Were Ninja Martial artists?

by Barron Shepherd
Artwork by Doryan Algarra

There is a plethora of information slowly but surely emerging from Japan presently. There are those who have come from Japan to make presentations concerning the Shinobi (Ninja) such as Jinichi Kawakami seminar last year. There are those who have practiced and studied the warrior arts of the Samurai. There are those who practice Koryu, the ancient systems of Japanese fighting methods and lastly there have been translations of ancient manuals, scrolls and texts. This is an exciting time for those who are training, studying, teaching and still have questions concerning ancient Japanese fighting arts.

So what is the difference between the Shinobi and the Samurai? Quite simply the Samurai practiced methods of physical combat on the battlefield and one on one up front confrontation. While the Shinobi trained in entirely different areas of warfare such as stealth, espionage and infiltration techniques. Part of the shinobi’s job was not to fight but to simply gather information and get the information back to his retainer, not be confrontational or even judgemental. Even though both had a different skill set both were considered "bushi" (warriors).

So is Ninjutsu a martial art or a Koryu?

According to The Bansenshukai (Translated the 'Sea of Myriad Rivers Merging', a multi-volume secret written transmission (densho) of Iga and Koga Ninjutsu), compiled by Fujibayashi Yasutake (also, Yasuyoshi) of Iga in the fourth year of En'o (1676). Within the Bansenshukai, Fujibayashi states that a shinobi, outside of ninjutsu, would do well to train in kenjutsu and miltiary combat arts. Fujibayashi conceptually distinguishes Ninjutsu and combat arts as two separate entities.

Another example of this can be found in the Ninpiden, and it says that a shinobi should learn specific martial arts so when they hide amoung the bushi (warriors) the shinobi can talk about Bugei (martial arts). So quite possibly a part of ninjutsu was to learn the SAMURAI arts!

As a more modern example, I will refer to the taihenjutsu or body evasion techniques taught within the bujinkan ninjutsu system. The footwork in the ninjutsu body evasion techniques are the same to those used in different Kenjutsu schools for evading a sword cut. So the footwork (which will be covered later in another part) very well may not be a shinobi technique but rather found in the samurai arts. But, again this is not say the ninja didn’t add a few tricks of their own to these techniques and systems.

Taking the recordings such as the Bansenshukai and Ninpoden into account, as well as the comments made by Kawkami sensei at his seminar in 2009, I do not consider ninjutsu to be either a Koryu or a martial art in the traditional sense. I believe ninjutsu to be something entirely different . This is not to say that there were nt some Samurai who were shinobi and trained as shinobi and shinobi who trained and learned the fighting methods of the warrior class. There are indeed documented cases of this. The legendary Hatori Hanzo was an example a warrior who was both Samurai and Shinobi. I think it would be safe to say that while the shinobi had his skills in stealth, evasion, infiltration and espionage, the Shinobi did indeed look to the samurai for certain fighting skills such as Kenjutsu, tantojutsu and others.