WEBVTT - Were Ninjas Actually Good at Hiding? 0:00:02.200 --> 0:00:04.800 I guess what will What's that? So I was thinking 0:00:04.840 --> 0:00:07.560 about this old story. I read an esquire where this 0:00:07.840 --> 0:00:11.200 NBA player was talking about how he talked trash and 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:13.360 to make the experience even worse for his opponents, he 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:17.640 would eat raw onions before a game. Not only was 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:21.079 his like mouth smelly, but his entire body which is 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:25.160 reek of onions. And obviously people wouldn't want to get 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:27.800 as close to him. I mean, as if the trash 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:30.520 talking wasn't bad enough to have to deal with that smell. 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:32.320 And actually, I feel like it would almost be even 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:34.760 worse if instead of talking, he just kind of went 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.720 near them and just was like breathing like my glass 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:41.400 to them. Anyway, that's so weird, It is gross and ridiculous. 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:43.919 But you know, I was reading up on Ninja's and 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:47.640 ninja diets on Atlas Obscura, and this is the total 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:50.440 opposite of that. So Ninjas would actually avoid eating any 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:53.920 smelly foods because they were supposed to be completely undetectable 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:57.959 even by smell. So think about things like garlic, leeks, onions. 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:01.120 Those were all off the table also since they had 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:04.240 to be super agile. You know, Ninja's had this ironclad 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:06.840 ruled that they couldn't weigh more than a hundred thirty pounds. 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:09.760 And because they'd be lurking in shadows, you know, just 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:13.440 waiting for the right opportunity, they'd take these homemade hunger 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:15.280 pills with them, that's what they'd call them, so that 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:18.160 they're you know, stomachs wouldn't start growling and give them away. 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:21.640 And one of these pills was made from yams um, 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:24.840 also a bit of cinnamon rice lotus pips, and and 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:27.920 there was another snack ball made of pine bark gin 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.240 seng in white rice. And well, I don't think anyone's 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:34.200 gonna go on the ninja diet anytime soon exactly. You know. 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:37.120 Reading about this did make me wonder, like what else 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:39.920 don't we know about ninja's Why did so many of 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:43.160 them keep crickets as pets, Like why were they staring 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:46.600 into cat's eyes? Why did they keep pocket change on them? 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:49.120 You know? And and also does the ninja shark live 0:01:49.200 --> 0:02:14.040 up to its reputations? So let's tag in a their podcast. Listeners, 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:16.200 Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson, and as 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:19.040 always I'm joined by my good friend Manges Ticketer. And 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:21.800 on the other side, of the soundproof glass Mango. All week, 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:24.880 I've been excited to see what Tristan would be doing. 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:28.080 I thought maybe he would be hidden and we wouldn't 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:30.840 see him the entire episode pulling off the Ninja thing. 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:34.280 But instead he's showing off his pirate costume again for 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:38.320 some reason. Anyway, that's our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:40.919 I'm not really sure what's going on here because today's 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:43.440 show is all about Ninja's. Do you think he just 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:46.520 missed the memo or what? You know? I asked him 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:48.799 earlier and he said he's just showing his love for 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.360 the team. You know, I guess when it comes to 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:55.120 this eternal debate over who's cooler pirates are Ninja's, Tristan 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:58.760 is a friendly team Pirate all the way. Wow. Well, 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:01.040 we'll have to see if today's show brings him around 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:03.160 at all, because I'm just gonna come out and say 0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:06.079 that I am team Ninja all the way here. Yeah, 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:08.480 I mean too. You know, pirates are cool, but to me, 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:12.399 they feel like loudmouths. You know, they're like brash and 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:15.320 and you know, like Ninja's are so calm and collected 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:19.359 and stealthy, and they use like smart tricks, like misdirection. 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:21.520 You know, it feels like the two camps couldn't be 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:24.680 anymore different. No, I agree completely, But you know, if 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:27.280 pirates and ninjas do have one thing in common is 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:30.480 that both groups are pretty misunderstood. You know, in our 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:32.920 Pirate episode, we talked about how most of what we 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:36.760 know about pirates really comes from popular fiction instead of 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:39.880 things like historical accounts, And it's actually the same story 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:42.960 when it comes to ninja's, Like, we know them mostly 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:46.360 as these masked characters that Chuck Narris fights off in 0:03:46.400 --> 0:03:49.080 his movies, or I don't know, as these pizza loving 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:52.320 mutant turtles. But you know, I hate to disappoint you, 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:57.000 those portrayals are not actually rooted in reality. So for 0:03:57.080 --> 0:03:58.920 today's episode, we thought it'd be fun to peer into 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:01.720 the shadows surrounding ninja history and and really kind of 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:03.440 