About ninjas in medieval Japan were incredible legends. They said that a ninja warrior can fly, breathe under water, become invisible, and in general it is not people, but the creatures of demons.
The whole life of any medieval ninja was surrounded by legends. In fact, all the fantastic stories about ninjas were born in the superstitious minds of uneducated medieval Japanese. Ninja, in turn, strongly supported their supernatural reputation, which gave them a huge advantage in battle.
The story of the emergence of ninja in Japan
The first mention of ninjutsu-like art can be found in ancient Indian treatises. It was from there, along with Buddhism, that this art was brought by the hermit monks Yamabusi. The mountain monks were a rather specific caste. They perfectly mastered weapons, were unsurpassed doctors and wise men. It was from them that the young ninjas were trained, to whom the yamabusi passed on some of their fantastic knowledge for that time.
Ninja history begins around the 6th century, the last professional ninja clans were destroyed in the 17th century. More than a thousand-year history of ninjas has left an indelible mark on Japanese history, although the secrets of ninjas (a small part of them) were revealed only at the end of the 20th century, the last patriarch of Masaaki Hatsumi.
Ninja clans were widely scattered throughout Japan, most often they were disguised as an ordinary peasant village. Even the neighboring villages did not know about the ninjas, as they were outcasts, and every person in medieval Japan considered it his duty to destroy these "demons." That is why all the ninjas on the assignment used masks, and in a hopeless situation they had to disfigure their face beyond recognition, so as not to give out the clan.
Severe education ninja from birth
Despite the abundance of films about ninjas, where the stern hero has been learning all the intricacies and crushing enemies like straw for several years, those who were born in a clan became the best ninjas.
A ninja master had to learn throughout his life, so before becoming a ninja, children underwent a severe training school, which started from the very birth. All children born in the clan were automatically considered ninja. They hung a cradle with a newborn near the wall and constantly shook it so that it hit it. The child subconsciously tried to group, and this skill was fixed at the level of instinct.
Children under eight years old were taught to endure any pain. Some stories about ninjas tell that children were hung by their arms at a great height, teaching them to overcome fear and developing endurance. After eight years, children began to train as real ninja warriors, until this age they should be able to do the following:
- To tolerate any pain and without any moan to take any blows;
- Read, write and know the secret alphabet that was in each ninja clan;
- To imitate the sounds of any animals and birds, which was often used to give signals;
- It's great to climb trees (some were even forced to live there for weeks);
- Well throw stones and any objects;
- Resistlessly endure any bad weather (for which they were forced to sit in cold water for hours);
- It is great to see in the dark (this was achieved by training for days in dark caves and a special diet containing large amounts of vitamin A);
- Swim in the water like a fish and be able to hold your breath for a long time under water. In addition, an underwater fight ninja should be able to lead with both weapons and bare hands;
- Turning their joints in any direction (which strongly affected with age, although ninjas rarely lived to old age).
In addition, children used combat weapons as toys, and used any available objects as ninja weapons. By the age of eight, the child had such strength, endurance, and flexibility that he would have easily plugged any modern professional athlete with a belt. Trees, rocks and rocks were used as sports equipment.
Learning an adult warrior or how to become a ninja
From the age of 15, young ninjas (the fighting qualities of which have already repeatedly exceeded the training of a medieval warrior) went to the mountains - to comprehend the ancient art of the monks - Yamabusi. It was they who served as the prototype of the bearded elders in films about ninjas. Although from the history of the Yamabushi it can be understood that they were real warriors who cruelly dealt with their enemies.
Here, students studied the basic skills of psychological training, learned to make medicines, poisons, and studied secret techniques of contactless combat.
The secret of the ninja masking was known perfectly. Even the most attentive warriors could not recognize the best actors. Today, the ninja was a fat merchant, and tomorrow - a poor beggar. And it was precisely the role of a beggar tramp who demanded that the ninjas fully get into the role. The battle ninja looked like a starving old man. The best masters of reincarnations took poisons that externally made the body weak, and the face covered with wrinkles.
In general, the quality of reincarnation in the impotent, was widely used by medieval spies. In battle, ninjas often pretended that he was overwhelmed by the superiority of his opponent’s combat skills and fought with a look of doom. The enemy lost vigilance and began to casually swing his weapon, after which he received a lightning strike from the "demoralized" ninja.
