MUST TO EXPERIENCE #2: Legendary "Ninja" culture of Edo Period

a "Ninja" show at Edo Wonderland

"Ninja" (忍者：ninja) are largely a myth; a product of Edo period drama, adapted to Japanese and then Western cinema.

A person who uses Ninjutsu is called a Ninja. Ninjutsu is not a martial art. It is an original art of warfare that developed mainly in Iga, Mie Prefecture, and Koka, Shiga Prefecture.



"Ninja" activities include all manner of covert activities. Spying, assassination, planting rumors, sabotage...all these can be considered "shinobi" activities.

Hanzo Hattori may the most famous, and the most powerful of all the Iga Ninja. ( although his actual profession was Samurai)

Hanzo Hattori appears in countless ninja movies and novels dressed in black, flying through the sky, swimming underwater, tunneling beneath the ground, and vanishing into the darkness.

If you want to find out the reality of Ninja history or experience Ninja activities, visit one of these places below. At Iga-Ryu Ninjya Museum, there is a Ninjya house where you can experience a number of tricks.

Iga-Ryu Ninjya Museum homepage
Shiga-Koga Ninjyutsu Yashiki  homepage (Japanese) 
Nikko Edo Wonderland homepage