Are there actually real ninjas around these days?

Question

This person says that anyone who claims to be a real ninja is a liar. What do you think?

http://www.seekjapan.jp/article/1526/Ninjutsu:+How+to+Spot+a+Fake+Ninja

Answer 1

there are people who study ninjitsu so they would be considerd ninja. Even though Ninja is most known for assasins and turtles. The Ninja back in the day was also a protector from the mountains, lakes and farms. Hollywood is good at making a bad guy out of the Ninja.

Answer 2

I think they fulfilled a role in a period of Japanese history, a period which is now over.  They're as real now as Vikings and Conquistadors.

Answer 3

i suppose this depends on your definition of a ninja: obviously, no assasinations are carried out by people in black who then dissapear, but ninjitsu is still practiced, not for any practical use, but just to keep it alive.

Answer 4

There are ninjutsu schools in Japan and the USA. I have seen them at Japantown festivals in San Francisco. There are many wild tles about them that make them into supermen. The real story is that they began as hinin warriors. Hinin are lower class people. Samurai are bushi warriors. They are nobles by birth. Samurai are like knights, while ninja are like peasants or serfs in medieval Europe. Samurai had strict codes of honor, while ninja did not. Samurai might hire ninja to do things they were not permitted to do. The ninja I have met will argue with the person who says they are liars.

Answer 5

look up the world ninja society i dont know if they still operate or if they are "ninja" but they were around in the early 90s

Answer 6

I hope so.

Answer 7

i would have to agree. But then again, who knows?

Answer 8

no. the reason is because the common form of ninjutsu is far different then that of ancient Japan. Ninjutsu was developed by groups of people mainly from the Iga Province and Kōka, Shiga of Japan.   The ninja used their art to ensure their survival in a time of violent political turmoil.  Their exact origins  are still unknown athough they can be dated back to the 15th century and last seen just after world war 2. Their roles may have included sabotage, espionage, scouting and assassination missions.

Answer 9

ninjutsu training doesn't Mace you a assassin or a turtle. its a great form of exercise and helps clear the mind as does any other martial art. to run around in black garbs wearing ninja shoes is not considered cool anymore. I have been training since I was 15 years old and even did a few stage demos with my friends, it came in handy in the army and i still use it as a form of relaxation but I have never called myself a ninja.

Answer 10

Well your first clue to their lack of knowledge is they say ninjaS not ninjA. Anyway there are ninja all around. They would be known as CIA, FBI, Delta Force, SEALS, etc. at least on the American side, and there are many countries in the world.

As far as people still using wooden sticks filled with poison wearing black hoodies popping out of the woods to attack you and disappear in a puff of smoke? Not really... There are two schools that teach the real traditional art but that is not what you would be able to really use in the present technologically advanced times of today.

Check out the videos Urban Ninja on youtube, they are great. funny videos.

Answer 11

Again, ninja. There's no plural -s in japanese. Plurality comes from context.

I would consider Hatsumi Masaaki ninja, but not everyone would. You would have to know enough about him to make that assertion.

Questions:

One is born into the mountains of Iga, the son of a farmer in a village where ninja train. Does this make him ninja?

One is born to a samurai household. Does this make him not ninja?

One is trained in the techniques and skills of the ninja, ranked within a hierarchy as genin, but never sent on a mission. Does this make him ninja?

The first answer: No, it makes him a farmer.

The second: No. Hatori Hanzo was both samurai and ninja.

The third: I don't know. And this is the case that in modern times makes it a matter of personal belief.

Certainly, Takamatsu Toshitsugu trained in ninjutsu as well as ninpo taijutsu, was a master of the Ninpo Sanjuroppo, and acted in a manner befitting a ninja in China. He is often called saigo no jissen ninja (roughly, "the last ninja to see combat").

Now, Hatsumi Masaaki has the same training, and, so far as I know, has never seen "real combat" -- though his sakki test (avoiding daijodan jumonji kiri) certainly shows the mindset for it.

Finally, the three schools branched from the Takamatsuden teachings -- the Bujinkan, Genbukan, and Jinenkan -- teach Ninpo Taijutsu (roughly, "ninja body skills"). I know that, within the Bujinkan, only some shihan have been taught small portions of ninjutsu. I understand that ninjutsu isn't openly taught in the Genbukan and Jinenkan either. The differences lie in subject matter. Ninpo Taijutsu would be the armed and unarmed techniques of the ninja for self defense, survival, and combat. Ninjutsu would include such concepts as infiltration, astrology, weather prediction, espionage, poisons, medicine, diet, and the building of fortifications.

There will always be people who are quick to say that anyone claiming to be X is a liar. Since the odds are in favor of it being true (1:8,000,000,000?), there is no real reason to argue the point. That said, know that just because the ninja of history are gone, does not mean the time of the ninja is not yet to come. War, oppressive governments, subjugation of people: the ideals of the ninja are needed now as much as they ever were.