If the enemy did not succumb to such tricks, a ninja could pretend to be mortally wounded and convulse to the ground, spitting out blood. The enemy approached and immediately received a fatal blow.
Ninja physical abilities and their "supernatural" abilities
The average ninja could overcome about a hundred kilometers a day, now it seems incredible, since even the best modern athlete is not capable of such feats. They used their bare hands to break bones and beat out doors, and their dexterity was simply incredible. Ninja, who often used huge claws as a weapon, spent part of his life on the tree, and during the operation he wore a specific ninja mask that turned him into a terrible demon. A rare resident of medieval Japan dared to engage in a fight with the demon, noiselessly appeared behind him.
The ninja magic abilities are explained quite simply:
- The ability becomes invisible associated with the use of smoke bombs. The explosion of such a grenade was accompanied by a sheaf of sparks and a bright flash, which distracted attention, and smoke shroud, using which the ninja disappeared unnoticed;
- Ninja could escape even without a smoke bomb, if there was water nearby. Imperceptibly diving there, the warrior could spend hours breathing through a reed pipe or hollow sword sheath;
- Ninjas could only run on water because they prepared each operation beforehand. Under the water, special flat stones were placed, the location of which the ninja remembered and then easily jumped along them, creating the illusion of walking on water;
- Legends said that werewolf-ninjas could not hold any shackles, since it would still be released. This technology of release from ropes was known not only to ninjas. It lies in the fact that when tying up you need to strain the muscles as much as possible, then after their relaxation the chains will not be tightened much. The ninja's flexibility helped him in his release;
- The ability to walk on the walls and ceiling of the ninja is obliged to training in the forest when they jumped through the trees and use special brackets, with the help of which it was possible to gain a foothold on the ceiling. A trained ninja could hang motionless on the ceiling for days, waiting for the victim.
The ability to endure pain helped the ninja very much when it fell into a bear trap. If time allowed, he could free up his leg in cold blood and, stopping the blood, disappear. With a shortage of time, the ninjas cut off their legs and, jumping on the survivor, tried to escape.
Ninja clothing and disguise
We all know that the ninja dressed in a black suit, and the "good" ninja was in a white suit. In fact, this myth was very far from reality. Most often, ninjas were disguised as traders, travelers or beggars, because a person in black clothes will be noticeable everywhere, since completely black color in nature is very rare. The famous night ninja was dark brown or dark blue. For the fight, there was a red form that hid wounds and blood. The suit had a lot of pockets for various devices and hidden weapons.
The costume was necessarily attached to the ninja mask, which was made from a two-meter piece of fabric. It was impregnated with a special compound that could serve to stop the blood and disinfect wounds. In addition, through the mask it was possible to filter drinking water and use it as a rope.
Specialization of various ninja clans
Despite the fact that all ninjas are considered unsurpassed warriors, each clan has specialized in its "chip":
- Clan Fuma perfectly committed sabotage and terrorist operations. They can also be called the medieval counterpart of the Marine Corps. They swam perfectly and pierced the bottoms of enemy ships under water;
- The Hecku clan knew perfectly well the technique of hitting points on the enemy’s body, using his fingers, which were trained so that they acted like steel rods;
- The ninja of the Coppo clan perfectly mastered the techniques of struggle, which now bears the name of coppo-jutsu (one of the styles of hand-to-hand fighting in the art of ninpo);
- Clan Hattori superbly owned Yari-jutsu (the art of spear fighting);
- Ninja clan Koga specialized in the use of explosives;
- And the Iga clan was famous for its inventors. Many specific ninja weapons came up with them.
All ninjas possessed skills that allowed them to covertly enter the premises, kill the enemy and hide unnoticed. However, the specific secrets of the clans were kept very jealously.
Jumont Secrets
Djumon language is 9 syllables-spells, pronouncing that ninja could change their state and achieve supernatural results. This language consisted of 9 spells and the corresponding number of figures from the fingers.
Modern science has been able to prove that the Jomon language could influence the brain. It was this that gave an explanation to the supernatural abilities of ninjas. Previously, it was considered dark magic.
Yamabushi monks taught ninjas that each finger is connected to energy channels and by folding them into various combinations, it is possible to achieve the use of hidden body reserves.
In addition, each clan had its own secret language. It was necessary to transmit secret information. The language changed frequently as the codes became known to competing clans.
