten. Maybe it’s because he’s grown up watching me immerse myself in books and articles on the subject, but lately, he’s started asking a lot of questions about ninja.
One evening after dinner, I was sitting at my desk as usual, flipping through some old ninja documents, when Shinichiro walked in with a serious look on his face. He was struggling with a school assignment: research a topic of interest and present it to the class.
Whether or Not Ninja Existed
(For clarity, I, Mineyuki Hattori, will be referred to as “M” and my son Shinichiro as “S.”)
S: Dad, I want to research ninja for my project, but I don’t know where to begin.
M: Do you think ninja actually existed?
S: Of course! There’s Naruto, and that game Sekiro.
M: Those could just be fiction. Do you have any actual proof ninja were real?
S: Hmm… not really.
M: Then maybe your project could be to find out if they really existed or not.
S: But where would I even start? Dad, you know all about ninja—help me out.
M: Alright. Let me ask—what kind of evidence would convince you that ninja really existed?
S: A phone call from a real ninja!
M: Pretty sure ninja didn’t use phones.
S: Then… a text message?
M: Also not a thing. Sadly, there are no ninja around today.
S: I see… then maybe a video or photo!
M: That’s tricky too. Photography came to Japan during the late Edo period, but most ninja—as we imagine them—had already vanished by the early Edo period. So unfortunately, there are no photographs of real ninja in action.
S: So… no one really knows?
M: Not quite. There are plenty of old documents that mention ninja, and there are remains of what were believed to be ninja dwellings in places like Kōga and Iga in Mie Prefecture. Of course, they’ve been renovated over time, but I can show you some historical sources later—you can cite them in your report. So yes, we can say with confidence: ninja really did exist.
S: Thank goodness! I thought you were going to say they were just made up. It’s so cool how ninja throw shuriken and defeat enemies in a single move.
M: Hold on—I said ninja existed, but the way you’re imagining them might be a little off from reality.
S: What do you mean?
M: It’s getting late today. I’ll explain another time. For now, go finish your report.
S: Aww… just when it was getting to the good part…
To be continued…
