Ninja by John Man

lord’s death as his own, and choose death; a mercenary who would be able to offer his services to another lord could well choose life, as would a landowner with a workforce to look after. Either way, living or dying, the samurai was asserting his control over his destiny and pride in his elitism.
    All this—the equipment, the actions, the theatricality—were the outward, visible, and very public means by which a samurai proclaimed his status. No samurai would for a moment accept the idea of doing anything secretive or underhand. It would be a denial of everything he stood for.
    Yet—here’s the paradox—everyone knew his Sun Zi, every commander knew that it would have been courting disaster not to have spies acting in secret, gathering intelligence and undertaking other covert operations. Hence the ninja, with an ethos that was the mirror image of the samurai’s, and hence also a difficulty for historians, for if operations were secret, well, no one would record them.
    So the formal bravado of the samurai is only a part of the story. Surprise attacks, artifice, betrayal, and deception played equally significant roles in warfare. Witness several incidents in medieval sources: A Taira warrior named Sadamichi, ordered to kill another warrior, befriends the man, then rides out of sight, puts on his armor and returns to shoot his unarmored victim; a samurai avenging his father’s murder disguises himself as a servant, sneaks into the man’s room while he is sleeping, and slits his throat; Minamoto Yoritomo, wishing to execute one of his men, orders him to be entertained at a feast, during which he is beheaded. These incidents hardly rank as honorable, yet there is no suggestion that they are actually dis honorable or in any way improper. Indeed, a warrior was supposed to be on guard at all times, so who is to blame if he is taken off-guard by an assassin or successfully spied upon? He is, of course, all being fair in war. Ends justified means. Warriors and bards alike may have tacitly agreed not to mention it, but deception was as much part of Japanese culture as public glory.

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    HOW TO BE A SHADOW WARRIOR, PART 2: DECEPTION—AND CHARM
    Ninjas should not be ashamed of falsifying, for it is their duty to outwit the enemy.
    Ninja instructional poem
    FOR NATORI , DECEPTION IS THE KEY SKILL , TO BE PRACTICED on several levels, not least by charming the information you seek out of the opposition. This is how you “analyze people’s minds without letting them know that they have been analyzed”—by employing flattery to gain knowledge. “By using this technique, you can steal into the opponent’s mind with great ease without drawing his attention in a way to make him wary; meanwhile he bleeds all the information that you need. Truly amazing.”
    At the most basic level, however, you had better master the art of disguise. There are seven types of disguise a ninja should master.
    1. Zen monk: useful because the big straw hat allows good visibility while hiding the face.
    2. Buddhist monk: useful for getting close to people.
    3. Yamabushi mountain priest: allows you to carry a sword without being questioned.
    4. Merchant: for mixing freely with people.
    5. Street entertainer: always traveling, and therefore arouses no suspicion.
    6. Actor: Ditto.
    7. Dress like those around you to blend in.
    As a monk of any kind, you may also become a pilgrim, because that gives you a good reason to move around between temples and shrines. In this case, you may choose to join a small group.
    You should also master the technique of dakko , which is to understand all the local customs and dialects. Originally, this skill involved imitating the dialects of more than sixty provinces with great fluency. Those with this skill “knew and were aware of all the points of interest, historic spots and places of natural beauty within each area.” However, warned Natori, “this technique