10 of Japan's most famous Ninjas and their legends ~part 2

Many mysterious ninja have appeared in Japanese history, and their legends and skills are inspiring to many people.
In the previous article, "Japan's 10 most famous ninja and their legends Part 1", 5 ninja were introduced.
These were Otomono Hosohito, Fujibayashi Nagato, Momochi Sandayu, Ishikawa Goemon, and Hattori Hanzo.
This time, as a sequel, we will introduce five more famous ninjas and their episodes.
If you want to know what a ninja is, please read this article, "What's a Ninja?".

Please click here to access the previous article.

#6 Sarutobi Sasuke

Sarutobi Sasuke was a ninja who is said to have existed from the Sengoku to Edo periods.
Whether or not he actually existed is still unclear, but he is very famous because he was portrayed in many Japanese literary works as a heroic figure who defeated the strong and helped the weak.

According to legend, he served under Yukimura Sanada, one of the warlords of the Sengoku period, and was an enemy of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Tokugawa Ieyasu was the historical warlord who started the Edo period, an era of stability that lasted for around 200 years.
Literary works tell anecdotes about Sarutobi Sasuke, a master of ninjutsu, who was able to disappear when he made a hand sign, and who infiltrated and spied on the opposing Tokugawa camp.

#7 Kirigakure Saizo

Kirigakure Saizo is said to be a literary character modeled on the real-life Kirigakure Shikaemon.

Kirigakure Saizo is a disciple of "Momochi Sandayu", one of the three greatest Iga Ninja, and a brother disciple of the bandit "Ishikawa Goemon", as described in Part 1.
He was recruited by Sarutobi Sasuke to serve Yukimura Sanada after meeting Sarutobi Sasuke and engaging in a ninjutsu match that failed to end in a decisive decision.
As his name implies, Kirigakure (it means to hide in the fog in Japanese) Saizo was considered a master of the blindfolded using fog and specialized in infiltration missions to sneak into enemy castles.

#8 Kato Danzo

Danzo Kato was a ninja who handled ninjutsu (the art of illusion and concealment), but he was particularly skilled in the physical arts of flying and leaping in the air, earning him the nickname "Jumping Kato".

He was a tragic ninja who was called upon by warlords for his performances to demonstrate his abilities, but even the warlords considered him dangerous because of his abilities, and he was eventually assassinated.

For example, in order to serve a warlord named Uesugi Kenshin, he performed a trick in which he "swallowed a whole cow".
However, this was just a trick.
When a man who was watching from the back discovered the trick, Kato Danzo became angry and cut down a flower that was blooming beside him with his sword.
And then the head of the man who had discovered the trick also fell off.

By performing such ninjutsu, he appealed to the warlords, but when they saw this, they thought, "We should dispose of this man before this power may be turned against us."

#9 Mochizuki Chiyojo

Chiyojo Mochizuki was a shrine maiden of the Sengoku period, and some believe that she may have been a female ninja who worked for one of the warlords, Shingen Takeda, in intelligence-gathering activities.

It is said that she gathered war orphans and abandoned girls, raised them as traveling priestesses (female priestesses whose occupation was prayer, witchcraft, and divination), and sent them as spies to gather information throughout the country.

Rather than a person who excelled as an individual ninja, she may have been a management leader who created a system to conduct espionage activities in a wide area as an organization.

#10 Fuma Kotaro

The name "Fuma Kotaro" was taken from the name of the master of the Fuma clan who served the Hojo family during the Sengoku period, and does not refer to any specific individual.
The most famous of them was Fuma Kotaro 5th.
Legend has it that he was a big man, standing over 2 meters tall, while the average height of Japanese people at that time was around 160 centimeters.
The Fuma clan led by him specialized in night raids, taking advantage of the darkness to conduct raids and thefts, and were more like a band of thieves than the ninjas we imagine.
In a battle between the Hojo family and a certain warlord, they succeeded in making the enemy lose their will to fight and retreat by capturing them, making their horses run away, setting fires, and stealing their food.

Experience ninja training at the Ninja Experience Cafe!

If you are going to visit Japan, why don't you not just visit the places famous for their ninjas, but why don't you become one yourself?
We recommend you and your family and friends to visit the Ninja Experience Cafe.

Not only will you get to pose in a ninja outfit and take lots of pictures, but you will also learn how to throw a shuriken, blow a blowgun, and use a sword directly from the ninja staffs.

There will also be plenty of other fun things to do, such as desserts using ninja techniques, so be sure to check it out.

If you want to know about today's ninjas, please read this article, "The Ninjas still exist today?".

What are we?

We run Ninja Experience Cafe in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, Japan.
Here you can immerse yourself in Japanese culture through experiencing ninja training.
Both adults and children are welcome to try their hand at defeating the ninja master inside the cafe.
The cafe is an indoor interactive zone, so it can be enjoyed even on rainy days.
If you are thinking, "I want to be a real ninja too!” If you are interested in becoming a real ninja, please visit us.
Reservations can be made here.

references

れきし好きっ！
名刀幻想辞典
刀剣ワールド
Japaaanマガジン
歴史人

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