Ninjas

[Kripost]

Part of the misconception is that the primary job of a ninja is to assasinate, although they are sometimes required to do so. More often than not, they are used in more mundane espionage tasks, such as spying, spreading rumours or cultivating agents. That would mean their most common attire would be something like a gardener or a merchant.

On the other hand, samurai can be bought as well, and rather frequently in times of uncertainty.

 

[Blackmarch]

Every where I go in nerd culture(gaming, anime, manga, online comics, forums) people seem to be under the impression that Ninjas had some sense of honor. Am I the only person who is irritated by this? Ninjas didn't have any sense of honor. They were scumbag assassins whose loyalty could be bought. I read about one ninja that crawled inside an aristocrats outhouse hole and waited there in the smelly dung and stabbed the guy when he sat down.

So, why do people like to think of ninjas as honorable?

Some probably were, some were very likely not. its a culture thing more than a historical thing. Just like samurai some were very honorable, some were scumbags, and there were those who were inbetween.

 

[MoonlessNight]

Am I mistaken in saying that most Ninjas came from families with a history in the business (or the art if you prefer)?

(Seriously, I never know when I can trust my historical sources when it comes to ninjas. There's so many misconceptions and so much disinformation.)

In any case if that is true one law of conduct that certainly seemed to arise among the ninjas is that you should not sell out or act against your family. If that is enough to grant them some degree of honor, there you go. But then again, by that standard the mafia is perfectly honorable.

Of course, that is if my sketchy memories on historical sources I read a few years ago are of any accuracy.

 

[Paladin Dave]

Ya, we pretty much have the movies and animes to thank for the misconception that Ninjas had any honor. The idea of assassination is dishonorable itself(however, quite efficient...). As has been mentioned before, they were only loyal to their clans. The only other cases I have heard of was when Tokugawa unified Japan under his rule. He no longer needed people to assassinate rival leaders, because there were none. So he used them as guards in his palace, who posed as workers, and could easily use some hedge shears or gardening tools as weapons. Of course, I only heard that on ONE History Channel program, and although I have never seen innaccuracy on their part before, it is the only time I have heard of it.(not like I study Japan much...)

 

[Kripost]

Ya, we pretty much have the movies and animes to thank for the misconception that Ninjas had any honor. The idea of assassination is dishonorable itself(however, quite efficient...). As has been mentioned before, they were only loyal to their clans. The only other cases I have heard of was when Tokugawa unified Japan under his rule. He no longer needed people to assassinate rival leaders, because there were none. So he used them as guards in his palace, who posed as workers, and could easily use some hedge shears or gardening tools as weapons. Of course, I only heard that on ONE History Channel program, and although I have never seen innaccuracy on their part before, it is the only time I have heard of it.(not like I study Japan much...)

Quite true... One thing the Tokugawa needed after the unification, however, was to keep regional warlords from rebelling. Spies would still be necessary to keep an eye on them. In this case, assasinations are unnecessary, since having enough evidence to condemn the entire clan is enough.