Hattori Hanzō in his ninja attire
A ninja (忍者) or shinobi (忍び) was a covert agent in feudal Japan. The skills of a ninja included espionage, deception, and surprise attacks. Ninja originated from the Iga and Kōga provinces. They used the covert methods of irregular warfare to accomplish tasks, much to the disgust of the samurai. Despite this, some ninja were samurai that undertook special missions for their vassals. The ninja proper made their appearance in the 15th century as specially trained spies or mercenaries.[1] Female ninja were also known as kunoichi.[2]
History[]
Sengoku period[]
During the Sengoku period, the ninja were caught up in the ancient conflict between the Assassins and the Templars when they arrived in Japan through Portuguese traders amidst the turmoil. While some, such as Hattori Hanzō, aligned themselves with the Brotherhood, others chose the Templars, most notably Mochizuki Chiyome.[3]
The province of Iga was particularly renowned for its military confederation of ninja known as the Iga ikki. An independent league formed in the aftermath of the Ōnin War, the Iga ikki did not recognize any daimyō's hegemony and lived by their own code of honor. The ikki was particularly long-lived, existing for over a century, during which it fought to maintain its independence, successfully fending off any invaders using guerrilla tactics. However, this came to an end in 1581, when Iga was conquered by the daimyō Oda Nobunaga and the ikki was decimated,[4] although some of its members were spared and continued to operate throughout Japan, primarily in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu.[5]
The Assassin Fujibayashi Naoe was one notable survivor of the Iga ikki, having been trained by both the league's leader Momochi Sandayu and her father Fujibayashi Nagato.[6][7] During her quest to eliminate the Shinbakufu and rebuild the Japanese Brotherhood, Naoe used many of the skills learned during her shinobi training, particularly in deception and infiltration.[8]
Edo period[]
The two factions of Shimazu ninja in Macau
In 1725, ninja were employed by the Shimazu clan to serve under the Japanese Templar Shimazu Saito in Macau. On her orders, they hunted the British Assassin Edward Kenway in pursuit of a sea log containing information on the lost Khmer city of Angkor, believed to be an Isu site.[9] In addition to Japanese ninja, Saito also employed mixed-blood ninja not native to the mainland; however, this infuriated the Japanese ninja, who were already displeased with having to obey Saito due to her mixed heritage, and they ultimately deserted, forming their own faction.[10]
The conflict between the Japanese ninja, led by Fuma Sukuna, and Saito's faction escalated into a civil war, with members from both groups frequently clashing on the streets of Macau.[11] The Shimazu civil war eventually culminated in the deaths of all of Saito's men,[12] and the Templar forming a truce with Edward Kenway and joining his organization, the Zhang Wei Union.[13] Saito later managed to exact revenge on Sukuna when she killed him and all of his ninja followers during a confrontation in the Philippines.[14]
The shinobi arts remained integral to the Japanese Brotherhood into the 19th century. For instance, the noblewoman Shiba Atsuko was trained as a shinobi by the Japanese Assassins. During the Boshin War, the ninja and Assassin Issa was assigned a mission to assassinate the British Consul Harry Parkes, but he was killed by the British Templar William Lloyd.[15]
Modern times[]
By the 21st century, ninja had entered into the imagination of popular culture. In 2020, the Assassin Layla Hassan modified her Animus while reliving the Viking Eivor Varinsdottir's genetic memories to include a digital model of an armor pack stylized after ninja attire and weaponry.[16]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (first mentioned)
- Assassin's Creed: Memories (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Blade of Aizu
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (Helix Armor Pack)
- Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple
- Assassin's Creed: Visionaries (non-canon)
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Iga no Monogatari
- Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game
References[]
- ↑
Ninja on Wikipedia
- ↑ Kunoichi on Wikipedia
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Memories
- ↑ Echoes of History – Shadows – Episode 6: The Tensho Iga War
- ↑ Iga ikki on Wikipedia
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Mind and Body
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – A True Igan
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 20
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 30
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 37
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 39
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 85
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Blade of Aizu – [citation needed]
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
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