realNEO Word Of The Day: 忍者 - Dedicated to Lily and Dianna

realNEO Word Of The Day: 忍者 - Dedicated to Lily and Dianna [1]

A ninja or shinobi (忍者 or 忍び? [2]) was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations. The ninja, using covert methods of waging war, were contrasted with the samurai, who had strict rules about honor and combat.

In his Buke Myōmokushō, military historian Hanawa Hokinoichi writes of the ninja:

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They travelled in disguise to other territories to judge the situation of the enemy, they would inveigle their way into the midst of the enemy to discover gaps, and enter enemy castles to set them on fire, and carried out assassinations, arriving in secret.

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The origin of the ninja is obscure and difficult to determine, but can be surmised to be around the 14th century. However, the antecedents to the Ninja may have existed as early as the Heian and early Kamakura eras. Few written records exist to detail the activities of the ninja.

The mysterious nature of the ninja has long captured popular imagination in Japan, and later the rest of the world. Ninjas figure prominently in folklore and legend, and as a result it is often difficult to separate historical fact from myth. Some legendary abilities include invisibility, walking on water, and control over natural elements. The ninja is also prevalent in popular culture, appearing in many forms of entertainment media.

Photos of actual ninja by Kylie Roulet

Photo of actual buckaneer by Jasmine

Photo of actual smile by Kylie Roulet