see if we can get a better idea of what 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:06.920 these legendary warriors were really like. So we'll talk about 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:10.320 where ninjas came from, what kinds of missions they carried out, 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:12.960 as well as some of the coolest ninja skills, and 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:16.720 you know, the equipment you've probably never heard about. So 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:19.400 why don't we start with wine ninjas are so mysterious 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:21.320 in the first place, and why it's likely that they 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.200 always will be. One thing I noticed while researching is 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:26.880 that even when ninja's were at their peak in Japan, 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:30.279 and this was in the early sixteenth century, nobody really 0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:33.760 knew that much about them. And it makes sense because 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:36.320 ninja's were spies for the most part, so of course, 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:38.040 you know, they had to keep a low profile. They 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:40.640 didn't talk about their work, you know, especially with anyone 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:44.520 outside their clan. But rumors still swirled about these secretive warriors, 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:48.520 and as a result, ninja's became steeped in superstition pretty 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:52.200 much from the start. For instance, some Japanese folklore claims 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:54.839 that ninjas descended from a demon that was half man 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:58.200 and half crow, and most villagers during the Ninja Age 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:01.599 belief that ninja's possessed all sorts of supernatural powers, like 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:04.760 everything from shape shifting to invisibility to the power to 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:07.720 walk through walls. And if you think about it, those 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:10.640 kinds of superpowers are pretty easy to arrive at when 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:12.680 you look at some of the methods ninjas used, like 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:16.800 they'd often disguise themselves on missions they were masters of concealment. 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:20.039 They could break into an enemy's house or infiltrate a 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.840 fortress with the ease, and with a little bit of imagination, 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:25.280 you've got a ninja that can shape shift or walk 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:28.119 through walls. It makes sense. Yeah, and it actually sounds 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:30.280 a lot like what happened with pirates, like the way 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:33.120 all these embellished stories and tall tales kind of sprang 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:36.400 up right alongside them and and then later became just 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:40.400 the accepted truth. Yeah, it's interesting because Ninja's capitalized on 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:43.440 their own legends the same way pirates did. Like Ninja's 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:46.479 actually encouraged all these rumors because they knew the inaccurate 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:49.440 reports would make them seem more dangerous to enemies, and 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:51.600 it was also a great way to muddy the waters 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:54.320 and further conceal who they were and how they functioned. 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:57.200 Of course, there's a downside to that, and that's that 0:05:57.240 --> 0:06:00.640 no one actually corrected the falsehoods, and as a result, 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:03.599 even written accounts from the era tend to be exaggerated, 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:06.720 which makes it tough to distinguish between fact and fiction. 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:09.800 You know, we only have three or four manuals supposedly 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:12.800 written by Ninja masters, and this was shortly after their 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:15.560 fall from power in the late sixteenth century, and because 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:18.240 they were written after the fact, it's possible those are 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:20.760 inaccurate as well. Yeah, that's true. But just like with pirates, 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:22.880 there are at least a few things we know that 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:26.440 you know, we're true about ninja history. For instance, we 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:29.200 actually know a good bit about where ninja practices first 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:33.080 came from, and surprisingly much of that philosophy comes from China, 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:35.920 not not from Japan. And in the fourth or fifth 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:39.120 century BC suns who wrote his famous Battle Guy The 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:42.800 Art of War, which includes this section extolling the virtue 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:46.359 of stealth and surprise, which are of course the backbone 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:49.400 of ninja training. So just to make sure I have 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:52.440 what you're saying is right. You know, you're saying that 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:54.240 a lot of the ideas of what it is to 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:57.359 be a ninja actually come from Chinese philosophy, but the 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:00.680 Japanese were the ones who actually put them into practice. Yeah, 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:02.560 that seems to be the case. And you know, most 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:06.360 historians now agree that ninja practices originated in central Japan 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:09.320 during the early Middle Ages, and that was a period 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:12.560 when the country was really being picked apart by war lords. 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:15.920 Now luckily for would be ninjas. The warlords were mostly 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:18.920 interested in the more developed areas of Japan, and that 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:22.000 meant that the rural regions often went overlooked and were 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:26.000 typically warlord free. And so those two factors combined to 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:30.480 create these prime conditions for the birth of ninja's. Is 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:32.800 that another reason why ninjas are still such a mystery, Like, 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:35.760 not only did they keep their practices secret, but they 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:39.840 kind of developed in isolation. Yeah, that's right. And you know, 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:43.280 to be specific on this, they developed in two such regions. 