Ninjas (忍者) were known as shadow warriors with special skills, equivalent to modern-day spies, agents or special forces, and were said to have carried out covert missions such as espionage, sabotage, and assassinations.
Ninja groups are said to have existed already during the Asuka and Nara periods, and their first appearance is generally believed to date back to around the 6th century, when Ootomo no Sabito (大伴細人, or 細入, Sainyu), who served Prince Shotoku (聖徳太子), was given the title of Shinobi (志能便 or 志能備) and given the secret mission of investigating the internal affairs of political opponents.
As Prince Shotoku spelled it in kanji, shinobi means a capable person who aspires to obtain good information, and they are said to have made many achievements, making use of excellent military techniques as described by the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (孫子, c. 535 BC – unknown date of death), such as espionage, knowledge of mountain ascetics, and subversive techniques.
It is said that the term Ninja was not adopted until the 1950s; before that, in addition to shinobi, they were called a variety of names such as rappa (乱破), suppa (素破), kusa (草), onmitsu (隠密), oniwaban (お庭番), Koga-mono (甲賀者), and Iga-mono (伊賀者).
The existence of ninjas was not actually confirmed in historical documents until after the Nanboku-cho period (南北朝時代, 1336-1392), and initially they seemed to refer to people who rebelled against the manor system controlled by temples and aristocrats. Then, from the Muromachi period through to the Sengoku period (14th to 16th centuries), the need for intelligence and surprise attacks increased amidst the continuing wars, and ninjas activity is said to have intensified.
During the Sengoku period, feudal lords are said to have hired ninjas and used their special techniques and tactics to expand their territories or maintain their power.
There were over 71 different schools of ninja, each of which formed a group and served a warring lord.
Here is a list of ninja groups who served as vassals to warlords during the Sengoku period and their specialties.
* Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康)
Iga (伊賀) and Kohga (甲賀) groups specialized in combat and pharmacology.
It is said that the Iga group was formed by people who had mastered guerrilla tactics such as surprise attacks, and was a group with many talented people who excelled in martial arts and fire techniques using gunpowder balls. In addition, many wanderers joined the group, so it was made up of a wide range of people, including those who could read and write, those who were knowledgeable about politics, and those who were good at sorcery.
The Kohga group was a school made up of local samurai bloodlines, and they were said to have been skilled in magic and pharmacology, and were active in guerrilla warfare in the mountains. It is said that the Koga group was a democratic organization that had equality throughout the organization, such as by taking majority votes to make decisions. The aforementioned Ootomo no Sabito is considered to be the founder of Kohga-ryu ninjutsu.
* Hojo Soun (北条早雲)
Fuma cran (風魔一族) specialized in infiltration and sneak attacks.
* Uesugi Kenshin (上杉謙信)
Nokizaru group (軒猿) specialized in assassination.
* Takeda Shingen (武田信玄)
The Mitsumono (三ツ者), whose specialties are information gathering.
* Date Masamune (伊達政宗)
Kurohabaki-gumi (黒脛巾組) specialized in exploration and disguise.
* Amago Tsunehisa (尼子経久)
Hachiya group specialized in surprise attacks.
* Mori Motonari (毛利元就)
Zatoushu (座頭衆) and Seki cran (世鬼一族) specialized in information manipulation.
Ninja activities can be divided into three main categories.
1. Intelligence:
Collecting information on the enemy and providing it to turn the tide of battle in their favor.
2. Sabotage:
Destroying enemy facilities and supplies, and carrying out subversive activities to weaken their military power.
3. Assassination:
Assassinating enemy leaders and important figures, aiming to disrupt organizations.
Ninjas carried out these activities in secret, carrying out their missions without their existence being known.
The Edo period was a time of peace, so ninja activities were no longer as intense as they had been during wartime, but the Tokugawa Shogunate dispatched ninjas as spies to understand the internal affairs of each domain, to monitor them, and to gather information. It can be said that ninjas played an important role in supporting the stability and governance of the Shogunate.
The espionage activities in which ninjas secretly gathered information are considered a form of ninjutsu (忍術), and are said to be based on the five methods of espionage described in Sun Tzu.
1. Goukan (郷間)
Involving ordinary citizens living in an enemy country and having them explore the enemy’s country to gather information.
2. Naikan (内間)
Bribery or other means are used to win over dissatisfied or greedy people in important positions in the enemy country, and to manipulate them to the advantage of one’s own country.
3. Hankan (反間)
Involving an enemy spy who has invaded one’s own country and having him act as a double agent to the advantage of one’s own country.
4. Shikan (死間)
By deliberately having one of one’s own spies captured in enemy country and having them confess false information such as a fake operation, one can outwit the enemy country and gain an advantage in the battle. In this case, the spy is prepared to die when he is captured.
