Appearing in the Middle Ages and, as it were, “self-destructing” in the New Time, ninjas still remain a part of modern culture, more precisely, “mass culture”. The current image of these "warriors of the night" is determined by comics and action films. But what were they in reality?
In the Middle Ages, social lifts in Japanese society were practically absent, with one exception. For a lower class person, becoming a ninja meant moving up, not up the ladder of the class hierarchy, but along the tightrope stretched next to it. “In the world,” they could remain traders, doctors, circus performers.
How the monks gave birth to "demons"
The very word "ninja" in translation means "hiding." Their other name - "shinobi" has almost the same meaning.
They trace their genealogy back to the "yamabushi" - the so-called hermit monks who retired from the bustle of the world higher into the mountains. But there were robbers in the mountains, and, in anticipation of enlightenment, the hermits along the way mastered traditional martial arts, bringing some innovations to them.
They shared their knowledge with the surrounding peasants. The peasants, in turn, mastered the skills of combat in order to defend themselves against the lawlessness of the feudal lords. This is how ninjutsu appeared - a science that teaches a wide variety of forms of fighting the enemy, including espionage, hand-to-hand combat, the use of weapons and poisons.
Iseno Saburo Yoshimori (circa 1150-1189) is considered one of the creators of ninjutsu. He expounded his experience and techniques in short poems (tanka), many of which were included in the classic collection of Japanese poetry "Bansenshukai", composing a separate section "One hundred poems about ninja".
Promotional video:
Orphaned early, Yoshimori in his youth led a gang of robbers until he found himself a master in the person of Prince Yoshitsune. Thanks to his courage and leadership skills, Saburo became one of his four most trusted military leaders. Commanding troops, he personally took part in battles, defeating powerful opponents in duels. His favorite weapon was the "bear paw" (kumade) - a kind of analogue of the hook, which has become a part of the ninja's arsenal.
Together with the master, he knew glory, having saved the emperor from the rule of the mighty feudal clan Taira. However, then the prince fell out with his older brother and head of the house of Minamoto Yeritomo. The decisive battle was lost, and Saburo accompanied his master on his wanderings around the country, which ended in the fact that numerous opponents surrounded them in one of the estates. The breakthrough failed, and the prince performed a ritual severing of the abdomen (seppuku). According to legend, Saburo at that moment covered him from enemies, after which he also committed suicide.
Clothing, arsenal, combat science
Naturally, having mastered the skills of killing, the ninja could no longer be satisfied with the peasant share. They offered their services to the warring feudal lords, making up a professional corporation of assassins, spies, saboteurs. The ninja were friends with the common people, seeing them as a social support. At the same time, outsiders were reluctantly allowed into their environment, preferring to pass on skills by inheritance. But the influx of "fresh blood" was still present, and not only at the expense of the lower classes of society. Samurai (ronin) who were left without a master could become a ninja. Moreover, even noble samurai princes, daimyo, mastered ninjutsu.
In general, the ninja can be considered a semi-family, semi-professional clan: more precisely, a multitude of clans (in the heyday - about 70), scattered throughout the Land of the Rising Sun.
In the Japanese puppet theater, ninjas were presented in black tight suits, although in reality the clothes were ash-gray, which made it possible to better blend in with the darkness of the night or the twilight of enclosed spaces. During the day, the "demons of the night" wore, of course, ordinary "civilian" suits, which allowed them to get close to the victim without causing any fear in her. However, metal plates could be sewn into clothes in places most vulnerable to blows.
Special equipment (rokugu) included six obligatory items - a wicker hat (amigasa), a “cat” (kaginawa), a pencil lead (sekihitsu), an inkwell with a pencil case for a brush (yadate), a towel (sanjaku-tenugui), a set of medicines (yakuhin), a container for carrying embers (tsukedake or uchidake).
The presence of an inkwell and a brush is explained by the manner in which marks are left at the site of a successful operation. A container of coals could be used as a heating pad during hours of ambush vigils.
Of the items that were used depending on the situation, one can note traditional swords (usually shorter than usual), shooting bows, flails, as well as exclusive weapons such as steel spikes (makibishi) and metal stars for throwing (shurikens). Sickles with a chain at the end of the handle (kusarigama), if necessary, could be disguised as peasant tools, and long steel blades were hidden in wooden canes. A single-shot squeak could also hide in a cane, and in the use of firearms, ninja overtook the samurai by an order of magnitude - it is mentioned that from such a squeak they could hit a target at a distance of 600 meters.
In addition, the ninja knew the pain points of the body and were well versed in poisons with different durations. Apparently, there was no special system of hand-to-hand combat in the framework of ninjutsu: rather, we can talk about a set of techniques from various martial arts that are most suitable for use in enclosed spaces (short and quick strikes), a stake on silence (suffocation), surprise and the ability to stun the enemy …
War with the samurai
The mountainous regions of Iga and Koka were considered the strongholds of the ninja, and it was these provinces that gave the names to the two main schools of ninjutsu. "Demons of the night" from the province of Iga even risked starting a war with the country's most authoritative feudal lord - Odo Nobunaga. The conflict began with the fact that Nobunaga killed the most influential yamabushi, who began to play an overly active role in political life.
The ninja, in revenge, organized several assassination attempts on him, which ended in failure. Nobunaga took offense and released his comrade-in-arms Takigawa Saburobei to the province, who appointed a gathering of troops in the Maruyama castle.
The ninja decided to play ahead. In June 1578, groups of fighters disguised as ordinary workers entered the fortress and, on a signal, partially killed and partially blocked its defenders. Then the massacre began, which ended in the complete defeat of the army and the burning of the castle.
