After the black suits and shuriken, the most noticeable feature of any Hollywood or tohei movie Ninja is his sword. Peter Brown, Sensei of the Shinobi Kai dojo explores the Ninja Sword.
After the black suits and shuriken, the most noticeable feature of any Hollywood or tohei movie ninja is his sword.
Read any book or magazine article from the 1980’s on the ninja and invariably the same description of the ninja’s sword cropped up, an unadorned short, straight blade with a, large square tsuba (guard), but just how accurate a representation is this?
Often the straight blade is claimed to be a broken katana that has been remounted, however this will still have some kind of sori, or curvature, neither is it because the smith’s did not know the secret of forging a curved blade.
Again this is unlikely as both eastern and western smiths were forging curved blades at this time; the real secret was the layering and quenching of the blade, which caused the curvature of the traditional tachi or later katana, however good blades could be produced without this knowledge.
Old Japanese print from a ninjutsu clan instructing the use of combat.
None of the familiar ninja style swords are shown.
So is there any historical account of the ninja having a unique or individual sword?
In a scroll of the Togakure Ryu, the style of sword favoured is described as having a “mokko” tsuba, a plum flower shape, preferably of brass or copper.
The saya was reinforced with bands of the same metals, this tends to suggest a sword mounted a handachi style, which equates with the style of the time, nowhere is mentioned the sword is straight.
Historically it would follow that the ninja would use the weapons and equipment of the period, on the battlefields of the nanbokko to the sengoku jidai period the huge o-dachi, a 5 - 6 foot sword or a long tachi of 3 – 4 foot would be standard.
These weapons still exist in Kukishin Ryu, Shinden Fudo Ryu and Togakure Ryu as well as others such as Tenshin Ryu, as taught by Fumon Tanaka, Sensei.
Later on in Japanese history, as peace finally came to Japan, a strict order of class was introduced which covered the carrying of swords.Only the samurai could wear the daisho, the matching pair of long and short blades.
Other classes such as merchants, scholars and others were permitted to carry a single “travelling” sword of 24 inches or less.
These are pictures from iga-ueno ninja museum (in Japan), showing ninja swords of recent manufacture on display.
Some, having samurai aspirations, stretched the law by wearing their short sword in a longer saya (scabbard), and mounted with a longer tsuka (handle), to give the appearance of a katana, which gives us the idea of the longer scabbard to hide blinding powders etc
To further give the impression of being of samurai class, fake wakizashi were produced.
These did not have a blade as this would break the law, but had a hidden percussion pistol, or were cases to carry smoking pipes or writing implements, others had a short Tanto (small knife) blade mounted so as the saya (scabbard) became the hilt and the tsuka (handle) became a sheath.
All of these “trick” swords re enforced the latter belief these were ninja devices, sadly they are not, most were produced far too late in time, and were just a fad.
Japanese print depicting a ninja warrior with ‘daisho’ (two samurai) swords.
So do any “real” ninja swords exist?
I have visited several ninja museums in Japan, most have a variety of blades, all old, but none fit the modern definition of a ninja sword.
Most are standard wakizashi, the ninja-to on display are all of modern vintage and mass produced; often the same sword is for sale in the museum shop.
Ninjutsu: The Secret Art of the Ninja
Ninjutsu: The Secret Art of the Ninja by Simon Yeo
Lesley Jackson reads a book that is set to explain some of the mysteries surrounding this most secretive of martial arts from an expert who lives in London and has travelled widely to develop his craft.
In conclusion, the modern production ninja-to is probably a misreading of descriptions in old texts, or a need in kabuki and other theatrical productions to easily identify the “bad guys”.
The style has been around for some time, I recall advertisements in “inside kung fu” magazine from the early 70’s selling ninja swords exactly like those we know now today.
So to sum up a ninja sword is a sword used by a ninja…….now define a ninja!!!!
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