Name: Akumi
Location: in the shadows
Gender: Male
Last Seen: Fri, 28 Aug 2009
Membership: Contributor
Personal Bio
My name is Akumi Yakamoto...as far as myself i cannot let you know that much about me..however i can tell you a little bit about my history.
In Japanese history, a ninja ( ,ninja?) is a warrior specially trained in a variety of unorthodox arts of war. These include assassination, espionage, and various martial arts.
The exact origin of the ninja is a matter of debate. It is known that ninja appeared in 14th century Japan and remained active from the Kamakura to the Edo period. [citation needed] The role of the ninja may have included sabotage, espionage, scouting and assassination as a method of destabilization or to cause social chaos. Such actions may have taken place at the service of a feudal lord (daimyo, shogun), or other entity waging guerilla warfare. [citation needed]
Ninja is the on'yomi reading of the two kanji used to write shinobi-no-mono (), which is the native Japanese word for people who practice ninjutsu (, sometimes erroneously transliterated as ninjitsu). The term shinobi (historically sino2bi2 written with the Man'ygana ), has been traced as far back as the late 8th century to a poem [1] [2] to tomo no Yakamochi. The underlying connotation of shinobi () means "to steal away" and—by extension—"to forbear", hence its association with stealth and invisibility. Mono (, likewise pronounced sha or ja) means a "person."
The word "ninja" () in Sino-Japanese kanji scriptThe word ninja became popular in the post-World War II culture. The nin of ninjutsu is the same as that in ninja, whereas jutsu () means skill or art, so ninjutsu means "the skill of going unperceived" or "the art of stealth"; hence, ninja and shinobi-no-mono (as well as shinobi) may be translated as "one skilled in the art of stealth." Similarly, the pre-war word ninjutsu-zukai means "one who uses the art of remaining unperceived."
Other terms which may be used include oniwaban ( "one in the garden"), suppa, rappa, mitsumono, kusa ( grass) and Iga-mono ("one from Iga").
Ninja as a group first began to be written about in 15th century feudal Japan as martial organizations predominately in the regions of Iga and Koga of central Japan, though the practice of guerrilla warfare and undercover espionage operations goes back much further. [citation needed]
At this time, the conflicts between the clans of daimyo that controlled small regions of land had established guerrilla warfare and assassination as a valuable alternative to frontal assault. [citation needed] Since Bushid, the samurai code, forbade such tactics as dishonorable, [citation needed] a daimyo could not expect his own troops to perform the tasks required; thus, he had to buy or broker the assistance of ninja to perform selective strikes, espionage, assassination, and infiltration of enemy strongholds.
There are a few people [who?] and groups of people regarded as having been potential historical ninja from approximately the same time period.
They are typically considered assassins, however in his book Mystic Arts of the Ninja [citation needed] Stephen K. Hayes depicts them in armor similar to a samurai. Hayes also says those who ended up recording the history of the ninja were typically those within positions of power in the military dictatorships. According to Hayes and Masaaki Hatsumi [citation needed]
"Ninjutsu did not come into being as a specific well defined art in the first place, and many centuries passed before ninjutsu was established as an independent system of knowledge in its own right. Ninjutsu developed as a highly illegal counter culture to the ruling samurai elite, and for this reason alone, the origins of the art were shrouded by centuries of mystery, concealment, and deliberate confusion of history." [4]
A similar account is given by Hayes: "The predecessors of Japan's ninja were so-called rebels favoring Buddhism who fled into the mountains near Kyoto as early as the 7th century A.D. to escape religious persecution and death at the hands of imperial forces
The assassination, espionage, and infiltration tasks of the ninja led to the development of specialized technology in concealable weapons and infiltration tools.
Ninja also employed a variety of weapons and tricks using gunpowder. Smoke bombs and firecrackers were widely used to aid an escape or create a diversion for an attack. They used timed fuses to delay explosions. zutsu (cannons) they constructed could be used to launch fiery sparks as well as projectiles at a target. Small "bombs" called metsubushi (, "eye-closers") were filled with sand and sometimes metal dust. This sand would be carried in bamboo segments or in hollowed eggs and thrown at someone, the shell would crack, and the assailant would be blinded. Even land mines were constructed to use a mechanical fuse or a lit, oil-soaked string. [citation needed] Secrets of making desirable mixes of gunpowder were strictly guarded in many ninja clans. [citation needed]
Other forms of trickery were said to be used for escaping and combat. Ashiaro are wooden pads attached to the ninja's tabi (thick socks with a separate "toe" for bigger toe; used with sandals). The ashiaro would be carved to look like an animal's paw, or a child's foot, allowing the ninja to leave tracks that most likely would not be noticed.