5. Seikan (生間)
Infiltrate an enemy country, gather information, and then return alive to your own country to convey that information.
Of these, it is said that the main mission of the ninja was Seikan, which they carried out unobtrusively in order to return alive and bring back the information. Even if they were caught, they could not afford to die in enemy territory, so they were required to run away without fighting in order to increase their chances of survival.
For this reason, they were required to master running and swimming techniques that pursued more efficient movement, such as traveling unseen roads at night or on uncharted paths, and to learn medicine that would allow them to survive alone in any situation, as well as what we would call modern survival and self-defense techniques.
Intelligence and covert operations were generally carried out in secrecy, so ninjas had to blend in with society and its people, and try to remain as inconspicuous as possible in everyday life, and their missions usually lasted for several years or more.
Ninjas’ disguises included the following, but to avoid suspicion and to avoid being discovered, they had to learn local dialects, perform Noh and acrobatics as professionals, and learn to chant sutras like monks, which required rigorous training.
* Ordinary people such as farmers and townspeople
* Merchants
* Monks
* Mountain ascetics
* Noh performers
* Acrobats
The Mansenshukai (万川集海, 1676), compiled during the Edo period, provides detailed explanations of the techniques, knowledge, and skills of ninjutsu, the secret arts used by ninjas, as well as the secrets of ethics, righteousness, loyalty, and faithfulness.
From the following passage in this book, we can see that the work of the ninja is done unnoticed and unobtrusively, like a natural phenomenon.
音もなく、臭いもなく、智名もなく、勇名もなし、その功天地造化の如し
(trans)
Without sound, without smell, without seeking fame for wisdom, without boasting of bravery, accomplish the accomplishments as if they were created naturally in heaven and earth.
Rather than seeking honor or boasting, it can be said that enduring with utmost patience, training one’s mental strength, and striving for self-improvement are social virtues that are not only passed down among ninja groups but throughout Japan as well.
In ninja villages, the people usually lived the same lives as farmers, but they also trained daily to hone various skills.
The ninja used a wide variety of ninjutsu techniques, which were mastered through steady, rigorous physical and mental training and study.
1. Stealth techniques:
Refined techniques for hiding, crossing water, climbing, flying, walking, running, communicating, etc.
To ensure that they could carry out their missions reliably, ninjas performed exercises such as running, jumping, and climbing, as well as physical training to improve their stamina and explosive power.
One example is the ability to move or act without being noticed by the enemy, such as moving at night, hiding in the shadows, and making no sound in the dark. The word “shinobi-ashi (stealth walk)” comes from this.
2. Disguise techniques:
An essential ability when invading enemy territory, such as for infiltration and eavesdropping.
One example is disguising oneself as a farmer, merchant, monk, or other person or animal in order to infiltrate enemy territory.
3. Pyrotechnics and martial arts:
Ninjutsu for creating explosions and smoke screens to distract the enemy or give them more time to escape. In addition, for close-quarters combat, they made full use of fighting techniques using shuriken, daggers, sticks, etc.
There are techniques that are indispensable for fighting the enemy, such as stopping arrows, needle techniques, fire techniques, and shuriken.
4. Psychological techniques:
Illusion techniques, mind control, divination, deodorization, making secret poisons and potions, and other techniques for misleading or assassinating people. These psychological tactics were used to deceive the enemy, and were used to manipulate information and spread false information.
As part of their training, ninjas also practiced meditation and mental concentration to heighten their spirituality.
In any case, it can be seen that ninjas possessed the insight to synthesize all the information they gathered based on their physical strength, acting ability, powers of observation, reasoning, mental toughness, and courage, and to draw conclusions.
The spirit of the ninja is summed up in the kanji character for nin (忍), which has a blade (刃) resting on the heart (心), meaning that one must neither push nor pull back, and must have an ironclad, unshakable mind, prepared to face one’s last breath. For this reason, overcoming fear, disregard, and overthinking was an important part of ninja training.
Furthermore, in modern society, ninjutsu continues to be applied and utilized as a tactical tool in all aspects of life, including military and commercial affairs. This is because ninjutsu, such as reconnaissance, intelligence, deception, and disruption, is not just a classical technique, but even in modern times, by finding out information about the enemy and exploiting their weaknesses, it is possible to control or harmonize with them, minimizing losses and achieving maximum effect with minimal force.
For this reason, the fundamental principle of ninjutsu is to seize the opportunity and strike an opening, exploring the heavens (weather, times, reputation, etc.), the earth (topography, environment, transportation, etc.), and people (personality, emotions, thoughts, etc.) and using them to one’s own advantage.
