It is often assumed that ninja used special ninja swords tailored to their needs. But was this really the case, or did they use the same swords as the samurai warriors of the time?
Who were the ninja?
The ninja (忍者), which means "hidden one", were specially trained fighters in feudal Japan. They were considered masters of espionage, but also saboteurs and assassins. Another name for the ninja is shinobi (忍び), which literally means "to conceal".
There are few historical records of the ninja. However, there are some originally secret teaching texts for ninja training that have been analysed in order to understand their lives.
The life of the samurai is much better documented. The life of the ninja, on the other hand, is surrounded by many myths and stories. According to legend, they are even said to have the ability to be invisible and to walk on water.
Modern stories about the ninja are based more on conjecture than on in-depth knowledge about their lives. And that is precisely what makes them all the more mysterious and exciting.
The Ninja Sword
Contrary to the assumption that ninja only used short, straight swords, it can be assumed from a historical perspective that, like the samurai, they mainly used katana, wakizashi and tanto, which were widely used at the time.
As they were often involved in house-to-house combat, it is logical that they favoured short weapons for this in order to be more manoeuvrable in battle. One such sword is the ninjato associated with the ninja today, which has a short, straight blade and is usually black in colour.
However, Iaido exercises, which aim to draw the sword from the sheath as quickly and effectively as possible, require a curved blade. It can therefore be assumed that ninjas also used curved swords when they were looking for fast, precise attacks.
Today's ninja swords are often enhanced with additional "secret" functions. For example, the saya (sword sheath) can be designed in such a way that it can also be used as a blowpipe or snorkel. These functions are intended to support the ninja during his mission.
Ninja sword vs. samurai sword
In general, there is more overlap between the samurai and the ninja than you might think. The famous warrior Hattori Hanzo For example, he is said to have been both a samurai and a ninja during his lifetime. He worked for the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in counter-espionage. An exact separation between samurai and ninja is therefore not necessarily given.
According to tradition, however, the samurai regarded the ninja as dishonourable warriors. The reason for this was that the ninja were usually recruited from the lower social class and not the Samurai code of honour followed.
Nevertheless, both groups were perfectly trained fighters. As described above, they probably also used more or less the same swords. In our opinion, ninja swords can therefore also be categorised as samurai swords when talking about historical ninja.
More ninja weapons
Although the sword was one of the ninja's primary weapons, they are also known for their ingenuity with regard to their other weapons.
Their repertoire included several types of throwing weapons such as throwing stars or throwing anchors, but also shikomizue, swords disguised as walking sticks. (The blind samurai Zatoichi uses it too).
They were generally open to new weapons and even used explosives to fulfil their missions.
Conclusion
In all probability, the historical ninja used the same swords as the samurai. Unfortunately, however, there is a lack of records that could reveal more details. Specialised ninja swords were only developed later, as their myth spread throughout the world.
Nowadays, swords are mostly offered as ninja swords.
