Introduction | Japan Travel Tips ~ Yu-pon

Introduction Ninja

Now, there is a boom in Ninja around the world.
Ninja movies of 1980’s starring Sho Kosugi Sho Kosugi in USA, Ninja appeared in the scene from the 007 movie‘‘You only live twice’’and TV Cartoon program of ”Naruto” was distributed to over 90 countries, impressed people with the idea that Ninja is the superhuman and mysterious existence as well.

Yu-pon was also surprised at the Ninja‘s popularity over the web news.
The report from Iran says that Ninja training hall (dojo) for women is very popular and over 3500 ladies work hard on Ninja training (shugyo). Can you believe this? Yu-pon never saw Ninja dojo for ladies in Japan. And the other news from IT industry in the USA covering a topic that many people working for IT industry tend to introduce themselves as Ninja. Many of them are programmer, but the trend is spreading to other professions. Word Ninja used by them has not much to do with Ninja in movie but they meant to convey they have a super-high skill and can accomplish a difficult task.

But many Japanese don’t know about the truth of Ninja at all.Their knowledge about Ninja come from ninja cartoon and TV programs in their childhood just as same as the people from other countries. Nowadays we have no professional Ninja or ninja dojo. There are a few martial arts dojo like Bujinkan in Kashiwa , but martial arts is just a part of ninja art.

The Guardian, English newspaper introduced Ninja with many styles as a fictional person who was created with “a little fact” and “a lot of imagination”. Yu-pon thought about this. When you travel in Japan, it is very difficult to see a real Ninja and have an experience on ninja act training used in Iga ,Koka and (Japanese traditional mountain worship). But Yu-pon would love to introduce ninja activity; Genin’s (low-ranking ninja) physical training for ninja act, tools, weapons, and ninja’s moral spirit for doing ninja act and ninja as one of social system. Also the things in ninja art which was treated as fantasy, Yu-pon would love to show its excellent magic called Watsuma (Japanese traditional magic) through documentary records.

Yu-pon would love to thank Uncle Nick who was my Japanese Study teacher during my study abroad who gave me lots of advices for ninja art and etc.