Secrets of the ninja

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Espionage as a Weapon
About five hundred years before the birth of Christ, a Chinese philosopher named SunTse stated in his "Rules for Political and Psychological Subversion" that, "there is no art higher than that of destroying the enemy's resistance without a fight on the battlefield. According to this sage, "The direct tactic of war is necessary only on the battlefield, but only the indirect tactic can lead to a real and lasting victory. "Subvert anything of value in the enemy's country. Implicate the emissaries of the major powers in criminal undertakings; undermine their position and destroy their reputations in other ways as well; and expose them to the public ridicule of the their fellow citizens. "Do not shun the aid of even the lowest and most despicable people. Disrupt the work of their government with every means you can. "Spread disunity and dispute among the citizens of the enemy's country. Turn the young against the old. Use every means to destroy their arms, their supplies, and discipline of the enemy's forces." "D
ebase old traditions and accepted gods. Be generous with promises and rewards to purchase intelligence and accomplices. Send out your secret agents in all directions. Do not skimp with money or with promises, for they yield a high return." It is upon this passage from the Art of War that Japanese Ninjitsu is based. Sun-Tse was quite correct. No more need be said concerning espionage as a weapon. But, The Art of Invisibility is far older even than this. Nor was Sun-Tse the first to recognize this principle. And, much later, Macheivelli's The Prince expressed the same sentiment with regard to conquering new lands. The great expense of war being his primary motivation in counseling the medieval lords of his time.

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Basic Ninjitsu
The origins of Ninjitsu are shrouded in the mists of time. It was greatly influenced by Chinese spying techniques, many of which are found in Sun-Tse's classic, The Art of War. The word Ninjitsu itself originated during a war between Prince Shotoku and Moriya over the land of Omi in sixth century Japan. During this conflict, a warrior named Otomo-no-Saajin contributed to the victory of Prince Shotoku by secretly gathering valuable intelligence about the enemy forces. For this service, he was awarded the title of Shinobi, which means "stealer in." From this ideogram, the character for the word Ninjitsu is derived. Originally, the role of the Ninja was to gain information about the enemy and to sabotage his operations. Agents were classified as: Indigenous, meaning local personnel who gathered intelligence or worked for the Ninja on site; Sleeper, being one long in place, merely awaiting instructions; Doubled or Turned, a former agent of the enemy who spied for both sides; and Expendable agents who were used f
or only one mission and then left to fend for themselves. Such agents include both men and women, the female Ninja were called Kunoichi and carried out missions of assassination and sabotage, as well as espionage. Ninjitsu is not a magical technique which will enable you to disassemble your body and reassemble yourself somewhere else. It will not change the structure of your body, making it transparent. This Art of Invisibility consists of the skills employed to make yourself unseeable; in this context, the art becomes almost a philosophy. The ancient masters have said, "A tree falling in the forest with no one to hear it, makes no sound; but, it falls nonetheless." So it is with Ninjitsu. A Ninja attacking a blind man is invisible, but he is attacking nonetheless.

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To Be A Ninja
To be a Ninja, indeed to even contemplate the Silent Way, one must be a hunter. This means that he knows the ways of his prey. He studies their habits, patterns of movement, and routines. In this way, he can strike when they are most vulnerable, or trap them in their own habits. To be a Ninja, an invisible assassin, one must be a warrior. This means that he accepts responsibility for his actions. Strategy is the craft of the warrior. To be a Ninja, one must be a wizard. This means that he can "stop the world" and "see with the eyes of God." This is the essence of Mugei-Mumei No-Jitsu, which is translated to mean, "no name-no art." Secrecy is the hallmark of being a spy. To be a Ninja, one must be strong, one must know, one must dare, and one must be silent.

Uniform of the Ninja
The costume of the Ninja is basically that of the stage handlers of the Kabuki theatre, who sneak on stage during scenes to help actors with costume changes, move scenery, or remove props. He is not noticed, even though he may remain in full view for an entire act. He seems a part of the landscape. And, when he does move, it is accomplished so swiftly and unobtrusively that he escapes notice. This symbolism applies equally to the actions of an agent in the field. For our purposes, the Ninja uniform consists of: (a) Black Ski Mask, as camouflage paint or "blacking" of the face is time consuming and cannot be quickly removed. (b) Black overjacket, often reversible to disguise the appearance. (c) Black Belt or sash. (d) Black Coveralls, with blousing ties at the wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles. And, (e) Black Tabi, split toed socks made for wearing with sandals. The soft sole of these protects the feet and helps muffle the sounds of walking. The traditional uniform also included the hakima which is a divided
skirt for formal wear, leggings, and a light tunic of chain mail. My Sensei also employed a large, gray, hooded cape which was used to distort the silhouette, a true "cloak of invisibility." The costume of the Ninja was called Shinobi Shokozu. The blousing ties at the joints could serve to slightly numb the body to take impact in hand to hand combat by tightening them slightly. Or, as tourniquets to stop bleeding if the agent were slashed during swordplay. Black is considered the "traditional" color because it was used by the Kabuki stage handlers. Theatregoers were expected to ignore the "shadow" figure, who used many of the same techniques employed today for espionage, to move invisibly about the stage. But, solid black "stands out" at night among the true shadows cast by moon and torchlight. Therefore, most Ninja schools used brown, gray, or red uniforms. Red had the advantage of being black at night, with no sunlight to reflect the crimson color; a fact known only to those who studied light and shadow as
a Neolithic science. When it came into the firelight, however, the color returned. And psychologically intimidated the enemy through the association of red with the fear of blood. 6