Blogpost 7: Shikin Haramitsu Daikomyo

Shikin Haramitsu Daikomyo, translated as "Every moment holds the potential for enlightenment." Ninja's way of life was my topic for this blogpost. I will tackle their principle and help you to understand all.

Ninja

I read an article entitled "Way of the Ninja: Strategies for a Better Life Today" by Chuck Cory and Max Carr from blackbeltmag stated that the ninja’s enemies enjoyed superiority in numbers, weapons and supplies. They also said that "The ninja, however, realized there was one thing their enemies could not take away: their ability to learn something new from each encounter. This principle was embraced and eventually woven into the fabric of ninjutsu."

No wonder why ninjas are the best! For me, experience is the best weapon of ninja to fight their opponent without any fear. Just be guided that not all ninjas are experienced enough to face their enemy. That's why they need a lot of practice to gain experience.

Another article I read entitled "Shikin Haramitsu Daikomyo" by someone from kesshindojo stated that we should continue to our day even though we experienced bad moments. He/she also stated that "Shikin Haramitsu Daikomyo reminds me that though I may have had a bad day or not done what I should, that these things will balance out and that by not over-obsessing on the negative, a better state of mind can be achieved."

As I said from the first statement experienced is the best weapon, if you encounter good experience, that's good for you but if you encounter bad experience, that's also good for you. Well you should be thankful in your life like ninjas to be successful.

Blogpost 8: The Last Ninja

Who's the last ninja? The last real ninja? Many people said that Jinichi Kawakami was the last ninja. And he also claimed that he's the one. That's why I kept on searching why Jinichi claimed that he's the last.

Jinichi Kawakami

As I googled Jinichi Kawakami, I found an article entitled "Japan's last ninja: Engineer, 63, who can hear a needle drop in the next room and kill from 20 paces is last in 500-year line of Japanese assassins" by Matt Blake from dailymail stated that He is trained to hear a needle drop in the next room, to disappear in a cloud of smoke or to cut a victim's throat from 20 paces with nothing more than a two-inch 'death star'. According to Matt, Jinichi said that "I think I'm called (the last ninja) as there is probably no other person who learned all the skills that were directly handed down from ninja masters over the last five centuries,' he said. 'Ninjas proper no longer exist."
I agreed with what Jinichi said because I don't think there's another person who can hear a needle drop in the next room. Only superhuman can do that thing.

Another article that I found entitled "Meet Japan’s ‘last ninja’: a 63-year-old former engineer" by Anthony Bartkewicz from nydailynews stated that when Jinichi Kawakami dies, he says, the deadly art of ninjitsu will die with him. Anthony also said that "The 63-year-old former engineer says he is the last living person to have learned all of the skills used by the spies and assassins of feudal Japan." Jinichi also said that "Ninjas proper no longer exist"

I think it's clear to us why he claimed him self  as the last ninja because of his supernatural skills. Skills that a normal person can't do and normal ninja can do.

Blogpost 6: Iran's Female Ninjas

Have you ever wonder that there's a female ninja? Yes there is, they're called "Kunoichi". Even women can be a ninja, and Iranian women are the one who dominate the title of Kunoichi. Now let's see why Iranian women are training to be ninjas.

Kunoichi

I found an article entitled "Iran's female ninjas: fighting for sexual equality" by Lucy Mangan from theguardian saying that when you're denied basic human rights and when your legal testimony is officially recognised as being worth exactly half that of a man's, you develop a lot of rage. Lucy also stated that "For Iranian women, martial arts are an increasingly popular way of channelling it and ninjutsu one of the most popular choices within that."
As for my understanding on what Lucy said, there's nothing wrong with Iranian women who wanted to be ninja. All of us has rights to be treat equally whether you're a girl or a boy.

