6:43 As many have already pointed out, yes I got the phrase wrong, it is "One and the Same".

There is absolutely no evidence that a shinobi ever assassinated anyone. Sounds like they did their job.

Let's be honest here, can we really judge Japan for marketing this image of the Shinobi? In Romania, my country, the people have been marketing the image of Vlad the Impaler as Count Dracula, a blood thirsty vampire.

It's worth mentioning that the history of ninja in cinema didn't start with the James Bond movie of '67. At least in Japan. There is a series of 8 movies and a television series called Shinobi no Mono based on a series of novels. The first movie dates from 1962.

The whole concept of a spy has had a similar fate in the West as well, in part thanks to movies like James Bond. The archetype most people think about are these individuals who are out stealing plans for weapons and blowing up bridges, but the reality is much more subtle, mostly passive observation, and perhaps subtle pushes within the societies. In short, it's just that we love to fictionalize and add fantastical elements to many historical realities for entertainment's sake, particularly in the realm of historical espionage. Both reality and fantasy versions are fascinating and deserve the spotlight in their own ways.

Man... Ninjas are so secret that even history couldnt touch them... they are as always in the shadows...

You can be both samurai and ninja, be the ghost of tsushima!

The differences between ninja and samurai helped me understand what good and evil actually are. As a child I didn't understand why some books had ninja as the good guys and some books had samurai as the good guys. It was frustrating and then one day it finally hit me, it wasn't what they were it was what they were doing individually that made the character good or bad. I'm sure it is stupid for other people to read this, but, that is what I associate ninja and samurai with now.

it will always amaze me how they managed to be so secretive.. even now I feel like there is a lot missing from the picture

In the year 3020; a video online titled "The Hitman: From Reality to Myth"

A wiseman once said, history eventually become myths after so long..

Fun fact: The TMNT's 'cowabunga' derives from a Shinobi Ninja term meaning 'within the shadows'.

The fact that there isnt a whole lot of information on the ninja just makes them seem that much cooler! 😍

Ninja seems to be for Japan what King Arthur is for Brits. A mystical figure, based on a truth and blown up out of all proportion and is popular in western cuture for stories to be woven around. That's how legends are born.

I'm a ninja. My father was shinobi. My grandfather was samurai. My great grandfather was a dragon. My great great grandfather was a carp. That's history

Your version of who the "ninja" actually were and what they actually did is remarkably similar to what I heard from Grandmaster Shoto Tanemura nearly 30 years ago. He is the ancestral head of the Tanemura clan and also said that mostly the shinobi were samurai. The specialised weapons were generally just common agricultural or carpentry tools or other items which field operatives would have had available to them in an emergency. The fundamental weapons system was the same as the samurai which varied from region to region depending on terrain, predominant style of armor, whether or not they were expected to fight in massed ranks etc. The unarmed combat system of Ninpo Taijutsu was introduced to Japan from China , was not unique to the so called "Ninja" and was used by various Samurai clans as well depending on how and where they lived and predominantly fought. For example most systems of Ju Jutsu developed around the necessity to be able to fight in crowded areas and limited space which restricted movements while wearing armor but Taijutsu was favored in environments such as steep unstable terrain or ships where heavy armor was a liability and greater reliance was placed on evasion and maneuverability. You are incorrect in the assumption that the Japanese have only started seriously translating the ancient scrolls. Professor Roy Ron of the Tokyo University's history department has been working on them for many years together with Kotoro Tanemura. Some of the challenges are that there are a lot of scrolls, which are not readily available to foreign researchers and many of which are written in dialects that nobody speaks anymore.

You’ve enlightened my day. Ninjas are fun to think about just as other things throughout history. You learn something new every day. Thank you.

Foreigners: “We love your ninja cultures! We wanna see more!” Japan: “Um, they are not what you thi-“ Foreigners: “We got rich tourists...” Japan: “IRASHAIMASE!!!”

