What is the status of ninjas in society?

The status of ninjas in ancient Japan was quite low. We know that Japanese samurai had a higher status than the poor and were subordinate to the daimyo, and some samurai could even own a small amount of real estate. However, ninjas, especially the early ninjas, were mostly from untouchables or peasants without property. Their lives were very difficult and their training was extremely demanding. Many ninjutsu retained the fighting and hunting experience of the mountain people. Their status was lower than that of samurai. Basically, I have heard of samurai climbing up the ranks to achieve status, but I have almost never heard of ninjas achieving higher status. In the eyes of Japanese nobles, ninjas are just weapons. Also because of their low status, they cannot even show their true colors to others. The above is my personal understanding. Below I recommend to you some relevant knowledge that I found, summarized by others.

Paragraph 1

In ancient Japan, the status of ninjas was very low. All ninjas (except the leader) had to cover their faces. This was to prevent the other party from discovering their identity. There is no freedom at all when you must obey orders absolutely when performing tasks, and you cannot have emotions (at least not when performing tasks). The ninjas in the Koga Ninja Technique are closer to real ninjas. The title of ninja began to exist in Japan during the Edo period, but the history of ninjas began much earlier. It is said that the first "ninja" sent to complete the mission in Japan was Prince Tokushou. At that time, ninjas were called "shinengbian". According to different times and places, there are various titles. The following are the titles of ninjas in each period: Asuka Period: "Shi Neng Ben"; Nara Period: "Scout"; Warring States Period: There are many names, the most popular ones Hiro's name is "Ranbo", which is the name given by Takeda Shingen; in the Edo period: "Ninja". Although the name was officially established in the Edo period, it was from this era that Japan entered a long period of peace under the rule of the Tokugawa family, and its activities on the stage of history became less and less. Due to the loss of the stage for activities, ninjas gradually disappeared from the stage of history. So many ninjutsu were lost. The last record of ninja activities was during the "Shimabara Rebellion" in 1637, when ninjas fought as part of the shogunate's deployment. The job of a ninja is mainly to carry out secret strategies, sabotage, assassinations, collect enemy frontline intelligence, disrupt enemy support bases, and other espionage activities for the lord. Since you must remain anonymous during your lifetime and live a life that never sees the light of day; you cannot leave a single word to prevent the incident from being exposed in the future. Therefore, to which era should the origin of the Japanese ninja be traced back? No one dares to say for sure. However, in the secret book of ninjutsu, there is a record that Prince Shotoku (from the late fifth century to the early sixth century) had a ninja named "Otomo Hoseito" by his side. At present, although there are countless ninjutsu schools in various parts of Japan, at the end of the day, they will still return to Iga (northwestern Mie Prefecture) and Koga (southern Shiga Prefecture). The ancestors of the two are from the same family, and most of them are related to each other. However, if each other's employers (lords) are hostile, they will have to fight in different rooms, or even turn into a feud between brothers. On the other hand, in order for ninjutsu to be passed down from generation to generation, they had to frequently intermarry, which can be said to be a close relationship. If you think about it for a moment, you will know that once you grow up in this place, whether you are a man or a woman, can you still marry and have children with a foreigner for the sake of family secrets? Moreover, behind male ninjas, there are usually female ninjas supporting them. Unless you have been exposed to this kind of work since childhood and take it for granted, if your husband suddenly leaves you without saying goodbye one day, how can an ordinary woman endure it without getting extremely angry? In the world of ninjas, there are four basic commandments: no abuse of ninjutsu (can only be used for official purposes), abandonment of all self-respect (escape is the most important thing), one must keep one's mouth secret (even if one loses one's life), and one must never reveal one's identity (this is the most important thing). Basic Ninjutsu). There are roughly three eras in which ninjas were active: the Genpei era from the end of the 11th century to the end of the 12th century, the Northern and Southern Dynasties era from the 13th century, and the Warring States period from the mid-14th century to the end of the 15th century. The Warring States Period can also be said to be an era when ninjas "let a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend." Ninja Level The Warring States Period from the 15th century to the end of the 16th century, and the Warring States Period can also be said to be the era when ninjas "let a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend." Ninjas are divided into jonin, chunin, and genin. "Jounin", also known as "brain tank nin", specializes in planning the overall combat steps. "Chunin" is the leader of the actual combat. Of course, the ninjutsu must also be outstanding. "Genin", also known as "body nin", is equivalent to the current special operations force and is the actual ninja who fights on the front line.

There is a clear hierarchical relationship between the three. The "genin" obeys the "chuunin", and the "chunin" obeys the "jounin".