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:46.600 There was Ega and Coca. Now, both of these were 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:50.960 especially remote and almost completely undeveloped, so there were no 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:54.320 warlords there, and that's exactly how the people liked it, 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:57.320 so much so that the villages began to organize themselves, 0:07:57.360 --> 0:08:00.679 like these self defense communes. And because they had neither 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:03.720 the numbers nor the weapon read award off invaders with 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:07.200 any sort of real force, the residents focused instead on 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:12.200 these survival techniques, things like stealth, disguise, evasion, misdirection, you know, 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:16.480 all the basic ninjas stuff. Yeah, And so as their 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:20.920 skills developed, these travelers started telling stories and pretty soon 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:24.200 these early ninja's were being hired as mercenaries all over 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:27.120 the country. Yeah, and I think the mercenary role is 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:29.840 really worth lingering on for a second, because one of 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:33.320 the biggest misconceptions, at least I had about ninja's is 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:36.120 that there were some kind of elite fighting force, And 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:39.760 the truth is that ninja's mostly acted as medieval secret agents. 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:42.320 They were like hired by lords to spy on their 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:46.680 enemies and report back with intel or sometimes assassinated target. 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:50.360 But they occasionally acted as bodyguards. Still, they're they were 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.600 mostly providing spy work for the battlefield, but you know, 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:57.680 they were never traditional soldiers or warriors. And in fact, 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:01.480 ninjas didn't even receive formal martial arts raining. All right, 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:03.680 So what about those classes that people take where you 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:08.280 learn to defend yourselves, you know, supposedly like a ninja ninjatsu. 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:11.480 I think it's called isn't that a martial art? It's 0:09:11.559 --> 0:09:14.280 not really a traditional martial art. You know. All that 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:17.280 came well after the ninja's fell from power, and it 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:19.679 was never part of their real training. In fact, most 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:23.040 ninja's learned self defense during childhood from their family members, 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:26.240 but from their adult training would really focus more on 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:32.000 infiltration techniques. Gymnastics, as well as these more esoteric topics 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:36.520 things like chemistry, weather, psychology. You've got to remember, ninjas 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:39.079 were mostly hired to gather information and survive long enough 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:41.520 to report back, and the whole point was not to 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:44.720 be seen and not to get caught. So fighting wasn't 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:46.880 actually a big part of the playbook, like most of 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:49.160 that was kind of a last resort in case things 0:09:49.200 --> 0:09:52.120 went wrong. Well that makes sense, you know, since we're 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:55.040 talking about the importance of not being seen. I do 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:58.040 want to mention another common misconception that most of us have, 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:01.360 which is what ninja's wore on their mission. So you 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:03.840 know how ninjas are always depicted, you know, in these 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:08.520 all black, skin tight uniforms and the ones with hooded 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.560 mask where you can really just see their eyes. Well, 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:15.080 it turns out that the ninjas didn't have standard uniforms 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:17.640 like that at all, So most of the time they 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:20.960 were just in normal civilian clothing like anybody else. And 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:24.440 that's because ninjas often had to go deep undercover for 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:28.080 their missions. So as an example, warlords would frequently hire 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:31.920 ninjas to infiltrate another organization, and to do so, the 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:35.480 ninjas would disguise themselves, as you know, people like gardeners 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:38.560 or construction workers, you know, just anybody who might blend 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:42.880 in around a palace and not draw attention to themselves, 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:46.560 which you know makes sense. But how did those ninjas 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:50.480 sneak back to their warlords without blowing their covers? I 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:53.320 found this interesting because they would actually do this by 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:57.320 adopting a different cover, and the most popular choice was 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:00.520 to dress up like a monk, because monks were actually 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:02.480 one of the few groups who were allowed to pass 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:05.800 freely between these various warring states in Japan at the time, 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:08.640 So anytime a ninja needed to report back to a 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:11.840 different province, they just slip on their monk disguise and 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:15.120 cross over the border. That's fascinating. You know, when I 0:11:15.160 --> 0:11:18.600 was in Tibet and studying about Tibetan culture and stuff, 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:21.520 Tibet was also one of these very secretive regions, and 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:23.720 the only way spies would come through and sort of 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:27.200 catalog what was there was dressed as monks, and they 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:30.440 would use their rosaries to count steps, so they knew 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:32.760 like the steps to various places, you know, and and 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:35.400 that's how they count distances and stuff. And it's pretty fascinating. 