忍者ninja
Quick definition:Ninja were covert agents in feudal Japan, trained in spying, stealth and sabotage, and in anime and manga they are usually acrobatic fighters with special skills and hidden techniques.
Meaning
Ninja, also called shinobi, were secret agents who worked in medieval and early modern Japan, carrying out spying, scouting and sabotage. Historical records about them are limited, so much of what people believe comes from legends, plays and later entertainment. Real ninja were probably closer to scouts and spies than to masked assassins.
In fiction the ninja is an acrobatic fighter, dressed in dark clothing, throwing star-shaped blades called shuriken, vanishing in smoke and leaping across rooftops. Anime and manga often add special powers, secret villages and hidden clans, and ninja stories can be serious, comic or fantastical. Training, loyalty and the rules of a shadow world are common themes.
The word shinobi is the older Japanese reading of the same characters, and stories often use it to give a more traditional, mysterious feel.
Origin:Ninja is the Japanese reading of two characters meaning endure or conceal and person. An older reading, shinobi, describes the same people. Records of spy-like fighters in Japan go back many centuries, but the popular picture of the black-clad ninja developed mostly from later stories, plays, films and comics rather than from historical sources.
Example:Ninja Hattori-kun is a comedy about a young ninja who lives with an ordinary boy and uses gadgets and tricks in comic situations. Naruto takes a more adventurous route, following a young ninja who trains in a hidden village and takes on missions with a team of fellow students.
Did you know?Iga and Koka, two mountain regions in Japan, are traditionally associated with ninja. The Iga area today has a ninja museum and ninja-themed attractions that draw visitors interested in the history behind the legends.