Tenchu to this day is one of my favorite games

Historians: "Ninja's were not who you think." Ninjas: "Then my work here is done."

The best way to imagine a ninja is someone who the military uses for covert, black op missions. They are to carry out undercover acts such as espionage, assassinations, slandering, spreading misinformation, guerrilla warfare, and terrorism. Not much is known about them because they obviously covered their tracks. The concept of the ninja is not just in feudal Japan as it is used by other countries throughout history to win wars (e.g., Vietcong during the Vietnam War, American Rebels during the American Revolutionary War, and Hashashin group in the medieval Middle East).

: You have no honor And you're a slave to it -The ghost

This is why I'm in love with Ghost of Tsushima. Even though not perfect, it shows a samurai willing to bend the rules of Bushido to defend his homeland and not some random shinobi with a super catchy name from some secretive clan or mystical village, and his new tactics instead of being call "magical or mysterious", they are simply referred to as terrorism. Also as you go further in the game, it shows the hypocrisy of the Samurai "code of honour" but I'm sure you probably have another video on that subject. Lol

This was very intriguing. Amazing job!

Thank you for the book sources, I'll definitely be acquiring these

"No confirmed evidence of a shinobi assassinating anyone" So your saying they were good at their job then?

Wait so you're telling me that if I trained very hard and never give up I'll never be the greatest ninja and become hokage?...my life is a lie...believe it!

Why is there no mention of ninja turtles?

This was an excellent piece. Thank you.

Great work. I'm surprised that you didn't elaborate on the role of Edo theater in the evolution of the image of the ninja. In traditional theater, stagehands dressed entirely in black, and audiences were used to ignoring their presence. In plays featuring ninja, the ninja would dress in this way, making it shocking when they interacted with the characters - kidnapping, assassinating, etc. The stereotypical ninja outfit is essentially the garb of a stagehand: "invisible" in the context of theater.

I think the Shinobi did the wonderful work in the regard of revealing their existence. The lesser you know about them, the better secrets they can hold. That's the way of the Shinobi.

I really like the art used to make this video. The traditional Japanese drawings as well as more contemporary style realistic depictions are so well done. I'm jealous of these gifted artists ! 😊

Knowing the true historical context for anything is important to me- especially in this topic. That being said, I like both: the real history and the fantasy one

*makes jutsu signs with hands* *nothing happens* NARUTO YOU LIED TO ME

The most op clan in shogun 2 wasn't even a land owning clan. RIP hattori.

Ninja assassin is such an elite film

That's a good listen. Thank you.

Ninjas? Thats old news. Today in 2020, we just know these"Shinobis" as, The Ghost.

It would be great if you could also talk about how samurai fight on an actual battlefield. People still have a lot of misconception of samurais using katana as their primary weapons.

Thanks. Some decades ago I would've been sad to be disillusioned in such a manner, but now it makes a lot of sense. I met some Ninjutsu students and teachers back in the day and can clearly imagine how reluctant they would be to let go of their dreams

I do think it's important to distinguish history from fiction, but I also don't think that means abandoning our pop culture fantasies as well. I feel like there's absolutely room to both tell stories about our beloved mysterious clans of shadow assassins, while also acknowledging that it's fantasy, just as we do with wizards, dragons and elves.

This is what the Shinobi 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 you to think... Nice try Shinobi.

Excellent work. Thank you a lot.

I always found it weird that there would be such discrepancies over fighting styles in the same war period, thanks for the explanation, made more sense to me

I get my ninja knowledge from the 80's so it's gotta be historically accurate.

In my head cannon, the Ghost of Tsushima was the first ninja.

Narrator: "There is no evidence a shinobi ever assasinated anyone." Ninjas: "Mission accomplished."

Well I still appreciate the video but it was all stuff I already know still amazing and ya have a new subscriber just lettin ya know what I think keep em coming I’m gonna binge your channel today 😂🤙

Just a touch of help. The “famous” Hattori Hanzo you’re looking for is Hattori Hanzo Masanari. His son was Masashige. The history escapes me at the moment, but it was either under Masashige, or the next in line that the Hattori clan began to fall into disarray under the Tokugawa shogunate.