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:38.640 That the monk disguises such a great disguise. But you know, 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.240 it is a shame to me that these ninja's didn't 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:43.640 put on like their black cloaks and just sneak back 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:45.360 in the middle of the night. You know, if Tristan 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:47.760 had done his homework, he probably would be dressed up 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:51.480 as a monk today instead. And I will say, I mean, 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:54.160 I want the ninja uniform to be true as much 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:57.000 as you do, but it does seem like history is 0:11:57.080 --> 0:12:00.000 not on our side with this one. But that being said, 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:03.000 ninjas did go on plenty of these one night missions, 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.600 and when they did, what they were was not all 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:08.319 that dissimilar from what we like to imagine. I mean, 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:11.400 there are a couple of key differences. First was that 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:14.360 those real stealth ninja outfits were not skin tight. I mean, 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:17.480 the ninjas had to perform all these acrobatics to get 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:20.160 in and out of these buildings without being seen, so 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:22.920 it was better to have clothing that breathed a little 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:25.480 bit and would allow for a good degree of movement. 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:29.080 And then second, black wouldn't have been their color of choice, 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:31.440 not only because it would have been difficult to achieve 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:34.520 because of the dyes that were available at the time, 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:38.600 but black also tends to reflect moonlight, which would definitely 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:41.360 be a no no on these night missions. So instead, 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:44.440 historians believe Ninja's were dark brown or navy blue clothes 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:47.640 when they were doing these late night scouting missions. I 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:51.720 like that they were both fashionable and practical too. You Know, 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.000 one thing I've been thinking about is that people usually 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:57.320 think of Ninja's and samurai as polar opposites, and to 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:01.199 a certain extent, that makes sense. Like Samurai had really 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:05.000 bold personalities, they were pretty renowned for their toughness and 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:09.760 their bravado. Plus they dressed really, really colorfully. And meanwhile, 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:14.040 Ninjas were secretive and mostly out for themselves. They practiced 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:18.160 deception and stealth, then avoided combat whenever possible. You know, 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:20.240 the demeanor and tactics of the two groups couldn't have 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:23.400 been more far apart. But at the same time, that 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:26.760 disparity actually turned off a lot of Japanese citizens. They 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:31.040 were used to the explicit bravery and the undying loyalty 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:33.680 of the samurai. I mean, that was their measure of 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:37.360 a warrior, not this like stealthy, underhanded stuff that Ninja's 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:40.720 were doing. So did people not think much of ninjas 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:43.800 at the time, not at first, apparently, like they eventually 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:47.520 came around over time, samurais and warlords both kind of 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:51.400 realized the value of these covert operations and that it 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:54.200 was useful for winning battles or whatever. But you know, 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:57.000 it wasn't uncommon to see ninjas and samurai on the 0:13:57.080 --> 0:14:00.600 same side of the battlefield, and some people can practice 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:03.920 both professions, like you have a samurai by day and 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:08.920 ninja by night, which just feels like a great business card. Well, 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:11.520 and even though what they wore was drastically different, Samurai 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:14.240 ninjas did use some of the same equipment, didn't they. 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:17.080 Like I read somewhere that they both used that same 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:20.640 kind of sword, like the katana, I think, right, that's right. 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.200 So the main difference was that samurai wore the swords 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:25.640 on the hips, while ninja's carried them on their backs, 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.000 which obviously seems like the way to go for someone 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:31.200 who's always like climbing on walls and jumping across rooftops. 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:33.960 And you know, the katana was a part of some 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:37.160 ninja missions, but mostly they preferred to carry shorter and 0:14:37.360 --> 0:14:40.680 less conspicuous blades. Actually, I kind of want to stick 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:42.640 with this subject and talk a little bit more about 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:45.160 some of the lesser known gear that Ninja carried around 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:47.040 with them. But before we do that, let's take a 0:14:47.120 --> 0:15:04.800 quick break. You're listening to Part Time Genius and we're 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:08.880 talking about the surprising truths behind the Ninja legend. Alright, Mango, So, 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:11.200 I know one thing we were both scared to find 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:13.400 out this week, I mean really scared to find out 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:17.800 is whether or not Ninja's actually used throwing stars. I 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:19.680 know we talked about this as we were prepping for 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:23.400 the episode, and I feel like I've been mentally preparing 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:25.560 all week in case you decided to ruin my life 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:29.200 by telling me that Ninja's didn't use throwing stars. Well 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:34.000 I've got good news, because yes, Ninja's absolutely used throwing stars. 