Warrior of the Shadows...

A brief background/history: There were few, if any records kept of ninja existance, so their beginnings are rather difficult to trace. They did originally live in small Japanese villages, consisting mainly of priests, farmers, and other pristine peoples. Most of what is known about the ninja is taken from family stories which have been passed down from one generation to another.

Ninjutsu ("the art of stealth") was first introduced to Japan in 522 A.D. as a religion practiced by these priests, who were obviously not violent people. They were known as the "Mystics," who gathered and shared information for the ruling classes. The ninja that we generally think of were not introduced until later.

> Some of these farming peoples in Japan had found themselves constantly being raided and attacked by their central government. These defenseless people eventually fled into nearby mountains, where it became necessary for them to learn how to protect themselves. It wasn't until about 645 A.D. that they had perfected their fighting skills and made use of it.

At this point, one must understand the Samurai ways of life to truly understand just why the ninja were so effective against their enemy. The samurai's life was always to "Live by the sword and Die by the sword", having absolutely no fear of dying. The samurai's sword was his whole life - his soul & his spirit. With this he followed the warrior's code of honor, the Bushido. The Bushido was to be followed at all times. If a samurai were to stray from the code he would then commit Seppuku, another term for hara-kiri. This was a ritual suicide where he would cut his stomach open in a distinct fashion (using a small sword) and then bleed to death.

The ninja never followed any code like this. Their only purpose was to successfully complete a mission; do whatever it takes to get the job done. This gave the ninja a great advantage, as did their wide variety of weapons. And since the samurai could not sneak into an enemy's house (since it was against their ways), they could never carry out any such task of sabotage or stealthy assassination. This is why the ninja had become so effective in defending themselves and their farmlands. If it meant sneaking up behind a samurai warrior and killing him before he even knew that he was in danger, it was very permissible. The Bushido, on the other hand, would never allow for this. And for these reasons, the samurai, as well as others, had learned to fear the ninja GREATLY.

And as this style of fighting had gained popularity, so did a reputation of the ninja's supernatural abilities. These false stories were often encouraged by the ninja themselves. considering they were a relatively weaker people than their counterparts. It was to their advantage to have others believe they had such powers -- powers like having the strength of ten men, the ability to turn into animals, and the capability of invisibility as well... The almighty and able ninja.

Check out some of these pictures:

-- PAINTING - -	-- AN OLD SHURIKEN --

-- MODERN DAY --	-- SKETCH --

-- AN OLD DRAGON COIN --

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