I am a Japanese translator and I am about to embark on a project to translate a chunk of the story Jiraiya Gouketsu Monogatari, or the Heroic Tale of Jiraiya, also known as the Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya. I just hope I can find a publisher for it when I've finished translating a large enough part of it to have something to show :P But as some of you might now, Jiraiya is one of the legendary sannin in Naruto, and I think it would be fun for there to actually be an English translation of some of his adventures involving the two other members of the sannin, Tsunade and Orochimaru.

On the contrary, if there are no accurate records of their activities, It means that they did an excellent job.

This was enjoyable, thank you

Ninjutsu was developed by the samurai of the Nanboku-cho period, and further refined by groups of samurai mainly from Kōka and the Iga Province of Japan in later periods. The first Shinobi were Samurai

The hardest thing to swallow was hearing the sanada braves have no real basis in history to be honest, rip Regardless, I knew you'd get to this topic eventually, it was only a matter of time lol I can also share your pain of being more into samurai than the modern ninja as a kid, hell I still have to with friends I have today; Hope you and Cummins are enjoying working together :)

Very good. I researched this subject forty years ago and discovered what you covered, before internet 😂 but it coincided with my research, I hadn't heard those names in a long while

I'm very surprised you didn't utilize the historian Stephen Turnbull as he has written many books about feudal Japan including several about the Ninja and his research goes back to the '70s if not further.

Well, you missed out on a pair of *huge* popularizations... first being _Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari,_ that is a 1839 series of novels that held such influence that characters became part of the Naruto franchise, and another being 1958's _Kōga Ninpōchō_ Which has been adapted several times over as well. Both set up the Ninja heros as having supernatural abilities.

The ninjas I know is from shogun 2. Those bastards literally sniped my entire family tree within a couple of turns. I'm telling you, it's like Vietnam

I took a style for a year and a half that claims to come from ninjutsu. This one was more mental based, focused more on thinking out ones position and how to survive through an intense situation then the fighting skill. Although we did spend time on the fighting skill as well. The master of my teacher was an American guy, my instructor stated his master went to Japan to learn with the group. There were also only 4 people said to be teaching this style in or around the nyc area & my instructor learned from them all. It was said over in one of the classes that there was a passing down of ideas from generation to generation between the different leaders of this group, information only the top guy could have. In the early 1900's, there was an government warrant on the leader for some reason. They came in with guns & got him. The group holds the art was lowered with the loose of that information. They still have much though. Before taking that style, I had seen many styles and was well versed in the basics of a few. When I was younger, I kind of became a karate kid in a way, staying close to one of the 2 tang soo do masters I learned under. I'll say this about the art I took for a year & a half later in life. Nothing had used the intellectual positioning I saw this style use, nor the types of moves, eventhough some of the ideas were the same. My instructor was easily able to get the upper-hand on you through how he was training us. If you think about it, to be the CIA of ancient japan and even to be part of the samurai organization, they had to know some form of martial skill. For it could be easy to get caught in a bad situation while gathering there information, these people would have to have an irregular set of martial skills to get them through such situations. Not battlefield skills that one needs to fight a skilled enemy or even many enemies at once, but something more illusive, that the "Information collector" could quickly and quietly deal with the situation he got caught in and move on. I'm not one of the belief everything is written in history books, somethings would be berried with in certain families if they were so passed down. Have to get on the inside to catch the points.

great one with awesome background music

I’m so glad I found your channel. I love this stuff. Thanks for making it!

I love this channel. I played some games when i was young that really left a mark on me but it wasnt until i was somehwat older that i found out that the characters had existed in real life. Some of my favourites were Oda Nobunaga, Sanada Yukimura and Honda Tadakatsu.2 weeks ago i found this channel where i learnt so much about the Warring States Period of Japan and damn have i been excited for every video that comes out. Basically i love your channel thank you so much for reading what might be considered a long comment (if you end up reading it) and please keep up the good work and stay safe

Most historic writings from then concern ninja more as for espionage, infiltration in the royal courts, listening, etc. The running around on roof tops shooting ninja stars as assasins might have been a very rare circumstance.

