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Japan Still Has Ninjas — But They’re About to Go Extinct
Ninjas are doomed. Can anything be done to rescue them?
For centuries, little was known about ninjas. Official records rarely confirmed their existence, making ninjas a fascinating mystery. But in 2012, Jinichi Kawakami came forward as the last surviving ninja grandmaster. “In the age of civil wars or during the Edo period, ninjas’ abilities to spy and kill, or mix medicine may have been useful,” Kawakami said:
“But we now have guns, the internet and much better medicines, so the art of ninjutsu has no place in the modern age.”
Shortly after Kawakami revealed himself to the world, another ninja grandmaster — Masaaki Hatsumi — also came forward. Neither of these men has appointed an heir. Once Kawakami and Hatsumi have passed away, ninjas will forever cease to exist.
Contrary to popular belief, these elite fighters lived ordinary lives, enabling them to blend into society. Kawakami was trained as an engineer because “you cannot make a living being a ninja.” When BBC interviewed Kawakami, this grandmaster found the idea of a full-time ninja laughable.
In feudal Japan, everyone was divided into four castes — warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Ninjas almost exclusively occupied the last three castes, refusing to publically reveal themselves as skilled combatants.
Kawakami was appointed as the successor to Koka — one of the few ninja clans famous enough to briefly appear in a few official records — when he was six years old. At first, he believed his master was just playing games. But as he grew older, he started to feel uncomfortable with learning how to force locks open and walk in complete silence. He suspected his master was preparing him to become a thief.
It wasn’t until the age of eighteen, when he was given access to the clan’s ancient scrolls, that Kawakami finally realized the purpose behind his decades of training.
Now that he understood his calling, Kawakami poured himself into mastering ninjutsu. He learned how to mix medicines, wield specialized weapons, and scale walls — all in complete silence.