Then the son of Nobunaga, Kitabatake Nobuo, invaded the province with an army of nine thousand divided into three columns (September 1579). And he was utterly defeated.
Miraculously surviving Nobuo complained to his dad, who decided to get down to business himself. The army he assembled reached 46 thousand people - 11 times more than all the troops of the rebellious province. He invaded in six directions at once, so the defenders simply did not have enough strength to cover the mountain passes. Having lost the ability to “fight in the mountains and forests, the ninja had to defend specific villages and castles, which the enemy was besieging stubbornly and methodically. Nobunaga's troops were constantly attacked, killed in forest ambushes, fell under rockfalls, but they had enough strength. The fortified points fell one after another, and the defenders only retained the Kannonji monastery complex on Mount Hijiyama.
About a thousand samurai tried to storm the main building, attacking the gate and climbing stairs to the wall. However, the outcome of the battle was decided by an attack on the enemy headquarters of seven ninja, who remained in history as "seven spears from Mount Hijiyama" (Momoda Tobei, Yokoyama Jinsuke, Fukukita Shogen, Mori Shirozaemon, Matii Kiyobey, Yamada Kanshiro).
In the end, the 30,000-strong army concentrated around the monastery, firing incendiary shells at Kennonji. And when the defenders ran out of water, the complex was engulfed in flames.
Technically, the ninja were defeated, although most of them, using their skills, survived. A year after the end of the war, one of its participants, Hattori Hanzo, managed to gather about 200 soldiers in Iga in a few hours. And when Nobunaga visited one of the temples in the province, he was fired upon from "big guns" (probably squeaks or small cannons). The distance and tight security saved.
Noble robber
Momochi Sandai is considered one of the greatest ninja warriors, although his name appears only in legends and is not mentioned in any historical chronicle. Paradoxically, a character slipping on the horizon of the past in a vague silhouette, perhaps not even existing in reality, is officially recognized as a soyu (great master) of ninjutsu.
Perhaps Sandayu was the first to die in the final ninja battle with the army of Oda Nobunaga, although another option is not excluded - he managed to escape and lived for a long time in a mountain refuge, manipulating his wards and "directing" the course of feudal strife in the direction he needed. Moreover, he transferred the role of the secret ninja leader and the behind-the-scenes puppeteer of Japanese history to his heir Sandai II, who was succeeded by two more mysterious characters - Tamba Yasu-Mitsu and Taro Saemon. The names of the later ninja chiefs are unknown.
According to one of the legends, the famous Ishikawa Goemon (1558-1594) was the son of Sandai the First. The same legend says that during the war in the province of Iga, he tried to kill the sleeping Oda Nobunaga by putting poison in his mouth along a rope hanging from the ceiling. Nobunaga fell ill, but still survived. Goemon ended up in the camp of the losers and became a "noble robber", a kind of Japanese Robin Hood. The breadth of his soul made him the most popular character in folklore. However, Goemon finished badly.
During an unsuccessful attempt on the life of Nobunaga's successor Toyotami Hideyoshi, he was captured by the guards and boiled alive in boiling water, and not alone, but with his son, whom he held above his head until the last, trying in vain to save him from death. In some legends, however, it is said that the son was still spared.
Best and latest
An unsuccessful attempt on Toyotami and the Warrior Hidden in the Mist, Kirigakure Saizo.
In his "work", he often used illusion techniques and smoke devices, with the help of which he got close to his victims and successfully escaped from the scene of the operation.
He tried to hit the Toyotomi through the boards in the floor, but missed slightly. Another serving with the failed ninja victim smoked Saizo from his hideout. Hideyoshi lured the prisoner to his service, and later passed it on as if by inheritance to his son Toyotomi Hideyori. He remained loyal to this master in the most difficult situations, having performed many feats in the defense of Osaka Castle (1615). The circumstances of the death are unknown.
Saizo's best friend was Sarutobi Sasuke, who died in Osaka, known by the nickname Monkey Leap.
According to legend, as a child, he got lost in the jungle and was raised and raised by monkeys. It was in the midst of primates that he acquired dexterity and agility, thanks to which he easily moved around buildings and trees.
Fleeing from enemies, Sasuke fell into a hunting trap and, not wanting to be captured, cut off his leg. Suffering from blood loss and realizing that he would not be able to go far, he committed suicide.
The most famous daimyo and ninjutsu master was Yukimura Sanada (1567-1615). Contemporaries called him the Crimson Demon of War.
The defense of Osaka Castle, where he with 6 thousand fighters opposed the 30-thousandth army of the ruler of Japan, Prince Tokugawa, has become legendary.
Sanada himself once silently killed a sentry, donned his armor, and hid in a hole under the floor of the corridor that connected the Tokugawa tent to the toilet. However, a bullet fired from a musket missed the target, and the ninja himself barely escaped from his pursuers. A few days later, he blew up an underground mine and, taking advantage of the turmoil, unsuccessfully tried to break through to the tent of the enemy commander-in-chief. But Osaka Castle still fell, and its brave defender committed seppuku.
The "Age of Warring States" is over. With the establishment of the shoguns of the Tokugawa dynasty, the "demons of the night" could no longer move from one master to another, but were forced to resist a strong central government, which simply did not need such "free artists".
So by the end of the 17th century, the professional ninja clans had disappeared. Only the art of ninjutsu and the name that became the brand remained.
Magazine: Mysteries of History №6. Author: Dmitry Mityurin