Stealthy, Precise, and Deadly, the modern image of Ninjas portrays them as hyper-acrobatic men
in black who can defy every odd to eliminate their target. Whether working in unison or alone,
Ninjas can use shadows and deceit to get close to the target and then finish them in a cold-hearted
manner. Skittering over rooftops, jumping from the shadows, and using unconventional weapons,
Ninjas are perceived today as some sort of ghost warriors that are devoted to a cult-like
organization. But how much is it the truth? Were ninjas really this deadly back in the day
or rather more prone to death? Welcome to Nutty History, and today let’s find out how dangerous
the real lives of Ninjas were. In the year 1562, Japan was burning. From the 15th to 17th century,
political unrest and civil conflict marred the land of the rising sun. Back then,
Tokugawa Leyasu was a minor Mikawa daimyo whose family, including an infant son, were captives
of the Imagawa clan. However, Tokugawa had no leverage against the Imagawa warlord to get his
family back. Tokugawa knew that the Imagawa clan's defenses were too strong for a frontal offense.
Rooz and sleuth were required to rescue his family and in desperation, Tokugawa decided to strike a
deal. The alliance with another clan was not only a waste of time but a dangerous prospect. Entire
Japan was rife with hundreds of tyrants fighting each other for the throne of Japan. Moreover, if
the news of Tokugawa allying with another Samurai clan reached Imagawa, Tokugawa’s family could be
in danger. So, he chose another option, instead of Samurai, he asked another kind of warrior for
help. These warriors weren’t loud and boastful like Samurai but were known for their cunning,
courage, and covertness. Tokugawa carved a coded request on a tree in the woods and returned home.
A few days later, he got a reply of acceptance. The responder to the call for help was the
Shinobi. To accomplish the task of rescuing the Tokugawa family, shinobi or ninjas would have to
slip in and out of the castle of the Imagawa clan undetected. Getting caught meant only one thing,
losing their lives. Unlike what Hollywood movies have told us, shinobi didn’t dress
in black attires on missions. In fact, most of the time, Shinobi won’t try to dress differently
than common people at all. Instead, they would try to blend in by disguising themselves as a priest,
a minstrel, a merchant, or a maid. Shinobi would plan their missions carefully, they would send
scouts first to find the weak spots of the target, then there would be a distraction such as setting
a section of the inner courtyard on fire that would appear accidental. While the guards would
be busy tackling the ablaze mansion, the shinobi would extract the hostages without making a sound.
It sounds easy, but one slip-up was enough to cost shinobi their members and Tokugawa his family.
The young man who led this mission for shinobi was a twenty-year-old, Hattori Hanzo. Later, he would
also save Tokugawa Ieyasu’s life and then help him unify Japan under his rule. This was the golden
age of Shinobi. But it also brought them out of the shadows and nearly forced them to extinction.
The Sengoku Period saw the rise of Shinobi clans and reached their most prominent era during the
entire Japan history. Formalized under Daisuke Togakure and Kain Doshi around the 12th century,
there were a total of 49 Shinobi clans. Among these schools, Iga and Koga clans became the
most important and successful schools of Shinobi. They both were located near Kyoto
but also far enough to be remote. Ninjas may have originated to protect the poor,
but to finance their resources they had to earn money as well. This is why shinobi clans would
perform mercenary jobs. The Samurai code Bushido forced Samurai to adhere to a constraining set
of rules which didn’t always work in their favor. In such scenarios, they would often hire shinobi
to clean their dirty laundry. Ninjas mostly carry out missions about extracting secrets,
eliminating rivals, planting misinformation, or taking close relatives of the target for ransom.
Similar to how not everybody working for a secret service in present times has a “License to Kill,”
not all shinobis were trained in the deadly skill of exterminating their targets. The word for that
skill in Japanese is Kira or Koroshi-ya, not shinobi. Ninjas were supposed to be stealthy,
not deadly. A shinobi’s skills were primarily focused on infiltrating enemy camps, collecting
information, and sabotaging their efforts. Only a few of them were trained to take lives.