Second Paragraph

Early ninjas were mostly born from poor farmers rather than noble warriors. Because of the needs of the mission, they generally do not use formal martial arts to fight the enemy, but use ninjutsu that emphasizes the use of all means to achieve the goal to carry out activities. The theoretical basis of the so-called ninjutsu is mainly composed of Sun Tzu's Art of War introduced to Japan from China, coupled with the four-character motto "Wind Forest and Fire Mountain". Then, coupled with training methods and ambush skills in the mountains, it developed into a complete ninjutsu. As for the ambush skills in these mountains, they mainly come from the mountain warfare experience of the indigenous people living in Yamato, Yoshino, Kurama, Nerai, and Iga; while the spells used in ninjutsu originated from the main mountains of Buddhist esoteric Buddhism such as Koya near Kyoto; Ninja Most of the martial arts skills in the technique come from Yagyu Shininryu, Hohoin Ryukijutsu, etc. During the Heian period, due to the rise of the samurai class, the art of ambush in the mountains was developed by samurai; during the Genpei period, Minamoto Yoshitsune, who learned to ambush in the mountains, successfully used this technique and completed the theory of attack surface; and in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Kusunoki Zhengcheng developed defensive tactics. From then on, ninjutsu and martial arts were officially separated into different systems. By the Warring States Period, ninjutsu had made great progress. Because in this chaotic era, the rising daimyo in various places are in great need of ninjutsu, martial arts and military arts for their own wars. As the saying goes, there are good people at the top and good people at the bottom. At the same time, due to the technology introduced by outsiders at this time, the number of other craftsmen increased, allowing ninjas to engage in espionage work with the skills of many folk craftsmen, so the ninja industry flourished.

I think you must know Haizuka Koroku. He can also be counted as one of the more famous ninjas during the Warring States Period. When Taiko was still called Tokichiro, he had no choice but to live under the tutelage of the Yamadaou who lived a "happy" life as a "night thief" in Mino. Since it's easier to get money by being a robber, you don't care about raising a few freeloaders. Later, when Hideyoshi began to make a fortune and began to rise step by step under Nobunaga, Hachisuka Koroku and his men were able to be converted into official soldiers because they helped Hideyoshi build the "One Night Castle", and finally got rid of the stigma of bandits. But Nobunaga hated troops with poor military discipline, so this bandit troop never dared to commit murder and swindle goods again. But the good skills they developed when they were bandits became good conditions for becoming ninjas. So these people naturally became Toyotomi Hideyoshi's trump card army - the ninja army, and there were outstanding soldiers in major battles. The performance has made many famous people frightened by the news.

Takeda Shingen, who holds high the four-character motto "Wind Forest and Fire Mountain", is naturally a loyal supporter of ninjas. He is a suspicious person by nature, and hates others knowing the secrets of his country, so he trains ninjas to help him deal with this aspect-detection and assassination. He organized the vagrants or bandits from Kai, Shinano, and Echigo, taught them mountain warfare and other combat skills, and trained them to become scouts and espionage experts. Tomita Gozaemon is the leader of these ninjas.

Due to the divisions between heroes, ninjutsu naturally formed different schools. Generally, the names of the schools are based on the place names of the areas where ninjutsu was developed, such as

Musashi, Kai, Echigo, Shin. Nou, Koga, Kii, Iga, etc., and among them, Iga and Koga's ninjutsu are the most powerful. Because although these two places are located in a small closed basin surrounded by mountains and dangers, forming a small world of their own, they are close to the central area of ??Japan. , so its strategic position is very important. Due to the strong influence of Kyoto culture, there are many shrines, temples and manors in these two places. When the manor system collapsed later, the local tycoons emerged one after another. By the Warring States Period, this small piece of land was actually home to sixty wealthy people. Because everyone’s land is very small, if they want to grow themselves, they must compete with others. So each family began to train thirty to forty dead soldiers to deal with the "enemy country". The competition here is unimaginably fierce. The local tycoons form alliances with each other, spy on each other's enemies, and kill each other. No matter who you are, once you are knocked down, it is difficult to get up again. As a result, this place with both mountainous terrain (convenient for training), conquests and fierce battles (convenient for practice) became the base camp for the development of ninjas. As time passed, Iga's ninjutsu began to become the best in the country.

Moreover, Iga and Koga's greatest contribution to the cause of ninjas was to systematize the theoretical basis and skills of ninjutsu, and compiled a ninja training manual-Manchuan Haishu.

Finally, let’s introduce the greatest figure among ninjas-Takenaka Aoshi! (Persimmons fly and fly) It’s Hattori Hanzo. Legend has it that this ninja finally realized the true meaning of forbearance, something that many generations of ninjas had never experienced before. Hattori Hanzo's family is actually Chinese (unexpectedly). His ancestor's surname was Qin. He came to Japan from China in his early years and settled near Kyoto. Later he moved to Iga. In order to merge with the local residents, he changed his surname. Hattori, the Hattori clan was born. Due to Hattori Hanzo's loyalty to Ieyasu, his dedicated efforts, and his great contribution to his victory in the world, the ninja clan was highly valued during the Tokugawa rule and achieved great development.

Paragraph 3

Ninja, like SUSI and GEISHA, has become an international lingua franca. Ninja means "one who operates secretly" and the term dates back to the Edo period. Most of them appeared at night, performing some secret espionage missions for daimyo or feudal nobles. Ninjas do not wear black clothes when performing tasks, but wear dark blue or crimson tights. Because compared to black clothes, dark blue and crimson clothes are less likely to be spotted in the dark. Ninjas are also divided into three levels: upper, middle and lower. Jonin, also known as "brain tank nin", is responsible for commanding strategic layout, tactics, etc.; chunin is the soul of actual combat and has very good skills; genin, also called "body nin", is the most powerful ninja. The soldier is the ninja at the front who directly engages the enemy.

