9781422286739

W H A T I S N I N J U T S U ?

emperor has been the constitutional monarch since Japan’s defeat by the United States and her allies in the Second World War (1939–1945), he is still believed by many older Japanese to be a direct descendant in an unbroken line stretching back to the sun goddess, Amaterasu-o- Mikami. The historical fact, however, is that the imperial succession has been broken several times and “helped along” several times more. In Japan, historical accuracy and “truth” are not always one and the same. The origins of Japan's ninja clans are similarly obscured by legend. Some ninjutsu traditions claim that the ninja are descended from the storm god Susanoo and his creations: the half-crow, half-human demons called the tengu. The tengu had distinctively long noses, reminiscent of beaks, and were either red or black in color. They lived in the depths of the most remote forests and had supernatural powers, including the ability to fly, change their shape, and become invisible by wearing magical cloaks made of leaves. Like the other supernatural creatures of Japan, they sometimes helped and befriended humans who strayed into their realm; but sometimes they hindered them. The ninja themselves spread legends of their supernatural origins. These stories had their uses. They served to awe and frighten the ninja's foes, and were also no doubt useful in discouraging the curiosity of any superstitious peasant who might be tempted to spy on the ninja villages and training camps. THE CHINESE CONNECTION In the sixth century a . d ., a process of cultural importation from Korea and China came to fruition with the establishment of an imperial government in western Japan, complete with a capital city and a civil

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