taken by a stealthy action is captured only when strong secondary forces come to secure the occupation.
The following is an example ofdevoid of any connection to the ninjaat all:
To go on a date in secret
One example of misunderstanding the ideogram for ‘ nin ’ is in a martial arts scroll for a school called Shinobi-ryu or Nin-ryu (1627), which led to the idea of a possible ninja style of fighting. The possibility soon fades as on closer inspection the ideogram means ‘determination’ or ‘diligence’ and uses the character for ‘ nin ’ as ‘perseverance’ and describes no relation to the Shinobi. 40
This image leaps off the page for a shinobi researcher as it is the classic shinobihowever, in this case, it is a secret love or love affair.
The following section will expand on the preceding examples and display the various instances when the word ‘ nin ’ is in direct relation to the shinobi. Furthermore it will show the diverse ways in which the ninja were integrated into the military society of Japan, making them not an alternative culture to the samurai, as somtimes thought, but an integral part of the samurai military machine.
A section of the Nin-ryu manual.
The Ninja
Ideogram:
Onyomi reading: Ninja
Kunyomi reading: Shinobi no mono
A man whose profession is a ninja or is a person carrying out the arts of ninjutsu.
The Shinobi [no] Samurai
Ideogram:
Onyomi reading: Ninshi
Kunyomi reading: Shinobi no samurai
As an ideogram compound, this appears in various documents, attesting to the acceptance of the ninja at times as part of the samurai class. The word is made up of shinobi and samurai together, implying a samurai whose job is that of a ninja. A historical example of such a position would be Natori Masatake (though never used in connection to him directly) as he was a samurai of modest pay whose function was that of a ninja for the Kishu-Tokugawa and who headed the Natori secret military school. Therefore, we can infer that whenever this ideogram combination is used, the shinobi in question was of the samurai class, albeit probably of the lower grade. It is highly unlikely that any samurai of high status would be a ninja, as the ninja’s function was direct and physically applicable, whereas the higher one is in the samurai class, the more the emphasis is on command and strategy.
The Shinobi-soldier
Ideogram:
Onyomi reading: Ninpei
Kunyomi reading: Shinobi no tsuwamono
Literally, this is shinobi and soldier, a soldier who is also a ninja. However, unlike the previous example of shinobi - samurai, it is possible that this can refer to both foot soldiers and lower grade samurai. This is made possible by the fact that a higher scale warrior may use the term ‘ Hei ’ (soldier) to mean those lower than he is, including low-ranking samurai, which means it is not certain if this is a direct reference to the Ashigaru foot soldier class or not. Interestingly, the term soldierhas even been used in relation to the high ranking samurai named Sanada Nobushige (also Yukimura).
The use of this compound sheds some light on the social hierarchy inside the shinobi ranks, as both Ninshi and Ninpei described above had ‘ninja-captains’ or Shinobi-gashira to lead them.
Ninja Captains
Ideogram:
Onyomi reading: None
Kunyomi reading: shinobi-gashira
Here the phonetics Shinobi no Tsuwamono were next to the ideograms.
Having looked at the possible social aspects of the names Ninshi and Ninpei and the difficulties in aligning them with the correct social class, we come across the shinobi-gashira , a term that has definite social parallels. The suffix kashira (which becomes gashira ) is a captain of a squad and this rank is found in several positions within the military framework. Examples such as Yumi-gashira , a captain of archers, establish that this military post was an authoritative one. What is not clear is if this position was given to samurai or high ranking Ashigaru foot soldiers.
The following is an example ofdevoid of any connection to the ninjaat all:
To go on a date in secret
One example of misunderstanding the ideogram for ‘ nin ’ is in a martial arts scroll for a school called Shinobi-ryu or Nin-ryu (1627), which led to the idea of a possible ninja style of fighting. The possibility soon fades as on closer inspection the ideogram means ‘determination’ or ‘diligence’ and uses the character for ‘ nin ’ as ‘perseverance’ and describes no relation to the Shinobi. 40
This image leaps off the page for a shinobi researcher as it is the classic shinobihowever, in this case, it is a secret love or love affair.
The following section will expand on the preceding examples and display the various instances when the word ‘ nin ’ is in direct relation to the shinobi. Furthermore it will show the diverse ways in which the ninja were integrated into the military society of Japan, making them not an alternative culture to the samurai, as somtimes thought, but an integral part of the samurai military machine.
A section of the Nin-ryu manual.
The Ninja
Ideogram:
Onyomi reading: Ninja
Kunyomi reading: Shinobi no mono
A man whose profession is a ninja or is a person carrying out the arts of ninjutsu.
The Shinobi [no] Samurai
Ideogram:
Onyomi reading: Ninshi
Kunyomi reading: Shinobi no samurai
As an ideogram compound, this appears in various documents, attesting to the acceptance of the ninja at times as part of the samurai class. The word is made up of shinobi and samurai together, implying a samurai whose job is that of a ninja. A historical example of such a position would be Natori Masatake (though never used in connection to him directly) as he was a samurai of modest pay whose function was that of a ninja for the Kishu-Tokugawa and who headed the Natori secret military school. Therefore, we can infer that whenever this ideogram combination is used, the shinobi in question was of the samurai class, albeit probably of the lower grade. It is highly unlikely that any samurai of high status would be a ninja, as the ninja’s function was direct and physically applicable, whereas the higher one is in the samurai class, the more the emphasis is on command and strategy.
The Shinobi-soldier
Ideogram:
Onyomi reading: Ninpei
Kunyomi reading: Shinobi no tsuwamono
Literally, this is shinobi and soldier, a soldier who is also a ninja. However, unlike the previous example of shinobi - samurai, it is possible that this can refer to both foot soldiers and lower grade samurai. This is made possible by the fact that a higher scale warrior may use the term ‘ Hei ’ (soldier) to mean those lower than he is, including low-ranking samurai, which means it is not certain if this is a direct reference to the Ashigaru foot soldier class or not. Interestingly, the term soldierhas even been used in relation to the high ranking samurai named Sanada Nobushige (also Yukimura).
The use of this compound sheds some light on the social hierarchy inside the shinobi ranks, as both Ninshi and Ninpei described above had ‘ninja-captains’ or Shinobi-gashira to lead them.
Ninja Captains
Ideogram:
Onyomi reading: None
Kunyomi reading: shinobi-gashira
Here the phonetics Shinobi no Tsuwamono were next to the ideograms.
Having looked at the possible social aspects of the names Ninshi and Ninpei and the difficulties in aligning them with the correct social class, we come across the shinobi-gashira , a term that has definite social parallels. The suffix kashira (which becomes gashira ) is a captain of a squad and this rank is found in several positions within the military framework. Examples such as Yumi-gashira , a captain of archers, establish that this military post was an authoritative one. What is not clear is if this position was given to samurai or high ranking Ashigaru foot soldiers.
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