These 10 secret techniques of the ninja

2003 5 December all over the world celebrate Day of the ninja. This unofficial holiday was invented by the administration of a parody website Ninja Burger as a day when everyone can imagine themselves as the ninja — masters of the ancient Japanese martial art.

On the Day of the ninja arts, ninjutsu (Japanese — "the art of stealth") can slightly depart from the usual framework and at least to briefly present yourself as the most fashion — fearless warriors in medieval Japan were able to be almost invisible and therefore often acted as spies, infiltrators and assassins.

Usually in pop culture ninjas are warriors, armed with swords, throwing shurikens and dressed in black. But in reality, ninjas favored knives instead of swords, as the knife was easier to hide. And Yes, they do their metal stars-shurikens, but used those asterisks more often a distraction, not as a weapon. And despite popular belief, the ninja suit was dark blue, not black.

Of course, the discrepancy between the historical data and modern ninja can be attributed to a fiction necessary to give entertainment. But even in those rare cases when the ninja in pop culture portrayed accurately, behind the scenes was always a number of instruments and tools, which few people know.

As for soldiers of special units, time for the ninja was very important. They didn't have stopwatches that we have today, but they have something no worse than this. Ninja studied the technique known as "nekome Jutsu", that is, the ability to determine the time in the eyes of cats.

The eyes of cats are very sensitive and their pupils during the day, adapt to changes in lighting. Early morning cat's pupils are round and fully opened, in order to pass the maximum possible amount of light. Between 8 and 12 hours the pupils become oval as the sun rose higher and want to block some of the light. And when the sun is in the Zenith, the cats pupils turn into narrow slits. With such knowledge the ninja could guess the time accurate to hours. But be sure to wear a ninja on the wrist of a cat instead of hours — is unknown.

In the old days in Europe, and in Asia the best way to protect the FORTS were ditches. And since most potential victims ninja were people of high society, the moats were constantly getting in the way of these silent soldiers. In most movies they just jump over such ditches or run across the moat on the water. In fact, a ninja could use a device called "e-Homo", which means "water spider".

Since ninja were spies, they were vital to good hearing. Sometimes they just bribed the right people to ferret out information. Sometimes they listened to the changes in the security, to schedule the changing of the guard. One conclusion: eavesdropping was an important part of the work of a ninja. For eavesdropping were used a device called "Soto of hikigane". It was the "auditory tube", cone-shaped device made of metal, sometimes of wood.

Tube size can vary, some tubes were very small and meant for concealed carry. Ninja put the wide end of the tube to the wall so that the sound intensified, passing through the tube, and reached the ear. It worked about the same as the Cup affixed to the wall.

Ninja were soldiers-experts, but even they were not able to fight in extreme cold without special tools. Because they are often used for body warmers called "donki". These warmers allow them to sit in wait in the winter. Did these warmers are either made of bamboo or made of copper or iron. The bottle contained flammable substances, such as gunpowder, alcohol and tissue. The warmer, usually came with a flint, called "tsukamaki". If the warmer a fire was started, the fuel could burn for a few hours or even days.

It is well known that ninja's weapons could do almost anything. As a weapon you can use something sharp and long, hidden in the hair. Type in a search engine the word "kanzashi".

In feudal Japan women in their hair often wore long pins, called "kanzashi". By themselves, these studs were not too dangerous, but the ninja could strike at vital points of the body and hit the nerve endings. Such a stud can be sharpened and used as a knife for attack and for protection. But if neither of them applied the poison, they become an extremely dangerous tool of the murder.

Kanzashi was the perfect murder weapon for "kunoichi" — female ninja, because they were small and easy to hide. As the popularity of wearing high heels the women of the time continued to grow, kunoichi could wear them without attracting attention. This is a clear proof that even fashion accessories in the hands of a ninja can be dangerous.

They say the pen is mightier than the sword. Usually, this expression is not taken literally, but the pen in the hands of a ninja could be a real deadly weapon. The ninja tried not to go out without "atata". The so-called small metal cylinder, though sometimes it is made from bamboo. At one end of the cylinder was a small receptacle for ink, the rest of the cylinder was hollow, and was kept there calligraphic brush. Speaking about using this case as a weapon, it is important to remember that the ninja is first and foremost a spy.

Even the nails ninja were weapons. Metal claws called "neko-te", was the weapon of a female ninja. These claws were attached to the fingers in various ways. Sometimes they simply worn on the fingers as thimbles. In other cases, each claw is attached to a ring, which were worn on the fingers. The claws themselves were most often metal, but sometimes metal is replaced with thin pieces of bamboo.

Razor-sharp claws were often made even of old jewelry and pins. The name of the weapon derives from the external similarity with the claw of a predator, as outwardly it looked like small caps, worn on each finger. "Neko" means "cat", "te" means "hand".

Ninja were masters of disguise and went very quietly to sneak up on enemies. Nevertheless there were situations, when to move silently couldn't even ninja. Go quietly through the woods, which is full of dried leaves and twigs, a very difficult trick. Just stepped on an old branch, could reveal itself, and to ruin the whole thing. In such case the ninja with you always was a small box with crickets. The chirping of these insects can easily disguise the ninja moves. Ninja also had special chemistry, which he used to at the right moment to make the crickets chirp in the Bank.

No matter how discreet nor was a ninja, the main reason for their fame was not it. They were known for their "invisibility", which was achieved through a broad range of blinding powders. The ninja were very resourceful, and a favorite container for these powders were the usual eggshell. With a needle ninja was making a hole in the shell through which was poured the contents. After that, the shell was filled with iron filings, salt, powdered pepper, etc. Ingredient could be anything that caused lacrimation in humans.

During the battle, ninja smash this shell powder directly on the face of the enemy, causing temporary blindness. And the eye of the enemy was not the only goal. Sometimes used powders of substances irritating to the respiratory system. If it is possible to weaken the enemy even for a moment, this time ninja was missing or a more serious attack or to flee.

Exactly — Fig. Share a pic of the ninja, and he can turn it into a secret weapon. As the ninja were assassins and spies, an important part of their work was the secret transfer of information. And the best way for this transfer was "goshiki-Mai", meaning "five-color rice". Grains of rice dyed in yellow, blue, red, black and purple and was used to pass encrypted messages. Ninja throwing rice on the roadside or in any other inconspicuous place.

Enemies and ordinary people hardly noticed this pic, but if he saw a ninja from the same clan, he knew that before him a secret message. Using different combinations of beans, a ninja could pass about 100 different messages. And again: "goshiki-Mai" is not just a spy tool, the rice was protected from birds. Paint did not allow the birds to recognize the grains of rice and eat it.