Ninjas first entered popular culture in theEdo period. In modern Japan, ninja are anational myth that stems fromfolk tales and continues through modern day popular culture.[1] Though many Japanese warriors performed amazing feats, there is no evidence that any of them were supernatural. Some of the folk tales are based on historical figures, such as adaimyō (lord) challenging a ninja to prove his worth by stealing his pillow or weapon while he slept.[2]: 14
Superhuman orsupernatural powers were sometimes associated with the ninja. Such powers includeflight,invisibility,shapeshifting, the ability to "split" into multiple bodies, the summoning of animals, and control over thefive classical elements.[citation needed] These notions stemmed from popular imagination regarding the ninja's mysterious status, as well as romantic ideas found in later Japanese art during theEdo period. Magical powers were sometimes rooted in the ninja's own efforts to disseminate fanciful information.[citation needed] For example, Nakagawa Shoshujin, the 17th-century founder of Nakagawa-ryū, or martial art style, claimed in his own writings (Okufuji Monogatari) that he had the ability to transform into birds and animals.[2]: 13
Perceived control over the elements may be grounded in real tactics, which were categorized by association with forces of nature. For example, the practice of starting fires in order to cover a ninja's trail falls underkaton-no-jutsu ("fire techniques").[3]
Actor portraying Nikki Danjō, a villain from the kabuki playSendai Hagi. Shown with hands in akuji-in seal, which allows him to transform into a giantrat. Woodblock print on paper.Kunisada, 1857.
The ninja's adaption ofkites in espionage and warfare is another subject of legends. Accounts exist of ninja being lifted into the air by kites, where they flew over hostile terrain and descended into or dropped bombs on enemy territory.[4] Kites were indeed used in Japanese warfare, but mostly for the purpose of sending messages and relaying signals.[5]: 257 Turnbull suggests that kites lifting a man into midair might have been technically feasible, but states that the use of kites to form a human "hang glider" falls squarely in the realm of fantasy.[2]: 22–23
Kuji-kiri is an esoteric religious practice which, when performed with an array of specified hand "seals" (kuji-in), or gestures, was meant to allow the ninja to interact with the spirit world and allow them to perform superhuman feats.[citation needed]
Thekuji ("nine characters") is a concept originating fromTaoism, where it was a string of nine words used in charms and incantations.[6]: 2–3 InChina, this tradition mixed withBuddhist beliefs, assigning each of the nine words to a Buddhist deity. Thekuji may have arrived in Japan via Buddhism, where it flourished withinShugendō.[6]: 13 Here too, each word in thekuji was associated with Buddhist deities, animals from Taoist mythology, and later, Shintokami.[6]: 24–27 Themudrā, a series of hand symbols representing different Buddhas, was applied to thekuji by Buddhists, possibly through the esotericMikkyō teachings.[6]: 24–25 Theyamabushi ascetics of Shugendō adopted this practice, using the hand gestures in spiritual, healing, andexorcism rituals.[7]
Later, the use ofkuji passed onto certainbujutsu (martial arts) andninjutsu schools, where it was said to have many purposes.[6]: 31–33 The application ofkuji to produce a desired effect was called "cutting" (kiri) thekuji. Intended effects range from physical and mental concentration, to more incredible claims about rendering an opponent immobile, or even the casting of magical spells.[6]: 31 These legends were captured in popular culture, which interpreted thekuji-kiri as a precursor to magical acts.[citation needed]
In modern popular culture, there were three major "ninja booms" in the 20th century, the first two booms largely limited toJapanese popular culture before becoming a global phenomenon with the third boom. The first boom was during the 1910s to 1920s, when theSarutobi Sasuke series ofchildren's novels became popular in Japan; the series depicted its shinobi protagonist as essentially a prototypicalsuperhero, capable of a number of superhuman feats.[8][unreliable source?][9] The second "ninja boom" was in the 1960s, with the rise of Japaneseninja films,manga andtelevision shows that became popular in Japan.[8] By the mid-1960s, there were numerous popular ninja-themed media produced in Japan and it became popular for Japanese children to wear ninja costumes.[10] During this second boom, some of the Japanese ninja-themed media were exported to several international markets such as Australia and Italy, but did not reach North America.[8] This was also when ninjas made their first appearance in a Hollywood production, theJames Bond filmYou Only Live Twice (1967), though the film depicted them more ascommandos rather than traditional ninjas.[11] The third "ninja boom" was in the 1980s.[8] It was during this period in the early-to-mid-1980s that ninjas became a global phenomenon.[8][10]
Around 1980, several American companies took notice of the "ninja craze" in Japan and were planning to capitalize on it with their own ninja-themed productions targeting the North American market. In March 1981,Variety magazine announced that fourteen American entertainment companies were planning to produce ninja films, includingZanuck/Brown Company'sThe Ninja,Stirling Silliphant'sThe Masters, andThe Equals starringScott Glenn andToshirō Mifune, among others. However, several of these ninja-themed productions either did not release or failed to gain much success upon release.[10] The North American breakthrough for ninja films came withEnter the Ninja, directed byMenahem Golan and released byCannon Films in 1981, the success of which sparked the "ninja craze" inAmerican popular culture and led to a wave of American-produced ninja films and television shows in the 1980s.Enter the Ninja also launched the career ofJapanese martial arts starSho Kosugi, who starred in its successful sequelRevenge of the Ninja in 1983 and portrayed ninja characters in other successful 1980s American productions such asThe Master television series in 1984.[17] A wave of ninja-themed films and television shows during the early-to-mid-1980s, especially those starring Sho Kosugi, led to "ninjamania" becoming a pop culture phenomenon across North America.[12]
