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A ninja (忍者,
literal meaning: "stealth person") is a warrior and
assassin, trained in the
Japanese art of
Ninjutsu (roughly art of stealth). Ninja, like
Bushido and
Samurai, followed their own special code of honor called
Ninpo and contrary to popular belief the Ninja's specialty was not
assassination but rather espionage.
There are many
myths and legends concerning ninjas, who were most prevalent during
Japan's feudal era and often served damiyos, or feudal lords, for secret
missions. Ninjas were never known to wear any color other than black or dark
blue despite such western depictions of "white" ninjas which would severely
hamper their effectiveness as they conducted most of their business in the
dark of night.
Their special abilities are also often exaggerated, such
as becoming invisible, turning into animals, jumping over buildings, and the
ability to fly and foresee the future. Many of these claims were made by the
ninja themselves, others were added by story-tellers and the film industry.
(The truth: These myths came about after people witnessed the "Ninja's"
feats, the "Ninja" they witnessed were usually
Yamabushi that would visit towns
performing tricks for money.) In western popular culture, ninjas often
depicted as simply supremely well trained
martial artists who use many kinds of exotic equipment and skills to
achieve their missions. This combined with the popular image of legendary
costume of an all black suit and hood leaves only the eye area of the face
exposed, often makes up the western take on the ninja as a popular foe of
fictional spies (especially on missions in Pacific
Asia),
superheroes and
supervillains.
The ninjas used several special weapons against their
enemies, the
shuriken and
nanchyaku probably being the most famous. Weapons could also be used
cleverly as tools such as using the cord of their sword scabbard to
construct a hammock between tree branches.
The first major appearance of the Ninja in Western
popular culture is in the
James Bond film,
You Only Live Twice in which the Japanese Secret Service employs a
top secret Ninja force to play a critical role in helping the British spy
stop
S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s grandest scheme.
Sho Kosugi was famous for his
portrayals of ninja in several movies of varying quality.
Comic books have used ninjas extensively since the 1980s with various
examples:
- Although creators
Bob Kane and
Bill Finger were not aware of ninjas, their creation,
Batman has many elements of the type such as his dark colored caped
costume, his mastery of
martial arts and
stealth and his variety of tools he carries in his utility belt.
- In the
Marvel Universe, the most popular ninja character is
Elektra. The ninja clan that taught her, The Hand, is also a regular
foe of
superheroes like
Daredevil and
Wolverine.
-
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a parody of
Frank Miller's Daredevil stories which include a parody of The Hand,
known as The Foot.
- In
Usagi Yojimbo there are several ninja clans, including the Neko
who operate in the regular manner, the Komori, who are bats and
attack from the air, and the Mogura, moles which attack from
below the ground.
- Ninjas appear also in
Lone Wolf and Cub.
- The
GI Joe toy, TV and comic book franchise has ninja characters,
especially the popular Snake-Eyes and his COBRA counterpart, Storm Shadow.
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