Ninja Facts

Ninja Facts

• Japanese people consider ninja as spies, not warriors. In Japan, ninjas are called shinobi.
• Ninja means the one who endures, shinobi means the one who conceals himself.
• You cannot be a ninja by training, the tradition of the ninja is passed from generation to generation.
• There are 2 main ninja clans in Japan: Iga and Koka. The town of Iga is in Mie, about an hour-long car-ride from this museum. The name of Iga city will soon be changed into Ninja city.
• The ninja were trained by practicing long-distance running, disguise techniques, climbing, gun powder training, and the Botanics.
• A number of samurai commanders were targeted by ninja. Uesigi Kenshin, a famous daimyo of the Kanto area during the Sengoku period, was killed by a ninja sent by Nobunaga. Nobunaga himself once shot by a ninja.
• A ninja should not be heavier than 60kgs in order to run fast.
• The ninja usually wore ordinary clothes to blend in or the navy blue colored outfit since it is more difficult to notice them in the moonlight.
• The ninja did not eat meat while on the mission not to leave anybody odor behind.