Dear Sir, Your videos are informative, factual, and refreshing in content. I will keen my kodachi with you in mind. サムライフィル

Actually Ninja have lot of similarities with Modern Special Forces.Just look at they outfit lol.

I love how you don't subscribe to the hype and unafraid of presenting the cold, hard facts. This Channel is a gem in a mountain of peebles. Keep it up.

Great video!! you should used Tenchu gameplay as an example haha, love that game!

Yeah I've read most of this stuff back when I was a kid and all about some Oriental Martial Arts. Now I remember reading once that the black clad ninja we think of comes from the outfit worn by workers on the set of Kabuki theaters. It's been speculated someone acting as a Shinobi might have utilized similar stealth techniques and clothing at some point, but that it was never a standardized "ninja uniform". I mean there was nothing to stop them from doing it like that,but that wasn't standard operating procedure.

Regarding assassinations, the absence of direct evidence of shinobi assassinations does not exactly mean it did not happen. Getting rid of people who your lord finds problematic has been (and still is?) a thing pretty much everywhere so why it would not be in the far east? And if the assassin was good, he would not exactly leave a sign that this person was killed by a shinobi, that kinda misses the point of assassination (unless you are trying to send a message, mafia style). An open murder from outsiders perspective could be seen as yet another fight in the street where a person happened to get killed and the killer escaped. Or poisoning could be seen as a premature death by natural causes, unless someone who knows this shit examines the body more closely. I am just saying that the idea of specialised covert operators never assassinating anyone is just as dubious as the fantasy ninja clans all wearing black throwing shurikens. Are we just swinging from one extreme to another here?

Damn we need more people just like you Digging really deep Into historical subjects And exposing the truth

Thanks man I really take a interest in samurai Japanese gods and more so thanks for doing this bid

The effectiveness of The art of Shinobi is evident in all the speculations about them.

Saw the video and I loved it since it's actually the only video where the narrator states his resources and collaborators, not to mention that's it's the most accurate one, but that comes without saying since we're all watching and listening to " the Shogunate "...with my understanding and research, ninjutsu is an old warfare art ( no, not a martial art ) that originated in India some 4000 years ago, and it found it's way from India to China, over Korea and finally into Japan, and as a person that's been studying ( bujinkan ) ninjutsu for some time, after reading of Shoninki ( an Iga-ryu ninjutsu document from 16th century ) it came to my understanding how " modern " ninjutsu was crippled so it can be brought to people to practice it safely, since we're talking about an old style of fighting where people would gouge out each others eyes and throats ( and we DO have some of the techniques still in jujutsu ), and my understanding of other Japanese martial / warfare arts is that Japanese jujutsu came from ninjutsu, and in my opinion it was a needed art for the samurai so they can defend themselves on the field if they lost or broke a weapon as much as it was needed for them to know " amatsu tatara " which was a form of first aid in the field... so from jujutsu ( which can be traced back to 12th century ( Shinden Fudo ryu school of jujutsu )) came Judo ( 1882 ) and Aikido...Ive also found a text where it is stated that shinobi were used in combat back in 4th and 5th century and I also second the fact that they we're not killers, anyone could kill as anyone can still kill today, they were mostly spies and agitators / saboteurs that would kill given a good chance and odds.

My first exposure to ninjas was my first game in Sega when I was 5-6, Revenge of the Shinobi. I’ve been of a fan on ninjas ever since.

Thanks for the knowledge... That said, what a Fing bummer...

Best Ninja movie ever? Ninja 3 The Domination. Love that movie, especially the opening golf course scene XD

Extremely informative, just in time for my next D&D campaign too.