Guns and Ninja Homes
Despite the fact that the house of the ninja outwardly did not differ from the peasant in appearance, inside it was full of various surprises. There were:
- Labyrinths;
- Underground floors, which could be several;
- Secret passages, doors and transitions;
- Various traps and traps.
In addition, a primitive hang-glider was often kept in the attic, which created the illusion that ninjas turn into birds.
If the ninja house was full of traps, then it’s easy to imagine a huge number of different weapons used by ninjas. All weapons could be divided into four large groups:
- Melee weapons. This group included both conventional weapons of warriors and peasants, as well as specific models of ninja weapons. For example, a sword-stick is a seemingly ordinary staff, which is appropriate for any peasant or passer-by;
- Throwing weapons. This group includes various shurikens, bows, brass tubes and firearms. In addition, there was a hidden weapon that was disguised as elements of clothing. For example, a peasant hat could have a hidden blade under the fields. The spring released the blade and throwing the hat easily cut the opponent's throat;
- Agricultural equipment in the capable hands of the ninja smashed enemies no worse than swords and spears. The main advantage of the use was the element of surprise, since the peasants of medieval Japan were quite peaceful (all their energy was spent on food and hard work). The peasant sickle often turned out to be a kusarikam, a fighting sickle with a weights on a long chain;
- Poisons in medieval Japan used everything from peasants to feudal lords, but the ninjas turned out to be real experts in this matter. Often, it was from them and bought poisons. The secrets of their preparation were kept secret, each clan knew how to prepare its own variants of poison. In addition to high-speed, there were poisons that slowly and imperceptibly killed their prey. The strongest were poisons prepared from the guts of animals.
It was poisons that endowed shurikens with lethal properties. One scratch was enough for the victim to die in agony. In addition, ninjas often used poisonous steel spines, which they threw at their feet to their pursuers or scattered in front of their dwellings.
Ninja kunoichi women are sophisticated killers
Using girls as a ninja was widely practiced by the ninja clans. The girls could distract the guard, then the ninja warrior easily penetrated into the home of his victim. In addition, the ninja girls themselves were skillful killers. Even when they were forced to undress before bringing the lord, it was enough to have needles in the hair or rings with a poisonous thorn to destroy the victim.
Most often, in everyday life, ninja women were geishas who were highly respected in medieval Japanese society. The fake geisha knew all the wisdom of this craft and were entered into all the noble houses. They were able to hold small talk on any topic, played musical instruments and danced. In addition, they knew a lot about cooking and masterfully used cosmetics.
After being trained in a geisha school, kunoichi were trained in ninja technique (if they were born in the ninja clan, then they were already professional killers). Training ninja girls focused on the use of various improvised means and the use of poisons.
Many great commanders and rulers of medieval Japan died precisely in the sweet embrace of kunoichi. No wonder the old and experienced samurai taught young warriors, if they want to be safe from a woman from the ninja clan, you should be loyal to his wife.
Ninja legends
Ninjas, who were honored with the title of legend, existed throughout the ninja era:
- The first ninja legend was Otto-no Saydzin, who, dressed in different guises, served as a spy for his master, Prince Setokhok Taishi. Some believe that he was a metsuke (policeman), but his methods of surveillance allow him to rank among the first ninjas;
- Takoya, who lived in the 7th century, was closer to the term "ninja." His specialization was the attacks. Having penetrated into the enemy's location, he set off a fire, right after this, the emperor's troops struck at the enemy;
- Unifune Dzinnay - a ninja of very small stature, became famous for being able to get into the feudal palace through the sewer, and waited in the cesspool of the castle owner for several days. When someone went there, he dived headlong into the filth. Waiting for the owner of the castle, he killed him with a spear and disappeared through the sewer.
There are ancient chronicles dating back to the 9th century, which say how the first ninja clan was born in its traditional representation. It was founded by a certain Daytsuke, with the help of the mountain monks Yamabus. It was there that a new type of spy warrior was created who can win at any cost and who are deprived of the traditional honor of a samurai. For victory, ninja warriors did not disdain to use a whole arsenal of “not gentlemanly” strikes, spitting with poisoned needles and similar “dirty” methods.
The main thing for the ninja was the victory, which gave the clan the opportunity to live and develop. To sacrifice life for the clan was considered a matter of honor. Many Ninja warriors, whose names have not been preserved, have given their lives for the benefit of their own kind.
