Samurai vs. Ninjas

Bushido

• Bushido: the way of the warrior• Bushi = warrior do = way• Values• Code was influenced by Zen Buddhism and Confucianism • Martial skills• Military skills• Bravery• Fearlessness• Frugal Living • Education• Honestly• Loyalty• Regardless of Conflicting Family• Filial Piety• Bushido required that supreme honor owed to master till death

Seppuku

• Seppuku: Ritual Suicide• Samurai would perform this if they felt they disgraced

their house and master or rather than dying at the hands of an unworthy opponent.

• Cutting open of abdomen releases samurai’s spirit

Famous Story of Samurai & Seppuku

• The Tale of the 47 Ronin:• In 1701, the emperor sent envoys to Edo. A samurai came

to kill a guy with a sword and he is not aloud to have a weapon. He was ordered to commit seppuku. Then his army was leader less and 47 of the soldiers committed seppuku.

Samurai Armor

• The Samurai wore heavy, detailed armor that consists of a metal breastplate. • pieces were laced together• Used lacquer on metal

armor to prevent rusting• Clans used different colors

and laces to identify members of the clan.

• Tankos: short armor only and breastplate

Samurai Clothing

• Kimono: everyday wardrobe• Loincloth option to wear socks• Sandals or clogs • Raincoats made of straw• Belt with sword on the left side• Always had weapon on them• Hair in topknot

Samurai Weapons

• Swords• Longbows• Spears

Inaccuracy of the movie, “The Last Samurai”

The officer from the Japanese Reform group told the soldiers to stop firing, then they bowed to Katsumoto when he died. This would not have happened when battling the Samurai. Most soldiers were peasants who did not like or respect the Samurai.

In the movie, The Samurai kept an American soldier, Nathan Algren, alive and took him as prisoner to their village. The Samurai fought to the last death, and would not have taken a prisoner.

The romance that was part of the movie would not have been permitted. A relationship between an American soldier and a Samurai woman would have been forbidden.

The Japanese ban on weapons

The Japanese ban on weapons cause humiliation to the Samurai. This is because the sword was an emblem of power and skill. Japanese government banning weapons was a representation of them taking the Samurai’s power.

The Samurai felt that loyalty and duty were very important. Without the swords, they could not fulfill their duty to fight or protect each other. With the ban on weapons, the Samurai were forced to rely on their own resourcefulness for protection.

The Origin of Ninjutsu and the Ninjas

• Nijutsu is the life philosophy of the ninjas. No one is exactly sure when it originated, but it is believed to have started about eleven hundred years ago in central Honshu (the largest Japanese island).

• Ninjutsu means the “art of stealth”, and it developed as a counterculture to the normal Japanese way of life.

• It was developed by mountain-dwelling families, where the terrain is rugged and remote.

• Ninjas are those that practice the art of nijutsu. Ninjas were great observers of nature, and lived their lives according to the laws of nature.

Primary Uses for Ninjas

• The stereotypical portrayal of a ninja (all black dress, going on missions to secretly kill their enemies) is not exactly true.

• A real ninja would not have normally gone out and killed people; they were set up to help protect their community. Actually, most ninjas spent most of their lives as everyday citizens such as farmers or tradespeople.

• Occasionally though, ninjas would be called upon, or they would rent themselves out for espionage and assassination work.

Who could become a ninja?

• Japanese folklore states that the ninja descended from a demon that was half man and half crow.

• The more likely answer is that a ninja was a lower-class citizen who was an opposing force to the samurai.

• At other times, ninjas were displaced samurai.

• Basically anyone could become a ninja.

Differences between the lives of Ninjas and Samurai.

• The ninjas were not binded by bushido.• This meant that the ninjas had more leeway with

their methods and techniques than the samurai did.

• If it got the job done then it was acceptable.• This way a samurai could get his job done, but

still keep his honor.

Methods and Techniques of Attack

• Ninjas used a technique called Ninjustu. Ninjustu is defined as “ninja techniques taught as a martial art” • “Ninjutsu is practical; if a tactic is effective, then it is acceptable.”

• For the most part, ninjas used eight methods: • Body skills• Karate• Spear fighting• Staff fighting• Blade-throwing• Use of fire and water• Fortification and strategy • Concealment

• Many ninja weapons were made from common items, such as wood cutting saws and pruning shears. Therefore, if they were discovered, the disguised weapon would not give away the ninja’s identity.

• Ninjas were experts at using poison. They added it to food or put it on a dart or blade.

• “Some ninja disguised themselves as flute-playing mystics. The sturdy flute could be used as a club or blow-dart tube.”

• Ninjas dressed to blend in with their surroundings. They used weapons such as swords and war staves and pikes, and they incorporated martial arts. They developed special equipment such as the shuko, which was used for climbing.

• I personally find the ninja’s weapon making techniques to be the most interesting. Their clever ideas for disguising their weapons would give them an advantage in attacking inconspicuously and keeping their identity a secret.

Ninja Scene- The Last Samurai

• The ninja attack scene in The Last Samurai portrays a group of ninjas appearing one night out of nowhere and attacking Caption Algren, Katsumoto, and the other samurai. Captain Algren alarms everyone and begins defending himself and the others present. Although there are many deaths, the samurai do succeed in defeating the ninjas.

• Omura sent the ninjas. • This scene was not necessary to the storyline of The Last Samurai,

but it was somewhat beneficial to have included. The ninja vs. samurai scene seemed random, but it depicted the battle that samurai faced against everyone else. It demonstrated that the samurai were faced with many difficult enemy attacks and difficult circumstances dealing with the attackers and controversies.

Convincing/Accurate Movie Aspects

Many aspects of the ninja attack did seem to be very convincing and accurate. The ninjas appeared in a very stealthy manner, as they typically would have. They were wearing a traditional black outfit, although this is somewhat stereotypical. When they began their attack, it was very apparent that they were skilled fighters in both body technique and with weapons.

Resources

• http://asianhistory.about.com/od/warsinasia/p/NinjaProfile.htm

• http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ninjutsu • http://www.winjutsu.com/ninjakids/nk_history.html• http://

asianhistory.about.com/od/warsinasia/p/NinjaProfile.htm