Swords, shurikens and silence: 500 years of history, all in an afternoon.
It’s 3pm on a cold Saturday afternoon in eastern Tokyo. Snow covers the pavement, and as I exit Tabata station I get a text from my friend who I’m due to meet in ten minutes telling me he has just fallen in a huge icy puddle. I can’t help but smile.
Welcome to the dojo!
Today we are going to be trained in espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination – taking part in a ‘Ninja Experience’ tour. Another one to tick off the list. My friend arrives, soaking wet, and we spot our guide holding up a sign with our names on it. Suddenly I feel like a tourist in the city I live in, and before we know it we are walking through back streets towards our destination. This part of Tokyo has remained pretty much untouched for decades: there’s none of the neon of Shibuya or Shinjuku out here. It’s full of small independent traders, little shops selling oden and a scattering of independent galleries. After ten minutes we arrive at a small, unassuming house and our guide rings a bell hanging on the end of a rope. We are told we then have to wait for the ‘Master’ inside to bang a drum three times before we can go in. We wait. The drums sound, and we enter.
Getting Ninja-ed up!
Upstairs we are led to a tatami room filled with shinobi memorabilia: old pictures from the Sengoku period and equipment lining the walls. We get changed into our ninja garb, with help from our guide. A ninja-yoroi comprises of a black shirt or jacket, black pants, and a black hood that covers the head and lower part of the face, leaving just the eyes visible. Not only would the attire have looked fearsome to opponents, but it would also have made the ninja harder to spot at night. My friend wears glasses and has a big ginger beard. Do ninjas wear glasses and have big ginger beards? This one does. I look in the mirror it looks like I’m wearing a burka. This day is surreal.
The oddest ninja you will ever see!
The Master
After changing we follow our guide downstairs into a darkened space. At the back of the room a shadowy figure sits in silence, his silhouette flickering against dimly lit lanterns. We sit and bow. This is the Master, and the experienced shinobi who will be leading us through our training. We are told to sit and meditate, freeing our mind. The Master performs kuji kiri, a ninja ritual which entails slicing the air nine times with his fingers to focus his mental, spiritual and physical energies. He then stands, pulls a sword from his belt and with one deft movement brings it down inches from my face. The only sound in the room is that of the sword slicing through the air. It’s pretty impressive.
Our guide translates!
The lights go on and we are introduced to the Master, with a short explanation about the history of ninjas, and how they were basically covert agents or mercenaries in feudal Japan. The Master speaks in Japanese, while our guide translates. “Where did you first hear about ninjas?” he asks me. “Um, have you ever played The Last Ninja on the Commodore 64?” is my response.
Weapons
Sitting in front of us is an array of ninja weaponry, some of which looks pretty brutal. We are given a crash course in ninja assault, with explanations of how to use the weapons and how they are made. We are taught the differences between samurai swords and ninja swords, as well as different ways to ‘disable’ (read: kill) enemies. The ninja’s covert methods of waging war contrasted with the samurai, who observed strict rules about honor and combat. “This is used to break a person’s hand,” the Master explains, holding up a huge chunk of metal attached to a chain. We practice throwing shurikens and metal spikes the wall. We’re even shown how we can injure a person by throwing chopsticks at them. Try that one next time you’re in Yoshinoya.
This stuff would hurt!
Weapons training!
Espionage
Stealth is of course a major component of ninja’s arsenal and after weaponry we are taught a variety tactics to remain silent and unseen. We are shown a two-way door and told how to enter and exit a room silently, using a blowpipe with darts to attack our enemies. Using the blowpipe is pretty tough. We are told to attack the Master with rubber shurikens when we hear him enter the room. My aim is woeful, instead hitting our guide in the head. Good job they weren’t real or we’d be using our stealth tactics to hide from the cops.
Free your mind!
Finally we are taught the importance of freeing your mind from all thought in order to become one with the world around you. We are told to kneel, close our eyes and hold a piece of wood. The Master then approaches us silently from behind, wielding a huge bat. Just as he is about to bring it down on our heads we are told to raise our guard to stop the attack. Strangely, the mediation works: blocking out all sounds apart from that of the bat through the air.
As we exit the dojo, the real world reappears and our Ninja Experience is complete. We live to fight another day.
-Contributed by Justin Egli
Learning to Be a Ninja for a Day in Tokyo from Japan Things to Do