I've read something similar about Ninja long ago. One thing that made 'Ninja' become popular was Kabuki in the Edo period. From what I've read, in a stage performance, people would need to replace backdrops and background props without having to bother the performers. Much like in the Japanese show 'Kasou Taishou'. In that show people would perform short skits with "special effects". The performers were amateur groups with costumes and props and were tasked to create an illusion of a film or even anything in real life with a special effect, well, effect. But, I digress. Those in 'the background' at the performances in the Edo period would don black clothes also to make them hidden from the audience. Also, like what you've mentioned, a romanticizing of the 'Ninja' figure came from novels and plays. One novel that I can mention came from a folklore which most Naruto fan (like myself) would remember: "Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari" about a toad riding Ninja (rings a bell?). Anyway, I enjoyed this video. Thank you for posting, and keep up the good work.

“But! I cannot stress enough!” Bruh you was wearing that saying out 😂 Great vid tho 👌🏾

I’m super late to this good, informative video. I’m also loving the Ghost of Tsushima comments. ❤😎💪🏼

To echo the point many have raised, I think that the toughest part of addressing the existence of shinobi is that they have a legacy of being secretive by nature. But I also think that there are some other factors to consider. I am not any kind of expert on Japanese culture or the feudal period and readily admit that essentially all of what I have seen has come from pop culture. But I do have to ask the question - if shinobi did engage in assassination in an era where honor was essentially everything, would anyone in a prominent position own up to using such means? It seems odd to me that not one person would potentially use an assassin or engage in assassination in any time period of war as human beings. This is not a statement to besmirch anyone's honor. It is not to impugn your research. I merely raise the question because of human nature and the time period. Indeed, upon further reflection, the legendary tale of "The 47 Ronin" was an assassination (a political act) as much as it was a show of loyalty and commitment. Moreover, the men who did so reportedly disguised themselves and hid their plans as well as actions literally for years before engaging in their fateful choices. I am not saying that these men where shinobi. I just use it as an example of having a very particular skill set, an agenda, a plan, hiding all of the above, and then executing said plan in a very deliberate fashion. Another part that I think bears pondering is the impact of the caste system on Japan. To this day, caste plays a role in many social situations that extend to employment, marriage, safety, education, and more. If people were of a different caste and engaged in an action that was beneficial to a samurai, daimyo, etc, would it even be acknowledged let alone recorded? And wouldn't these segments of society be the perfect recruiting ground because it would be unthinkable to many? The martial arts practices are yet another question. Secret martial arts techniques, although depicted in a very exaggerated fashion in pop culture media, do exist. There are places where "outsiders" are virtually never allowed to be taught a particular style. And there are families in martial arts that are known for their prowess across generations. Although the techniques are not "secret," the Gracie Clan and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are essentially synonymous as just one example. I am not at all saying that you claim to pose a definitive answer. Nor am I looking to say that my very cursory thinking compares to your research. It categorically does not. But I do think that conceptually, there is still a lot to ponder. Thank you for your channel and its videos. I wish you the best in all things.

"No evidence a Shinobi assassinated anyone." And surely they studied and were making poisons just for fun)))

Interestingly enough there is a theory that the stereotypical ninja outfits come from edo period theatres. In the plays the stagehands were dressed in those clothes and audience was supposed to ignore them or consider them a part of the scenery only for some playwrights to use the shinobi character hiding among the stagehands to signify the shinobi hiding.