Another article entitled "The Lady Ninjas of Iran" by Mansoureh Farahani from majalla stated that martial art that is becoming increasingly popular among Iranian women. Mansoureh said that "Students of ninjutsu claim that it teaches many of the skills of the Japanese ninja, including unarmed self-defense and the use of weapons. But it also focuses on the development of self-control, patience and self-respect. Like many martial arts, its popularity is growing among Iranian women."

This will prove that women can also do what we (men) can do. As I said from my comment above, don't treat women like they're nothing when it comes to physical strength or something. Treat them like they're one of us.

Blogpost 5: Throwing Star

If you want to be a ninja, you need a weapon like a sword, kunai, kusari, etc. For me, the most friendly weapon of ninjas were the shuriken or what they called "Throwing Star". Shuriken is used to throw from a distance to hit an opponent or to distract them. They called it "Throwing Star" because shurikens are shape like a star.

Shuriken

As I've searched on google what's the use of shurikens, I found this article entitled "Top 10 Myths About Ninjas" by Jamie Frater from listverse, he said that shuriken are used as a secondary weapon. Jamie also said that "Shuriken come in two varieties: Hira-shuriken (the famous ninja star) which were originally household items (such as washers and coins that were used to distract and were not usually sharp), and Bo-shuriken which are straight spikes up to 21cm in length. These were also originally household items (as were most Ninja weapons) such as chopsticks or hairpins. Their origins certainly makes it clear that these were not intended as killing weapons."

So what's the point of using shuriken if they're not designed to kill? For destructing purpose? It must be I guess, so they can perform their mission perfectly and with ease.

Another article that I found entitled "All You Know about Ninja Is Probably "Wrong"" by Brian Ashcraft from kotaku stated that shuriken really existed but still unclear how they were used. Brian said that "There's no historical record of throwing stars being decisive in combat, says Alt."

This will prove that shurikens are not made for killing, but for me you can kill your opponent with a shuriken by slashing or stabbing them. It's up to you now how are you going to use the Throwing Star.

Blogpost 4: Some Ninjas are Samurai?

Do you really agree that some ninjas are samurai? Yes, an example of that is Hattori Hanzo. He managed to be a ninja and samurai at once. But do you know what's the difference between a samurai and a ninja? Well to be concise, samurai were soldiers who had a code of honor while ninja were strictly assassins.

Ninja and Samurai

As I read an article entitled "Yes, Some Ninja Were Samurai" by Ishaan Tharoor from worldtime, it stated there that ninja are usually regarded as the anti-samurai. The samurai were extremely overt and colorful personalities. Ishaan also answered a question if ninja could be samurai at the same time, he said "You could, theoretically. There would have been some sort of distinction, because samurai were often extremely high class, but ninja not necessarily so. But there was an overlap in the middle."

It's not clear to me if ninja could be samurai at the same time because of the fact that their personality was contradicting on who they are or what they are in life. Well, I somehow agree because of Hattori Hanzo, but that doesn't mean that I'm convinced on what Ishaan said.

As I googled more about ninja and samurai, I found the same article entitled "History of the Ninja" by Kallie Szczepanski from asianhistory, he said that the samurai lords could not always prevail in open warfare, but they were constrained by bushido. So, they often hired ninja to do their dirty work. Kallie also said that "Secrets could be spied out, opponents assassinated, or misinformation planted... without sullying a samurai's honor. This system also transferred wealth to the lower classes, as ninja were paid handsomely for their work. Of course, a samurai's enemies could also hire ninja. As a result, the samurai needed, despised, and feared the ninja, in equal measure."

Now it's clear to me that a ninja could not be samurai at the same time but the ninja was hired by the samurai to clean their dirty works. I think that samurai was more powerful than ninja but the ninja was more skillful than samurai.

Blogpost 3: Ninjas Don't Wear Black

As many people see, ninjas from the past wore black and a mask as their uniforms. But do you think all of them always wore black and a mask whenever they have a mission? That's why I'm here to discuss that ninjas don't wear black all the time.

