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Who Were the Ninja?
The ninja, so called because they studied the art of ninjitsu, were a highly elite group of hire-on assassins and farmers. Seem like a strange combination? Well, being farmers allowed them to be independent of anybody else, and it also taught them how to obtain poisons or special powders from the land. It also showed them how to be able to live off of the land while traveling to various places around Japan. Many of the ninja's weapons were developed from the farming tools that they used.
Ninja specialized in being able to kill quickly, move completely silently and without being seen, and use almost any weapon. They also possessed the ability to climb, run, and swim extremely well. They were hired to go on "missions" throughout Japan, and they had to be able to get there quickly and without being seen or noticed. They could use disguises or stealth to infiltrate a castle or fortress, and they almost always accomplished whatever they were supposed to do. This is largely because they had no care for honor, as most Japanese took the word. Almost all Japanese warriors considered it a tremendous atrocity to attack or kill someone without actually confronting them. The ninja, however, thought it wiser to kill a person while putting themselves in as little danger as possible. To do this, they used many ranged weapons or weapons that were not all that they seemed to be; they used throwing knives and blowguns, or had staffs with hidden knives or chains. These deceptions caused them to be despised by most of the Japanese. The fact that they used poisons also contributed to their wide spread hatred.
The ninja had many myths that were made up concerning their special abilities; these may have been encouraged by them to inspire fear, and they were also probably spread by people who had seen them doing things which they didn't understand. For instance, people thought that they had the ability to change into animals, walk on water, make themselves invisible, and walk up sheer walls. The walking on water could be accounted for by the fact that, well, they did; with special shoes that are talked about in the water crossing equipment section on this site. The ability to change into animals was probably brought about when the ninja were seen using shuko and askiko; a tracker following tracks left by these claws would have reason to suspect something strange. Also, if a ninja were to jump into a lake, and then swim across underwater the whole way, someone watching might suspect that they had turned into a fish. The ninja might actually have been breathing through a blowgun or sword sheath. The suspicion of the ninja making themselves be invisible was easily thought when they used their amazing skills of stealth and speed.
The ninja were a rather amazing people, and though not generally well liked, the skills that they amassed were amazing. They became one of the most feared people in the history of the world, and there was good reason for that fear. They were some of the most ruthless, cunning, and deadly people that have ever been seen.