Moreover, since there is no significant difference in human psychology or physiology between ancient and modern times, East and West, or between men and women, young and old, even classical ninjutsu is still used as a useful tactic in modern times, such as effectively using the seven emotions (joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, love, hatred, lust) or the five desires (food, sex, material things, refinement, honor), or by switching between reality and fiction to make things that exist seem non-existent or things that do not exist seem to exist.
Basically, ninjutsu is not used as a means to implement clever and cunning strategies. Because the knowledge and practical techniques of ninjutsu are fundamentally about respecting all things, living in harmony with nature, and acquiring the right heart, insight, and values through rigorous training. However, the application of similar methods is sometimes applied to commercial market development, sales expansion, public relations, and advertising in modern times, and is sometimes used as a driving force for economic growth.
For example, anxiety-inducing marketing can be considered one such tactic. With the development of AI, it is now possible to read the emotions of individual consumers based on their search history and browsing content, and then meticulously personalize the optimal timing and content to incite anxiety, automatically delivering and proposing these through social media and internet advertising, tapping into consumers’ latent anxieties and creating demand for goods and services.
It certainly seems that in recent years, deception, false information, media manipulation, psychological operations, conflict structures, false flag operations, and other things that could be perceived as applications of ninjutsu have been implemented in multiple layers. Therefore, developing the mental strength to resist such pressure and psychological manipulation will likely become a survival skill today.
In fact, pirates would approach prey ships by flying a flag of surrender, and ancient Roman armies would enter by flying the flag of the invading country, but it can be said that the development of information networks via the Internet and other media has made it easier to implement tactics aimed at social manipulation and leading the masses.However, by using ninjutsu, it may be possible to instinctively grasp these attacks before they occur.
There is usually a front and a behind to things, and there is a tendency to focus on only the superficial information, but the truth, meaning, and intention behind it should not be overlooked, because there may be malicious intent behind it. Conversely, even if something appears malicious on the surface, there may be good intentions and background behind it.
Therefore, by looking behind the scenes and making the effort to find the truth, you will be able to see things from multiple perspectives, avoid misunderstandings and prejudice, and lead to more accurate perceptions and judgments.
As an aside, but it is said that each person has a front and a behind, the social self (or public self) and the personal self (or private self), and maintaining consistency, balance, and harmony is essential to gain psychological stability and satisfaction.
This behind side, the personal self, is what Sigmund Freud calls the id, which is said to exist in the unconscious realm, including instinctive desires and impulses. Although it is rarely directly evaluated by society like the public self, this front and back can mutually influence each other and form the overall image of the individual, and if a self-discrepancy occurs due to a gap between the two, it can cause psychological anxiety and stress. Therefore, it is considered essential for individuals to maintain a consistent self-concept. Certainly, cultivating this identity between one’s outer and inner self is important for survival.
Returning to the original topic, here are some examples of coordinated covert attacks, alleged false flag operations, in which US involvement has been implicated.
* The Alamo Incident
In 1835, this was a trap set up by the United States to plunder Texas from Mexico. Several American farmers (actually undercover soldiers sent for the Texas independence movement) were attacked by Mexican troops and barricaded in the Alamo. The Americans ignored their requests for help and deliberately left them to die. This gave social justification to revenge, and led to the plundering and attack of Texas.
* The USS Maine Incident
In 1898, the US battleship Maine was blown up and sunk, and the newspapers reported it as a Spanish terrorist attack. This instantly turned the exhausted American public opinion, which had just ended the Civil War, towards retaliation, and this incident effectively led to the Spanish-American War, in order to plunder the Spanish territories of Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, and other Central and South American countries. However, in the 1970s, the US Navy admitted that it was staged.
* The sinking of the Lusitania
In 1915, the Lusitania had civilians on board, but the United States leaked false information to Germany that it was a disguised British transport carrying 173 tons of ammunition, and it was attacked and sunk by a German submarine.
The fact that 1,198 people were killed, including 128 Americans, was widely reported in the media, tilting American public opinion in favor of war against Germany and creating a foothold for America’s entry into World War I.
However, when the sunken ship was salvaged, a large amount of evidence was found that it was a fake transport ship, and in 2014 the British government acknowledged that it was a trap set jointly by the United States and Britain.
* The Gulf of Tonkin Incident
In August 1964, a North Vietnamese warship fired two torpedoes at a US Navy destroyer patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin. In retaliation, President Johnson bombed North Vietnam, paving the way for the Vietnam War. However, in 1971, a reporter from the New York Times obtained secret documents, the Pentagon Papers, and it was revealed that it was a self-staged incident orchestrated by the United States Corporation through a match-pumping scheme with the military-industrial complex.