Ninja with black costume and a mask

I've read the article of Miss Cellania entitled "Ancient Ninja: Separating the Men from the Myth" from neatoroma, it was stated there that ninja dressed for the job and hand and they usually looked like everyone else. Cellania also said that "Taking the stealthy reputation of the ninja into consideration, Kabuki troupes decided to portray ninja the same as stagehands-dressed all in black so as not to be seen by the audience. Henceforth, all ninja were portrayed in black."

I strongly disagree with what Kabuki troupes said because if you're a ninja and you have a mission to do, how are you going to disguise if you're wearing a black costume and a mask without being noticed?

Another article by Jamie Frater entitled "Top 10 Myths About Ninjas" from listverse stated that these days most ninjas who are working as bodyguards would wear a suit or similar modern clothing. Jamie also said that "So when might a ninja have worn a mask? Maybe eight hundred years ago if they had to hide in the trees – but even then it was not part of a “uniform”. A ninja wearing a mask is no different to a soldier wearing camouflage paint. It depends entirely on the environment and the need for hiding. This, of course, is true also of black clothing."

That's true that there's no difference between a ninja wearing a mask and a soldier wearing camouflage paint because you're an assassin and you need to hide. At night I guess black costumes are perfect for hiding but in the morning? How are you going to deal with that? So deal with it, not all ninjas wear black.

Blogpost 2: Hanzo the Ghost

Are you wondering who's Hanzo the Ghost? Why people call him "The Ghost"? Well, he's the famous and greatest ninja, Hattori Hanzo. He's famous because they declared him a full-on ninja at age twelve. He practiced insane ninja skills like jumping, flying, and stabbing. They called him Hanzo the Ghost because he would sneak around undetected and then nail them in the face with a flying side kick when they least expected it. Then he’d drop a smoke bomb and vanish into the night, only to re-appear moments later, chopping off some jerk’s head and doing backflips for no reason at all.

Hattori Hanzo

Let's talk about Hanzo's best contribution. Based on someone's post entitled "Hattori Hanzo" from samurai-archives, Hanzo who would earn the nickname "Devil Hanzo", served Tokugawa Ieyasu loyally and usefully. According to that post, "His most valuable contribution came in 1582, following Oda Nobunaga's death. At that time Tokugawa and his retainers had been staying near Ôsaka and learned of the assassination only just in time to avoid being detained by Akechi Mitsuhide's troop. But they were by no means out of the woods. Mikawa was still a long way away, and Akechi men would be combing the roads for them. At this point, Hanzo suggested that they take a route through Iga province, as he had ties with the samurai there. In addition, Ieyasu had sheltered survivors from Nobunaga's bloody invasion of that province in 1580 and those who knew of this would certainly be well disposed to offer assistance. Honda Tadakatsu sent Hanzo on ahead, and, as hoped, the Iga men agreed not only to guide them along back roads, but also to provide them with an escort. At length, Tokugawa and his band returned to Mikawa safely. The same could not be said for Anayama Beisetsu, a recent Tokugawa addition who had insisted on taking a different route."

If i were in the position of Hanzo, I will do the same in order to protect my troop. Very wise thinking there that they must avoid Akechi's troop maybe because they're lack of men or they don't have strength to fight the opponent.

It also stated in the article entitled "Hanzo Hattori - Ninja of Iga" by Stephen K. Hayes from skhquest that Hanzo Hattori was identified as one of the three bravest retainers of the Tokugawa Shogun. Stephen also said that Mikawa people made a folk song for Hanzo.

"Lord Tokugawa has brave retainers.

Hattori Hanzo is Hanzo the Daredevil,
Watanabe Hanzo is Hanzo with a spear,
Atsumi Gengo is Gengo the executioner."

This song really proved that Hanzo made a big contribution to his troop and the people of Mikawa admire Hanzo for his braveness. Being brave doesn't mean that you're going to engage without any plan but to plan or think about the scenario that will possibly occur. You can't be brave if you're not ready, you're brave when you are confident enough to face your opponent, that's what Hattori Hanzo did.