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Shinobi or Ninja (忍者 literally: "one who moves in secrecy" wink were assassins, trained in the Japanese art of ninjutsu (roughly translated as 'the art of stealth'). Ninja, like samurai, followed their own special code of conduct, called ninpo. According to some modern practitioners of ninjutsu, the ninja's specialty was not assassination but rather espionage.

It is popularly believed that the ancient ninja were peasants, who were forbidden under law from studying the samurai swordplay techniques because of the caste structure of their society. This was not necessarily true as most ninja were also samurai, operating as spies in an underground intelligence network.

However, the beginning of ninja is shrouded in a secret, not least because ninja rarely left anything in writing or boasted of their achievements. Minamoto no Yoshitsune who employed surprise as a major weapon in his victories, is said in a popular folktale to have been educated by a Tengu to learn the tactic and became a ninja. In truth, he was educated by Buddhist monks who educated him with Chinese books like The Art of War.

In the Nara period, shugendo, a style of Buddhism that focused on training one's body to achieve enlightenment, satori, became recognized and publicily accepted. Some of the trainees made a secluded village deep in a mountain to support themselves and some of these villagers would later evolve into Shinobi no Sato, literally "village of shinobi," when confusions of feudal period raised the need for a defense against local warlords. Mikkyo, introduced in the early Heian period, further enhanced the secretive nature of these villages and added mysterious aura by their indulgence in secret ceremonies. One of the earliest roots of ninja, Togakure-ryu, reportedly originated in the late Heian era. Iga and Koga are two of the most famous ninja styles, and are often pitted against each other in fiction. Both of these claim that they originate in Heian period.

Only a few records remain from the Kamakura period. Kusunoki Masashige used some clever tactics against enemies that remotely resemble some of ninja tactics. From the Muromachi period there are even fewer records. Both of these times were generally peaceful, and many battles had tournament-like aspects that barred a surprise attack. Somewhere in these time periods, bushido begun to form as the proper and honorable way a samurai must follow. It would be well into Edo period that bushido was finally formalized and until then ninpo was not well separated from bushido.

In the Sengoku Period the warring states period, ninja flourished as a war was often determined by how well warlords collected information. Almost all famous daimyo had ninja, or a ninja-like group under his control and they served as their eyes and ears, sometimes as their hands. Some of daimyo were reportedly ninja themselves. The clan of Sanada, the most famous member being Sanada Yukimura, was reportedly a ninja clan. This is widely agreed due to the successful defense of their castle with only around 3000 against an overwhelming force of 50000 led by Tokugawa Hidetada. Their amazing tactics, complete with splitting the house in two each supporting Toyotomi and Tokugawa in order to survive no matter which side finally won, has given them a legendary status. Later, they would come to be called Sanada Jyuu Yushi, lit. Ten heroes under Sanada, in fictions where they used ninja skills to defeat everything but their jealous wives who would, of course be ninja themselves.

The most controversal and disputed claim is about Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His rise to the power from a seemingly simple peasant to the de-facto ruler of Japan is unprecedented even in the long history of Japan. Some claim he had a support of, or himself was, a ninja and was the Oda's chief of intelligence. This is somewhat supported in that Oda Nobunaga seemed to rarely employ ninja or a group skilled in intelligence gathering. The only fact that is well established is that Hachisuka Koroku who served under him had a position of leader among semi-samurai groups skilled in guerilla tactics in Mino and Owari.

Tokugawa Ieyasu used ninja well, controlling both Iga and Kaga in unifying and ultimately rising to the rank of Shogun. In his dramatic escape through the mountainous landscape of Nara after Oda's assasination, Iga ninja led by Hattori Hanzo helped Ieyasu escape, gaining his favor. The last battle where ninja reportedly fought is in the Siege of Shimabara under the Tokugawa shogunate. As the shogunate became stable, ninja were effectively unemployed. Some became Oniwabansyu, a semi-secret group of bodyguards and intelligence officers who worked tending gardens of the Edo castle and eavesdropping on unaware daimyo. A ninja master Hujibayashi Sabuji wrote Mankawashukai (万川集海) as collections of ninja knowledge. Yet most knowledge was still passed on by the oral method and by training as most ninja believed that their service would soon be needed once again. The peace of Edo period would continue for over 200 years.

In Edo period, ninja became popular heroes in books and plays. Many mythical ninja powers such as becoming invisible, jumping over tall fences, casting spells and calling up a giant toad larger than a human, were all invented in these fictitious accounts of ninja. Ninja did not correct these disinformations and some may have even written these stories themselves to increase their values should their services have become needed. One of the lesser known contributions made by ninja is their involvement in furthuring the research of fireworks.

At the end of Edo period, the ninja's service was once again needed. Ninja were called up to accompany delegates that met ambassadors from abroad. Some of them may have secretly been involved in servicing these ambassadors. With this, almost all records end. It is most likely that many ninja joined the newly christened Imperial Army to serve in the intelligence.

This page has been derived from the Wikipedia's articles on ninja.