@TheShogunate, Ninjas also went by their clan names: koga and Iga. And the great great grandson Hattori Hanzo, taught Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill 2 I believe.☺️

Super awesome video. Super awesome academic research by you and Anthony. I will be watching both Channels and possibly reading Anthony's books. As a vaguely related topic, I would suggest that the zeitgeist involved with "Ninja" has connections (from a psychosocial perspective, not necessarily an actual, real-life connection) with the popularity of Special Forces and Snipers and how this evolved. Originally, special forces were seen and understood in negative terms by the bulk of the modern/modern-ish militaries. At one point, it was accepted that to join special forces, such as the SAS, was to dead-end one's career. Militaries around the world and throughout time emphasize (discipline + rules = honor), both in training and in warfare. Special Forces were derided as being undisciplined, not following the rules. Sniping someone was considered largely dishonorable for most of history, same with assassinating them. Now, special forces and snipers are heralded, in many ways but not all of course, as the pinnacle of the military, the tip of the spear. Conceptualizing ancient historical, real-life "ninjas" as effectively special forces changes things, though I would suggest that this is part of the development, popularity of "Ninjas" and special forces and snipers linked (again psychosocially) with the rise in popularity of the anti-hero. Would love to hear your thoughts on the above..... (as well as anyone else's). In any event, again, great video and huge props for the research into this fascinating topic. It doesn't sound like it was easy and was likely staggeringly time consuming. (tips hat from a fellow/sister academic). .

Actually in 1962 there was a series called "the Samurai" which portrayed the battles between the good samurai along with the Iga ninja against the evil Koga ninjas. This series was the first introduction to this concept and produced by the Japanese themselves ! So the question is ,,did they in fact make this stuff up themselves,or was there some basis in fact? anyone? Later mid 60 s the Japanese brought out The Phantom agents" which portrayed good modern ninjas..

the schoolkids samurai and ninja image edit got a chuckle outta me

I always looked at it like this: Samurai = Army Rangers Ninja = 75th Ranger regiment Just a specialized version of the former.

This video just credit Ghost of Tsushima a lot more, those developers did their home work

I like this video. I always suspected ninja were actually a form of samurai. As far as assassination, I don't if they were called shinobi, but they definitely existed. I wish I could remember the name of the assassin that single handedly infiltrated a castle and drilled a hole in the floor above the lord's bed. And then lowered a string down to his mouth and dripped poison down it. He was unsuccessful but that was definitely an assassination attempt!

Best video on this subject seen

This is the problem I have with alot of people examining something like shinobi, archery or swordmanship of the past. "If it's not written down, it didn't exist or wasn't done that way." What documents managed to survive the passage of itme is not the total sum of all knowledge about that subject. A good portion is gonna be lost or wasn't even written down. If you're really trying to figure it out, you're gonna have to make inferences.

Came here somehow because of Ghost of Tsushima. Will be headed back to Sekiro to become a master Shinobi.

*Black Ninja Costume:* In Kabuki Theatre, a highly stylized form of acting popular during the Edo period from 1603-1867 (following the Sengkoku Jidai till the Meiji Restoration), there were also propsmen/stagehands dressed completely in black. Though clearly visible during the play despite their black costumes, they were assumed to be invisible. Ninjas were from then on depicted in black to symbolize their invisibility. Which is decent evidence that Ninjas, if they ever existed, certainly never were dressed all in black.

Very cool. Thank you!

The old adjective of a jack of all trades and a master of none comes to mind. Those that mastered the duty of scouting and reconnaissance must have come across as almost mythical figures. Whereas it was simply a showcase of dedication and skill of an duty which I can see some warriors not enjoying or dedicate a lot of time mastering

I find it much more interesting in imagining the shinobi as commandos and soldiers who'd not shy away from unconventional warfare in order to gain the edge, rather that the old, tired trope of the master assassin

You might be interested in the translation works of Don Roley. He's translated a ton of old sources on ninja and ninjutsu which are really interesting reads.

The only thing i wish they bring back is Tenchu Z. Which was a XBox 360 game back in the day. Man it was so much fun playing.

Nice video and I have read Antony's books. I have also read the work from historians like Dr. Kacem Zoughari, whom holds a PhD in Japanese History and Culture, he writes alot about the Ninja appearing throughout history and seperates fact from fiction well, basing much of his writing on historical records. He actually did a lot of work to try and connect the dots surrounding the Ninja. I do feel there is so much confirmation bias going around surrounding the topic that you need to be careful not to fall prey to that as well.