* Gulf War
In 1991, a tearful girl named Nayla testified that Iraqi soldiers were killing newborns in Kuwait, which led to increased anti-Iraqi sentiment and criticism of Iraq internationally. However, it also effectively justified the invasion of Iraq with the intention of plundering its oil interests, and triggered the Gulf War.
It was later revealed that Nayla was the daughter of a US embassy official who had never been to Kuwait, and that the testimony she gave was propaganda created by the US to incite people against Iraq. It was also discovered that photographs of waterfowl that were said to be covered in oil after the Iraqi army destroyed oil fields were actually taken when a tanker ran aground in the Gulf of Mexico.
* 911
Numerous evidences have been leaked to the public that prove that the 9/11 attacks in 2001 were deliberately carried out by the secret society led by the rulers.
* The collapse of the Libyan regime
In 2011 in Libya, Colonel Gaddafi tried to establish a central bank in Africa and issue an original currency in order to liberate the continent from colonial rule by European countries. However, the image of him as a dictator was fabricated, and an anti-government group bought by the US was made to carry out terrorist operations under the guise of a democratization movement, which justified the US’s massacre of the colonel.
In addition to this, numerous other false flag attacks have been carried out, and while officially hired crisis actors sometimes pretend to be the victims, in reality the casualties are often civilians, and covert operations will inevitably continue to be carried out in the future, so it can be said that it is essential for survival to accurately analyze the social situation and predict in advance what form, when, where and for what purpose it will be implemented, just as the ninjas did.
In particular, when it comes to agendas involving secret societies, such as geopolitical issues and systems that control civilian society, the conflict structures presented on the surface are designed to trap, confuse and disorient people, so in order to get to the truth and essence, it is necessary to look at them from the perspective of a hierarchical structure.
First of all, each individual may need to learn and practice the following ninja skills and techniques:
1. Psychological control
2. Avoiding and escaping from crises
3. Improving communication skills and gathering allies
4. Gathering information
5. Improving memory
Specifically, first collect data and analyze it. Based on the results of that analysis, make a decision. Then, turn the decision into action. This mechanism from thinking to acting brings about results.
It is also important to develop memory, as it improves the speed of thought and speech, and also leads to the ability to notice signs of crisis and the arrival of opportunities and to have insight into the near future. In other words, recalling past experiences and applying them to the current situation means having the ability to sense something, which leads to sensing signs of the future that lie ahead.
To add a little more, future predictions are made through causality. In this case, the vertical change is the sign, but whether or not you can detect the sign usually depends on your ability to recall, and the secret to training it is curiosity. This is because peripheral memories about things that interest you will continue to accumulate.
Mnemonics are said to be useful for improving the quality of thinking, and they are cultivated by making associations, visually imagining information, and attaching emotions to it. It is also said that training one’s ability to recall is essential to recalling, drawing out, and utilizing memorized information as needed.
In ninjutsu, there is a method of memorizing things by replacing them with something else, and numbers are said to have been memorized by a conversion method in which they were replaced with body parts or food. In addition, the “Technique of Never Forgetting (不忘の術, fubo no jutsu)” of Koga ninjutsu is said to have been a technique in which one would memorize things that one must never forget by cutting oneself with a blade.
It is essential for a ninja to obtain reliable information that can be used for decision-making, and to think and act correctly. Therefore, it is necessary to correctly understand the process from collecting information to making decisions and follow the basic cycle.
1. Decide what to investigate
Set up a question and clarify the information to be collected.
2. Collect information
Collect information that matches the question and framework from a wide range of sources.
3. Process the information
Process the collected information by sorting, categorizing, evaluating, storing, etc.
4. Analyze the information and make a decision.
The results will then be presented to the employer, stored, or used to plan a strategy.
However, even after going through this process, you may still not be able to reach a satisfactory conclusion. In that case, it may be a good idea to try changing the question or changing your perspective a little.
1. Rephrase
2. Rotate it 180 degrees
3. Expand the focus
4. Concentrate the focus
5. Investigate the reasons
There is much that the Ninja has to teach us, and all of it seems applicable today to everyday life, spiritual training, business, and tactics.
The “nin (忍)” in ninja refers to controlling one’s emotions and enduring. Acquiring such patience and calming anger and resentment will likely lead to cultivating a tolerant heart towards others, which in turn will lead to the concept of harmony.
Many ninjas did not assert themselves, did not stand out, and did not leave names, but they were able to change their form freely, notice things that were not noticed, overcome things that were impossible, and respond flexibly to any situation, achieving great feats based on their strict self-discipline and their calm and advanced spirituality that was not influenced by reason, emotion, or passion.
Ninjas may truly be the unsung heroes who help us survive in the modern world.
Sincerely grateful for your financial support.
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