When I went down from the study to the kitchen to get a drink, I found my son Shinichiro standing near the foot of the stairs, hiding from his enemies. His eyes were serious. I guessed that he was absorbed in playing ninja, and feeling sorry for interrupting his child’s play, I slowly descended the stairs, my footsteps silent, to head for the kitchen. However, the rather dilapidated staircase made a loud creaking sound as I descended, and unfortunately, Shinichiro found me.
“An intruder!” and Shinichiro mimicked throwing something at me, so I decided to go along with it and, like a bad guy losing an attack, groaned and cowered in place, signaling my surrender.
Having successfully defeated his imaginary enemy, Shinichiro then cut me in two with his imaginary sword with a shout of “eiyah”.
Did the Ninja Like to Fight?
(For the sake of clarity, I, Mineyuki Hattori, will be referred to as “M” and my son Shinichiro as “S.”)
S: Dad, now, that is a new type of shuriken. It’s coated with poison and has an automatic tracking function. The enemy who is hit by it immediately loses consciousness and collapses. Also, this sword can cut through anything, even steel, so no matter how strong the guy is or how much armor he’s wearing, he won’t stand a chance.
M: I see, that’s great. Shinichiro, does that mean you are a great ninja?
S: Yes, I am a great ninja. I beat up a lot of bad guys.
M: Well, I am sorry to interrupt you, but that is very far from the actual ninja that existed.
S: What do you mean? Maybe they used more amazing weapons?
Shinichiro looked into my face with a twinkle in his eye.
M: No, that’s not it. All right, then, let’s take a look together at what ninja were like back then.
M: First of all, can you tell me what you think a ninja looks like?
S: Well, they would wear black clothes, jump from tree to tree, and approach their enemies without making a sound. Then he uses various ninja techniques to defeat his enemies. He is a professional fighter who uses alter-ego techniques and disappears from the scene to play tricks on his enemies and take them down with aplomb.
M: Yes, I think there are probably many people who have that image, not just Shinichiro. Of the things you just said, the only things that can’t be said to be wrong are “black clothes” and ninja techniques called “ninjutsu”. And I think these are also different from what Shinichiro imagines in many aspects. On the other hand, “professional fighter” is the most wrong image. Ninja rarely fight.
S: What? A ninja who doesn’t fight is like Eddie Murphy who doesn’t make people laugh.
M: I don’t know if that metaphor is appropriate—Dreamgirls is a good movie. Anyway, first of all, regarding “black clothes,” it was important for ninjas to wear inconspicuous clothes. In that sense, yes, they often wore black, but not always. They would often dress like farmers or merchants to blend in.
M: Then there is “ninpo” or “ninjutsu.” It is true that ninja used these techniques, but research shows that they weren’t magical like the alter-ego or disappearing acts Shinichiro mentioned. In fact, they were much more humble. But let’s save the details for another time.
M: Finally, there’s the matter of fighting. There’s actually a big reason why ninja avoided combat.
S: Like professional boxers don’t fight amateurs?
M: Interesting metaphor, but not quite. It’s not about unspoken rules—it’s because of the nature of their role. Ninja didn’t fight because it went against the kind of missions they were assigned. That’s why they didn’t storm in and slash bad guys with swords, and they didn’t use shuriken very often, either.
S: Then what was their role?
M: You could say it was their entire reason for existing. Let’s talk about that next.
To be continued…