Ninjas were generally born from peasants, not noble samurai. But ninjas, like samurai, follow their own set of specialized rules, which are ninjutsu. The fundamental purpose of ninjas learning to use ninjutsu is not only to obtain the ultimate means of violence and destruction, but also to cultivate the coordination between the individual and the surrounding environment, thereby generating an intuition that enables human beings born with morality to know and follow this general outline of actions across the universe. The theoretical basis of Ninjutsu comes from China's Sun Tzu's Art of War. The Japanese developed Ninjutsu by adding cultivation methods and ambush skills in the mountains to the theory of Art of War. The content of Ninjutsu includes fighting, creating chaos and gathering intelligence, etc. It requires ninjas to practice disguise, escape, hiding, fighting, blasting, geography, medicine and other subjects. Contrary to popular belief, ninjas specialize in espionage to steal enemy secrets rather than assassinations like assassins. Therefore, the weapons they use are relatively special. In addition to defending against enemies, they also have functions such as escaping, stealing, and causing chaos. Most of them use weapons such as ninja swords and chain sticks, and they are "multi-purpose", like the scabbard of the ninja sword. There is often a rope wrapped around the outside for climbing; the bottom of the knife can be opened and used as a breathing tube when diving, a microphone when eavesdropping, etc.

During the Warring States Period, ninjutsu was further developed and formed. There are many factions. Among them, Iga (now northwest of Mie Prefecture) and Koga (western Shiga Prefecture) are the two main areas. Others include Aomori Nakagawa River, Yamagata Haguro River, Niigata Uesugi River, Kaji River, Nagano Koyo River, Akutagawa River, etc. This is an era where ninjutsu is very much needed. The lives of ninjas do not belong to themselves, but to their masters or an organization. They can make sacrifices at any time for their master. For them, the meaning of life lies only in the moment of assassination. Just like cherry blossoms, the time when they bloom most beautifully is also when they wither. This is also the interpretation of "death" deep in the hearts of the Japanese nation. Therefore, although the status of ninjas is not high, they are still a very important part of Japanese culture.

The ninjutsu of ninjas still has positive significance in real society. For example, ninjas are very persistent in their tasks. Even when it seems impossible, they will persist until the task is completed. Also, their absolute loyalty to the team is unparalleled. No humiliation can defeat them. They all keep a clear mind at all times and are aware of everything around them. They also know how to take things as they come without complaining. These have also had a considerable impact on the way of thinking of modern Japanese people.

Although ninjas have basically withdrawn from Japan's historical stage several times, they still provide a lot of material for today's cultural industry. In recent years, novels, movies, and comics with the theme of tolerance have attracted the attention of young people. Speaking of ninja culture, we have to mention Mr. Futaro Yamada of Japan.

Since Yamada Fuutarou's immortal masterpiece "Koga Ninja Pattern" was introduced and distributed by Hogakure Publishing House, the response from readers has been very strong. After that, Beiyue Literary Publishing House will publish other ninja works by Fuutarou Yamada, such as "Reincarnation of the Demon World", "Yagyu Ninja Technique", "Iga Ninja Technique", "Kunoichi Ninja Technique" and other works. In Japan, the Ninjutsu Tie series has become a masterpiece with sales of more than 3 million copies, and has set off a trend of Ninjutsu literature. Even at that time, a word that had not been recorded before was added to the "Korean Dictionary" - "Ninpo". He has mentioned nearly 250 kinds of ninjutsu in his more than 40-year creative career. He is the most respected writer in the world of Japanese fantasy ninjutsu novels and is also called "Japan's Jin Yong" by people in the industry. This series of "Ninpo Tie" series has been published by Beiyue Literature and Art Publishing House.

Ninjutsu, also known as Yinjutsu, is the art of invisibility. According to historical records, ninjutsu originated three hundred years ago, during the Japanese shogunate era in the 17th century. With the pursuit of the Japanese court, the rise of martial arts class power and the need for espionage work, more and more ninjutsu appeared. Ninjutsu became increasingly popular, reaching its peak during the Tokugawa Shogunate. However, for a long time, ninjutsu has only been secretly passed down from generation to generation by ninja families, and it is difficult for the outside world to know its details. Ninjutsu emphasizes spiritual training and bases its entire training system on unimaginable spiritual training. It can be said that strong spiritual power is the real reason why Ninjutsu is indestructible.

In ancient times, as a descendant of a ninja family, as soon as he was born, he had to accept the cruel reality of fate - become a ninja, or die. And from a very young age, he was instilled with the idea of ??sworn loyalty to his master. Except for his own master, he would not even listen to the words of the emperor. His master's orders, no matter what they were, undoubtedly meant the actions of the ninja. Being loyal to the master and dedicating everything to the master is a supreme honor for the ninja. In addition, the ninja will no longer have any thoughts. Due to the deep implantation of this feudal concept, the ninja is better than any other. Religious believers are more fanatical and fearless.