Many forms of ninja-themed merchandise were sold across North America during the early-to-mid-1980s, with American children replacingcowboy costumes for ninja costumes.[12] It became a trend for items to be branded with the word "ninja" to generate more sales. For example, Parfums de Coeur introduced aperfume called Ninja which generatedUS$20,000,000 (equivalent to $69,000,000 in 2024) in sales over several years up until 1985, and theKawasaki Ninja series of motorbikes were introduced in 1984.[15]
The 1998 East Java ninja scare was an outbreak ofmass hysteria inEast Java,Indonesia, in which the local population believed they were being targeted by sorcerers known asninja, who were blamed for mysterious killings of religious leaders by assassins dressed in black. As many as 150-300 “sorcerers” were killed between February and October, with the most deaths occurring between August and September.[28]
Rebels in thePool Region of the Republic of the Congo called themselvesNinja.[30]
The Red Berets, aCroatian Serb rebel paramilitary group ofDragan Vasiljković based inKnin, Croatia, called themselves "Kninjas".[31] During the early 1990s, the Kninjas were the subject of aSerbian comic-book series.[32][33]
Although some death squads active during theIndonesian occupation of East Timor called themselves "Ninja", the name was apparently borrowed from film rather than the Japanese model.[34] "Ninja" gangs were also active elsewhere in Indonesia.[35]
During theAlgerian Civil War, the government's commando units were known as "Ninja" because of their black hoods.[36]
The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team have been nicknamed "Ninjas".[37]
According toIndeed.com, there was a 7,000-percent increase in the number of job listings with the word "ninja" from 2006 to 2012.[38] A former Russian soldier who committed robberies in Italy in black attire and a bow was called a "Russian ninja" by the BBC.[39] The video-game seriesTenchu was adapted for the Japanese stage.[40] In 2006, Miss JapanKurara Chibana appeared in a ninja-samurai costume for theMiss Universe competition.[41] Goth Ninja, a type of Japanese street fashion, became popular in 2009.[42]
In information technology, "cyber ninja" are sophisticated counter-hackers.[43]
Iga Ueno Ninja Festa, the annual ninja festival inIga in the formerprovince of Iga, has had ninja-inspired performances, competitions and opportunities to practice ninja skills since 1964.[44]
Other ninja attractions in Japan include the Koga Ninja Village and Kogaryu Ninjutsu Yashiki (Ninja Houses) in Koga-gun,Shiga Prefecture, the Togakushi Ninja Village for children, the Togakushi Ninpo Museum and Karakuri Yashiki (Ninja House) inTogakushi, Nagano, theEdo Wonderland theme park inNikkō, Tochigi and the restaurants Men no Sato and Ninja Akasaka in Tokyo and Ninja Kyoto inKyoto.[1]
^Mol, Serge (2003).Classical Weaponry of Japan: Special Weapons and Tactics of the Martial Arts (1st ed.). Tokyo: Kodansha International. p. 176.ISBN9784770029416.
^Draeger, Donn F.; Smith, Robert W. (1985).Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts (1st ed.). Tokyo: Kodansha International. pp. 128–129.ISBN9780870114366.
^Buckley, Sandra (2001).Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture (1st ed.). New York: Routledge.ISBN9780415143448.
^abcdefWaterhouse, David (1996).Religion in Japan: Arrows to Heaven and Earth (Reprint ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521550284.
^Torrance, Richard (2005)."Literacy and Literature in Osaka, 1890-1940".The Journal of Japanese Studies.31 (1):27–60.ISSN0095-6848.JSTOR25064534.Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved15 May 2022.Sarutobi Sasuke precipitated a "ninja boom" among the young throughout the country. Sarutobi is an adolescent superhero who, in addition to his ability to chant incantations, appear and disappear at will, and leap to the top of the highest tree, can hear whispered conversations hundreds of yards away, is superhumanly strong, can ride on clouds, is able to conjure water, fire and wind as well as transform himself into other people and animals.
^"伊賀FCくノ一三重".Iga F.C. Kunochi.Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved2013-11-03.
^Cram, Julian (10–23 August 2005)."Naked Women's Wrestling League".dB Magazine. No. 364. Archived from the original on 2006-02-05. Retrieved2010-06-30.
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Fiévé, Nicolas; Waley, Paul (2003),Japanese capitals in historical perspective: place, power and memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo, Routledge,ISBN978-0-7007-1409-4
Tatsuya, Tsuji (1991),The Cambridge history of Japan Volume 4: Early Modern Japan: Chapter 9, translated by Harold Bolitho, edited byJohn Whitney Hall, New York: Cambridge University Press,ISBN978-0-521-22355-3
Mol, Serge (2008).Invisible armor: An Introduction to the Esoteric Dimension of Japan's Classical Warrior Arts. Eibusha. pp. 1–160.ISBN978-90-8133610-9.
Nawa, Yumio. (1972).Hisshō no heihō ninjutsu no kenkyū: gendai o ikinuku michi. Tokyo: Nichibō Shuppansha.OCLC122985441.
Nawa. Yumio. (1967).Shinobi no buki. Tokyo: Jinbutsu Ōraisha.OCLC22358689.
Okuse, Heishichirō. (1967).Ninjutsu: sono rekishi to ninja. Tokyo: Jinbutsu Ōraisha.OCLC22727254.
Okuse, Heishichirō. (1964).Ninpō: sono hiden to jitsurei. Tokyo: Jinbutsu Ōraisha.OCLC51008989.
