Going by what few historical records actually exist about them, ninja were only rarely assassins. The Sengoku period saw them employed them as spies and special ops agents, for the most part. "Nin" not only means "to conceal", it also means "to endure". Much of their training focused more on survival than attack. The basic book of strategy among the shoguns was Sun Tzu's Art of War, which prescribed the use of spies, and espionage was rife between the states. They were almost never assassins for hire, they were usually very talented men (and women) in military service for their lord or state. To the Japanese, the ninja are more like magical Green-Berets.
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syntheid
Ochitsuite yo, Francis-kun
Date: 2007-09-19 09:04 pm (UTC)The basic book of strategy among the shoguns was Sun Tzu's Art of War, which prescribed the use of spies, and espionage was rife between the states. They were almost never assassins for hire, they were usually very talented men (and women) in military service for their lord or state. To the Japanese, the ninja are more like magical Green-Berets.
kaizoku to ponbiki no yatsu wa saitei nan da yo.