A small ring worn on a ninja's finger called a shobo would be used for hand-to-hand combat. The shobo would have a small notch of wood used to hit assailant's pressure points for sharp pain, sometimes causing temporary paralysis. A suntetsu is very similar to a shobo. It could be a small oval shaped piece of wood affixed to the finger by a small strap. The suntetsu would be held against a finger on the palm-side and when the hand was thrust at an opponent using the longer piece of wood to target pressure points such as the solar plexus.
Some believe ninja used special short swords called ninjato, or shinobigatana. [citation needed] Ninjato are smaller than katana but larger than wakizashi. The ninjato was often more of a utilitarian tool than a weapon, not having the complex heat treatment of a usual weapon, and a straight blade. It should be noted there have been no actual Ninjato found, and their existence is purely speculative. In all probability, ninja used the standard swords of the time. Another version of the ninja sword was the shikoro ken (saw sword). The shikoro ken was said to be used to gain entry into buildings, and could also have a double use by cutting (or slashing in this case) opponents.
The shuriken is a weapon that was barely ever used for throwing. [citation needed] It would be stuck into a wall or the ground to be used as a distraction, similar to Caltrops. Shuriken were often used coated with poison so when in direct combat with another the ninja could throw the shuriken and have a more substantial effect than the minor physical injury (with potentially severe effects depending on the strength of the poison). Shuriken does not actually refer to a singular weapon, in actuality the word refers to the general group of a ninja's throwing weapons i.e.; shaken and kunai and various sharpened conical or spike-shaped pieces of metal.
Many ninja disguised themselves as farmers so their weapons (the kama, for example) could double as both weapons and farming implements. [citation needed] Many ninjas also viewed their hands as weapons to be used in combat. To be able to attack their enemies with enough force to damage them, ninjas would often wrap cloth, leather, or wear metal gloves around their hands to avoid breaking their knuckles and immobilizing them.
LIN KUEI
The legendary ninja clans were mainly founded in Japan in the 13th century, and became the spies, assassins and security specialists in Feudal Japan. They hired themselves out to whomever could find them - and pay the price they demanded.
The Lin Kuei was a clan of ninja who moved their activities from Japan to China around 1310, and established a network there. They kidnapped children in the age five to six years old, and trained them in secret caves or forest hideouts to be gifted acrobats, scholars, and ruthless stone cold killers.
They were able to use any weapon, and even to improvise weapons from common things such as paper rolled together so tight it could be used as a dagger, or the common sand-in-a-sock sap.
Lin Kuei elders would train the children - both boys and girls - to be proficient in many professions, such as carpenters, fishermen, priests, and even beggars, so that they had many disguises to become invisible in - and make themselves useful in the time between missions.
Many young died during the training - some couldn't hold their breath for five minutes and drowned; others were not quick enough to avoid the weapons of their trainers; yet others froze or thirsted to death when they were left naked in deserts or on mountaintops. Those who survived became Lin Kuei.
Now, in the 20th century, the Lin Kuei have adapted their tactics. Instead of kidnapping children, they now adopt them en masse from various adoption agencies, training them on secret farms spread all over the world. Even though China is still their heartland, the Lin Kuei have also spread to Latin America and other places in Asia.
The Lin Kuei control several large companies, and often work undercover on identities from these companies when on assignments. They still are the best in the business, and they still take assignments from the highest bidder. And even as time passes, the supply of assignments don't dwindle - on the contrary, business has increased for the Lin Kuei through the years.
One exception exists, however. The Lin Kuei cannot operate in Japan - other secret ninja clans are rather cagey when it comes to their home turf. Even so, the Lin Kuei are continually searching for a foothold of some sort in Japan - but so far, they have been unsuccessful.
As the Lin Kuei have no qualms working for M. Bison, Shadoloo has mostly left them alone. Better to have trusted hirelings, after all, than traitorous slaves. The Lin Kuei can be bought - and have over 600 years of history to show that when they are bought, they stay bought.
