GQ's Charlie Burton interviews Stephen Turnbull about ninjas:
“If the ninja have any basis in fact, the following three criteria must be satisfied,” says Turnbull. “One, that a unique corpus of military techniques involving secrecy existed in Japan during the Sengoku Period [c. 1487 - 1603]. Two, that the exercise of these techniques was confined to certain skilled individuals rather than being spread more widely within Japanese society. And three, these skilled practitioners were identified in particular with [the areas] Iga and Kōka, from where they sold their services to others.”
The title of the piece is a bit misleading. It isn't examining whether ninjas exist currently, but whether they ever existed or if they existed to the degree that modern mythology tells us.
It's an interesting viewpoint. Turnbull is an extremely prolific writer on all things Japan, but for what it's worth he is also not all that well regarded by many Japanese historians. Despite that, this interview gives some food for thought.
LINK: A ninja expert explains why ninjas aren't real
Link Blog
Back when I had my own website, I used to post a few random links everyday or every few days, in the style of http://kottke.org or http://daringfireball.net. Readers seemed to enjoy seeing them.
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 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. More? |
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