Foreign ninja

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This article lists non-Japanese people who were ninja, or similar covert agents influenced by ninja.

Strictly, there were very few foreigners recognized as ninja except for legendary figures. However, some other foreign soldiers and agents engaged in infiltration and espionage with Japanese forces.

Foreign-born ninja in Japan

BirthplaceOriginal nameNinjutsu styleYear of arrival in JapanName in JapanLordOccupation and achievements in Japan
Ming [1] unknownTaisha-ryūBefore 1635 [1] Denrinbō Raikei
伝林坊頼慶 [1] 		Sagara Yorifusa→
Sagara Yorihiro [1] 		He was the disciple of renowned swordmaster Marume Nagayoshi. Later he became yamabushi and established a ninja corps called Ura-Taisha [1] [2]

Foreign-born kanja

"Kanja"(間者) is the Japanese word for spy. Ninja could act as kanja though their activities were not limited to espionage and ninja sometimes used kanja as their subordinate.

This list includes foreign-born Japanese spies who were not recorded as ninja at that time.

BirthplaceOriginal nameYear of arrival in JapanName in JapanLordOccupation and achievements in Japan
Fenyang,
Ming 		(Kanji:郭国安)1559 Kawaminami Rishin
汾陽理心		 Shimazu Yoshihisa→
Shimazu Iehisa→
Shimazu Mitsuhisa 		He made a journey to Japan in 1559. Later he was scouted by Shimazu Yoshihisa, daimyō of Satsuma as retainer. During the Imjin war, he went to Joseon as the officer in charge of letters. However, both Japanese and Chinese sources introduced him as own spy familiar with The Art of War . [3]
Coat of Arms of Joseon Korea.png Kilju, Joseon [4] (Kanji:李達越) [5] 1587 [4] Kawasaki Seizō [5]
川崎清蔵		 Nabeshima Naoshige [5] [4] His courtesy name was 宗歓. During the Imjin war, he was active from behind as a Japanese spy. [5] As reward, he was allowed to wear swords and given salary by Naoshige. [6] Later he became a merchant, and built a town in Saga now called Toujinchō. [4]

Legendary foreign ancestors of ninja

BirthplaceOriginal nameNinjutsu styleYear of arrival in JapanName in JapanLordOccupation and achievements in Japan
Qi Xu Fu Iga-ryū 210BC Oiro Tayuya
御色多由也 [7] 		unknownAccording to Iranki, the book of Iga-ryū, ninjutsu was introduced to Japan by Oiro Tayuya who had been traditionally identified as Chinese sorcerer Xu Fu or his fellow. [7] However, his ability seemed to be the method of Xian which affected ninjutsu rather than tactics of espionage. [8]

According to Bansenshūkai , ninjustu was invented by ancient Chinese hero Fuxi and developed by Yellow Emperor though this account is considered fiction to give authority to ninja. [7]

Also according to Bansenshūkai, The Art of War of Sun Tzu was oldest account of ninjutsu, the art of espionage. [7]

Foreign agents who have been called "Ninja" but are unrelated to Japanese ninja

See Ninjas in popular culture § Armed groups

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "嬉野忍者調査結果 弁慶夢想 （べんけいむそう）".
  2. ↑ "肥前兵法タイ捨流分布 片岡タイ捨流".
  3. ↑ 桃園恵真 (1972). 鹿児島県史料集 第13集 本藩人物誌 (PDF). 鹿児島県史料刊行委員会. pp. 87–88.※PDFファイルの18-19ページ目。
  4. 1 2 3 4 "40宋歓と唐人町" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  5. 1 2 3 4 内藤 雋輔 (1976), 文禄・慶長役における被虜人の研究 (in Japanese), 東京大学出版会,pp.734-735
  6. ↑ 『唐人町の由来』碑
  7. 1 2 3 4 山北篤、 福地貴子 (2019-12-14). 図解 忍者. 新紀元社.
  8. ↑ Kawakami Jinichi (2016), 忍者の掟 (in Japanese), KADOKAWA,pp.116-119
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