NINJA: the art of hiding

Japan is associated to martial arts, samourais and ninjas as well. I am lucky enough to have great friends who, when they learnt I was moving to Japan, offered me a ticket to become a ninja!

Hokkaido Ninja Do‘s team was going to teach me about ninjas in Japan and some of their many skills.

The ninja (I am going to call him like this all along because I don’t remember his name and because he’s a certified ninja. Apparently you can go to the ninja uniersity…) comes to pick up his students at the bottom of Sapporo TV tower wearing his ninja outfit obviously. Actually, I’ll try to show his face as little as possible. You’ll understand that he can’t be seen, he has to be discreet. And what can be more discreet than a man hopping on his tiptoes, dressed in black with a hat and a mask..

HND was located in the basement of a building a bit out of Sapporo city centre. Two women welcomed us. They were the ninja’s assistants. They lent us our ninja’s outfits: trousers, jacket, headband, cuff.

Once dressed, we stepped in the next room. We sat in front of the ninja on our knees on the ground made of tatamis. I taught us about the origins, the identities of the ninjas as well as what they did for a living, what period they lived in, etc.

From Sengoku period (15th-16th centuries) to the Edo era (1600-1868), feodal lords mostly were buying the services of mercenaries who had extraordinary skills in terms of spying, camouflage and fighting: ninjas. Ninjas had the skills to collect informations, deliver them, manipulate them and use them wisely to avoid any unnecessary confrontation. They were working underwater. Actually, those mercenaries were farmers by day, the perfect cover, and ninjas by night.

Once the story told, our express lesson to become a ninja had started!

Firstly we learnt the 9 Kuji-kiri hand signs. They all have a different meaning and bring spiritual support to the ninjas.

Rin is the symbol of mental and physical strength
Pyo is the symbol of energy
Toh is for concord between ninjas and the world
Sha is the symbol of healing, to heal oneself or someone else.
Kai is for intuition, to be aware of the danger and prevent it.
Jin allows ninja to read into other people’s minds.
Retsu gives control upon time and space.
Zai gives control upon natural elements
Zen, at last, is the symbol of the utmost.

We then learnt how to move like ninjas. This first step is already eliminatory for some of us, let’s be honest. A ninja must move with the utmost discretion and silence and have a good balance. Some of us (what, me?!) closer to the elephant rather than the cat, might have ended as unemployed ninjas back then…

Ninjas use disguised means to fight and sneak around. Therefore we had to mime a knife attack with the blade hidden inside a music instrument looking like a flute. We also sneaked from place to place through hidden doors in the walls like we can see sometimes in the movies. LIke the ones where you pull a book out and the library opens except that this time, there’s no book or library. It’s just a simple wall that flips. the question is: when did ninjas have the time to actually build this kind of doors in the houses of people they were spying on without them noticing it?! Or maybe they just spied on people who had these doors at home but the odds are slim…

Once we mastered the different ways to make ourselves invisible like ninjas, the next step was to learn how to manipulate weapons.

First: sword. I really enjoyed this part. We learnt a few movements that at first look pretty easy. But they’re not cause they actually need a lot of coordination. I wasn’t too bad at that!

Then we started to throw all kind of weapons.
The one that looks the most harmless can actually be quite dangerous. I am talking about the chopsticks (ashi)! They’re light and usually used to eat but once thrown vigorously, they stick straight into the target a few metres away. Well, that’s how it supposed to be when an actual ninja shoots. When I do, it’s not quite what happens. But yet, I succeded once or twice. Even when the chopstick hang by a thread, it counts ok?!

We then started to throw shiruken. It wasn’t easier. You need to have a good wrist game which apparently I don’t.

Little climbing interlude before continuing. For the ones who wanted to give it a try, we could climb obstacles depicting the rooftops of a city and go across the room holding onto a rope. Strength in the arms and good pain resistance is required because the rope burns your hand quickly.

The last weapon we tried was the blowgun. Out of all the weapons, this one is the easiest and most accessible to everyone. It is pretty simple to blow in it and reach the target as long as you are not out of breath.

Finally, this ninja experience ends with a treasure hunt. You’re ask to solve a little puzzle that tells you where the treasure, a parchment, is.

Before saying goodbye, before removing our ninja clothes and going back to our farmer lives, they give us a little ninja certificate.

To put it in a nutshell, it was a very good day back in ninas’ time. I really had a good time. It’s pretty easy and  playful since it’s made for families. Actually to fully enjoy the experience I think that you need to go with a group of friends and family. The group I was in was mostly made of people who didn’t know each other befoehand so the atmosphere was a bit cold at the beginning. Indeed, you need to feel comfortable and not be afraid of looking stupid in front of others so it can be a bit difficult in front of strangers.

A little downside though, the ninja master left when we got to the climb on the rooftops of the city and never came back. He didn’t why he was leaving nor did he say goodbye to anyone. His assistants took over and were actually nicer and friendlier than him. What happened is that he went to pick up the next group. They’re many groups coming one after the other in a tight schedule and I didn’t appreciate very much that he left one to pick up the next one without even apologizing or thanking people who came and paid for their tickets.

I recommand this kind of bonding activity. It’s always nice and funny to do. Plus we get to play with shiruken or swords, it doesn’t happen everyday!

Warning: GIFs abuse can be dangerous for your health. To consume in moderation.