A ninja or shinobi was a covert agent, mercenary, or guerrilla warfare expert in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu. Their covert methods of waging irregular warfare were deemed dishonorable and beneath the honor of the samurai. Though shinobi proper, as specially trained warriors, spies, and mercenaries, appeared in the 15th century during the Sengoku period, antecedents may have existed as early as the 12th century.
Ninjutsu (忍術), sometimes used interchangeably with the modern term ninpō (忍法), is the martial art strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare, insurgency tactics and espionage purportedly practised by the ninja. Ninjutsu was a separate discipline in some traditional Japanese schools, which integrated study of more conventional martial arts (taijutsu) along with shurikenjutsu, kenjutsu, sōjutsu, bōjutsu and others.
Ninja Nonsense: The Legend of Shinobu, also known as 2×2 = Shinobuden, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ryoichi Koga. The series subtitle is "The Nonsense Kunoichi Fiction". The manga was serialized in MediaWorks' Dengeki Daioh magazine between August 2000 and March 2006; the chapters were later compiled into four tankōbon volumes. The manga was released in English in North America by Infinity Studios under the title Ninin Ga Shinobuden. A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by Ufotable aired in Japan between July and September 2004. The anime has been released in North America by The Right Stuf International under the title Ninja Nonsense: The Legend of Shinobu. A sequel manga titled Ninin ga Shinobuden Plus began serialization on Kadokawa Corporation's Comic Newtype website in June 2020.
Futaro Yamada was the pen name of Seiya Yamada, a Japanese author. He was born in Yabu, Hyogo. In 1947, he wrote a mystery short story Daruma-tōge no Jiken and was awarded a prize by the magazine Houseki (宝石). He was discovered by Edogawa Rampo and became a novelist. He wrote many ninja and mystery stories. Many of his works have been adapted for film, TV, manga, and anime.
Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger is a Japanese Tokusatsu television show and Toei's twenty-sixth production of the Super Sentai metaseries. It aired from February 17, 2002, to February 9, 2003, replacing Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger, and was replaced by Bakuryū Sentai Abaranger. The catchphrase for the series is "Unknown even to others, unknown even to the world, we become shadows to defeat evil!". Its footage was used in the American series Power Rangers Ninja Storm. On April 1, 2013, Shun Shioya, Nao Nagasawa, Kohei Yamamoto, Yujiro Shirakawa, and Nobuo Kyo, who played Hurricane Red, Hurricane Blue, Hurricane Yellow, Kabuto Raijer, and Kuwaga Raijer, respectively, announced that a tenth-anniversary V-Cinema release called Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger: 10 Years After would be produced. This is the first time a movie has been made commemorating the anniversary of a single Sentai series. The movie is a direct to DVD and Blu-ray release. Shout! Factory released Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger: The Complete Series in North America on March 26, 2019. This is the twelfth Super Sentai series to be released in North America. It aired alongside Kamen Rider Ryuki.
Bansenshūkai is a Japanese book containing a collection of knowledge from the clans in the Iga and Kōga regions that had been devoted to the training of ninja. Bansenshūkai summarizes the main points of the three volumes of the original Ninjutsu book Kanrinseiyō (間林清陽), and was written by selecting only those that fit the times. In the beginning of Bansenshūkai, the existence of the original text Kanrinseiyō was mentioned, but its existence had not been confirmed for a long time. However, in June 2022, a manuscript of the second volume of Kanrinseiyō copied in 1748 was found.
Shinobi Legions, known as Shinobi X in Europe and as Shin Shinobi Den in Japan, is an action game in the Shinobi series developed and published by Sega in 1995 for the Sega Saturn.
Red Ninja: End of Honor, known in Japan as Red Ninja: Kekka no Mai, is a 2005 video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox platforms, created in a collaboration between the game developer Tranji Studios and the film writer Shinsuke Sato. It was published by Vivendi Universal Games. The game's theme song "Foolish Dream" was performed by Yoko Ishida. The game was poorly received and was Tranji Studios' only published title.
In the history of Japan, ninja operated as spies, assassins, or thieves; they formed their own caste outside the usual feudal social categories such as lords, samurai, and serfs. Ninja often appear as stock characters in Japanese popular culture and in global popular culture.
The Naruto: Ninja Council series, known in Japan as Naruto: Saikyō Ninja Daikesshū, is a series of action games based on the manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. They are developed by Aspect Co. and published by Tomy in Japan and D3 Publisher in American. Various installments of the series have appeared on both Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, the first two games in the series available for the former while the rest are available on the latter.
Kunoichi is a Japanese cant term for "woman". In popular culture, it is often used for female shinobi or practitioner of ninjutsu (ninpo). The term was largely popularized by novelist Yamada Futaro in his novel Ninpō Hakkenden (忍法八犬伝) in 1964.
The episodes from the thirteenth season of the anime series Naruto: Shippuden are based on Part II of the setting of Naruto manga series by Masashi Kishimoto. The episodes are directed by Hayato Date and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo. The season focuses on the Fourth Great Ninja War between Naruto Uzumaki and the Hidden Villages' ninja against the forces under the masked ninja Tobi and Kabuto Yakushi. There is also a side story arc. The thirteenth season began airing on August 23, 2012 on TV Tokyo and ended on January 10, 2013.
The Shōninki is a medieval ninja document from Kishū province.
The episodes for the eighteenth season of the anime series Naruto: Shippuden are based on Part II for Masashi Kishimoto's manga series. The season continues the battle between the ninja alliance and Obito Uchiha. It also features two short anime only story arcs, one featuring Mecha Naruto from Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution, and the other detailing Hinata and Hanabi's progress throughout the series. The episodes are directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo. The season aired from August to December 2014.
Ninja Girl & Samurai Master, known in Japan as Nobunaga no Shinobi, is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Shigeno. It has been serialized in Hakusensha's seinen manga magazine Young Animal since June 2008, with its chapters collected in 20 tankōbon volumes as of May 2023. The series is about a fictional shinobi named Chidori who aids the real Japanese general Oda Nobunaga on his journey to the unification of Japan, so that he may bring peace to the land.
The Order of Musashi Shinobi Samurai is a Japanese shinobisamurai clan which served Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Edo Shogunate from 1582 to 1868. They served the Tokugawa Shogunate as intelligence operatives called onmitsu, and metsuke (inspectors), and in the 19th century, as diplomats. When the political system changed due to the restoration of the monarchy in 1868, it became independent. The order consists of a number of families and people who have built close relations of trust with the Shibata Clan of the Musashi Province.
