In fiction, movies, TV, and video games, ninjas are often depicted as longstanding and fierce enemies of the samurai. Just how real was that enmity in real life, though?

The Cool Pop Culture Ninjas

When many think of the word “ninja”, the images that often come to mind are those of black clad masked killers, as they scale building walls and assassinate people all over feudal Japan. In modern pop culture, ninjas are usually portrayed as covert killers who use often-exotic means to do in their victims and commit other fell deeds, from throwing stars to strange wavy blades to smoke bombs as tools of the trade. Unfortunately, no such nifty ninjas have ever existed in real life.

Ninjas were not super cool assassins dressed up in black from head to foot. They did not look anything remotely like they are portrayed in modern media. Per the best available historical sources, ninjas did not dress up in black outfits as some kind of distinctive uniform. Historically, black was one of the most popular colors in Japan that most people wore, as can be seen in many period paintings and illustration from feudal Japan through the early modern era.

The Real Life Ninjas

To the extent that ninjas dressed up in black, it was no more than the norm for most people around them. Which was actually the point: if they wore black, it would have been normal everyday clothes that just happened to be black, so they could blend in. That is because ninjas were scouts, spies, and mercenaries, hired by various armies in feudal Japan. To do their jobs, the last thing they wanted was to dress up in any manner that made them stand out.

Instead, ninjas, especially on scouting or espionage assignments, wanted to seem as inconspicuous as possible and blend in with the local population. As to exotic weapons, ninjas did not use throwing stars. However, they did use poisoned darts known as bo shurikens. Ninja are also often depicted as the avowed enemies of the more forthright and honorable samurai. In reality, they did not have any blood feud or particular beef with samurai. Indeed, there was nothing to prevent a samurai from being a ninja, and quite a few ninjas were actually samurai.

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Some Sources & Further Reading

History Halls – Myths and Realities: Were the Middle Ages as Drab as Depicted by Hollywood?

Japan Talk – 8 Common Ninja Myths

Military History Now – Enter the Ninja: Facts and Myths About Japan’s Most Mysterious WarriorsWarriors