But the most proficient skill of a shinobi was knowing how to escape any situation. They weren’t
trained to fight but to execute their mission from the shadows and run. This is why being a shinobi
was a dangerous affair because a single mistake could lead to your death or worse. Safe to say,
Ninja services weren’t cheap. Hattori Hanzo, who is considered the greatest shinobi ever, was also
one of the most expensive shinobi in history. In the present world, his earnings would have been
over eight million US Dollars. By working for Samurai and Tyrants, Shinobi also helped bring
wealth from rich to poor, reducing the deficit. Ninja played a key role in the Nanbokucho Wars and
the Onin War (the 1460s). But the Sengoku period was their golden era with every samurai asking for
their favor as civil unrest consumed the land. Their influence in the destabilization of many
tyrants put the limelight on them. Shinobi means the one who lurks in shadows, but now they were
out in broad daylight, and tyrant Oda Nobunaga saw them as a threat when he emerged as an early
prominent power around 1560. As Iga and Koga were the most influential shinobi clans, he focused his
efforts to eliminate them and eradicate Japan of Ninjas. His excuse to target these ninja provinces
was that they were independent, self-governing, and democratic rather than ruled by a daimyo.
The social mobility and equal opportunity for everyone in these provinces was anathema for
Oda Nobunaga who claimed that these lands were a mockery of Japanese society. In 1576, after
Oda’s rivals began to gather in Iga, Oda sent his son, Oda Nobuo to seize the province. He succeeded
in capturing early in 1579 but his plan to fortify it failed spectacularly. Shinobi from Iga posed as
laborers and infiltrated the construction work. On an opportune night, they burned the castle to the
ground. Feeling humiliated, Oda Nabuo attacked Iga immediately. His twelve thousand warriors
launched a three-pronged attack over the major mountain passes in eastern Iga in September 1579.
Hattori Hanzo was waiting for Oda forces at Iseji village with 5000 Iga shinobi. He ambushed them
from both back and front, blocking any chance of retreat. While shinobi attacked from shadows
and covers, Oda Nabuo’s warriors were sitting ducks in the open, and fog and rain didn’t help
them either. Shinobi took care of the majority of the enemies with fire arrows and then dealt with
the remaining with swords and spears. Many Oda warriors also died due to friendly fire as well.
Somehow Oda Nabuo survived the decimation of his army and managed to return to his father. Furious,
Oda Nobunaga launched another attack on Iga province on October 1, 1581,
but this time with forty thousand men. The Koga clan had already fallen to the Oda army and this
time 4000 Iga shinobi were facing a ten times larger army. But the biggest shock was to learn
that many Koga shinobi joined Oda’s army as well. With all odds against them, Iga shinobi tried to
defend their hilltop fort until the end but they were heavily outnumbered. Oda’s armies tried to
leave nobody alive but a few hundred managed to escape and scatter across Japan. Hattori Hanzo
and his men also made it to the domain of Tokugawa Ieyasu who welcomed them as he was preparing to
rival Oda Nobunaga. This was the end of unified Ninja schools and their democratic system of
auto-governance but the shinobi tradition stayed alive with the survivors. Ishikawa
Goemon would spend the next 15 years robbing daimyo, wealthy merchants, and rich temples.
It is alleged that in a very Robin Hood fashion he would share the spoils with impoverished peasants.
Like Robin Hood, he also faced the garrotte for his antics, and in a rather horrid manner.
Mochizuki Chiyome was a kunoichi or a female shinobi from the Koga clan who would take her
last breath in the Battle of Nagashino in 1575. During her life, she rescued girls from corrupt
orphanages, wars, and brothels to train them in Ninjutsu and turned them into kunoichi. At its
peak, Chiyome's ninja band included between 200 and 300 women and gave the Takeda clan a decisive
advantage in dealing with neighboring domains. Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan and established
his shogunate to rule it in 1590. For the next two and a half centuries, Japan was peaceful and the
shinobi were no longer required. Hattori Hanzo, too, retired and became a monk in his last years.
But shinobi didn’t go extinct as Oda Nobunaga had envisioned. Some opened new schools of ninjutsu,
some became bodyguards, and some turned to banditry. But, after 250 years of hiding,
while their stories became legends, and legends became myths, they were called back into
service by shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune who founded Oniwaban, Japan’s first counter-intelligence and
secret service agency. Responsible for collecting information on government officials and daimyos,
they would work undercover as bodyguards, gardeners, and other serving jobs in palaces.
Still, that wasn't enough to save the thousand years old profession. Stability spread throughout
Japan during the Meiji Period and the demand for Shinobi faded away. Tell us in the comments which
other dangerous historical profession would you like us to cover. If you like the video,
do not forget to like, share, and subscribe, and as always, thanks for watching Nutty History.