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:36.800 They you know, those pointed stars were used to seeing 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:40.240 We're part of a broader class of weapon called shuriken, 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:44.040 and it's a term that covers any kind of throwing weapon, 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:49.160 including stars, or flat knives, darts, wooden sticks, or actually 0:15:49.160 --> 0:15:53.040 even coins. Wait, did you say coins, like like people 0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:56.720 could just take coins out and throw them at their enemies. Well, 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:59.040 I mean it sounds like they did this and you know, 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:02.040 this is actually where reality maybe differs a little bit 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:06.080 from the fictional ninjas, because real ninjas didn't really use 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:10.160 these like an offensive weapon all that often, so instead 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:12.600 they would take these shur akens. Is kind of a 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:16.320 distraction or delaying tactics. So let's say you've got a 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:19.400 ninja that's hiding in the shadows and a nearby guard 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:22.280 was getting a little too close, so he might be 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:24.400 able to throw a coin or a knife in the 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:28.080 opposite direction and get the guard to follow that sound. 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:30.760 So yeah, of course, if a ninja was discovered, then 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:34.120 these could also be used more defensively. You know. For example, 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:36.720 if a guard charged toward them, ninjas could buy some 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:39.480 time by forcing their enemies to dodge or block a 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:42.840 bunch of projectiles, and those few seconds could be just 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:45.920 what the ninja needed to either amount a stronger attack, 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.960 or in most cases, you know, plot an escape route. 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:52.320 That's interesting and I think I like that explanation even 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:55.240 better than just throwing fistful of coins at someone. But yeah, 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:58.400 I am curious, like why would they bother with something 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.760 as unwieldy as a throwing star if the intention is 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:04.800 just distraction? Right, Like, like I mean the other stuff 0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:07.720 you mentioned makes sense, But throwing stars have a ton 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:10.600 of sharp points. They kind of feel like a liability, 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:12.639 Like if I was reaching into my pocket, I'd be 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:15.280 worried I'd be cutting my finger every time I reached 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:17.679 for one. And that's why you're not an engine. But 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:19.440 I mean, you know, I can tell you that these 0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:22.639 throwing stars were considered actually a little bit easier to 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:25.280 throw than some of the other shure it can like, 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:28.480 you know, the flat throwing knives, And that's because the 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:32.440 stars have these multiple points that spin when they're in flight, 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:35.160 and it actually makes it a little bit easier to 0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:38.119 aim these things and throw these things. And plus it 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:41.040 likely didn't hurt that a bunch of spinning blades makes 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:44.399 for a pretty menacing site when it's coming right at you. Yeah, 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:46.600 that makes sense, you know. I I know, we wanted 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:48.680 to talk about some of the weirder skills and gadgets 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:51.560 that Ninja's had at the disposal, but really quickly I 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:53.760 did want to mention a few other blades that Ninja's 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:57.399 put to good use. So first up, there's the Kusara gama, 0:17:57.800 --> 0:18:00.600 which was the small sickle with the chain on the 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:03.240 end of the handle. And this was especially helpful for 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:06.720 ninja's who were undercover because this is actually a farming tool, 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:08.880 so if a ninja was caught with one, he could 0:18:08.960 --> 0:18:12.000 just claim to be a gardener. And then the other blades, 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:14.280 like I wanted to talk about, where the kunai, and 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:17.960 these are little daggers which were borrowed from another sort 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:21.160 of harmless trade masonry in this case, and they were 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:24.200 shaped like trowels, only a little bit sharper, and the 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:27.200 ninja used this for scaling walls rather than fighting, like 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:30.359 they would infiltrate a castle by pulling out their kunai 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:32.720 and then climbing way up the wall by digging holes 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:35.840 into the plaster as they went. That's pretty neat, And 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:38.200 you know, it was really surprising when we found out 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.720 just like all of the unusual or unique things that 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:44.560 they would find to be able to use as tools 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:47.160 and their utility bill But I know we both found 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:49.240 a lot of stuff that ninja's relied on that that 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:52.720 honestly feels even stranger than that. And there's one I 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:55.679 definitely want to talk about, and it's a particularly helpful 0:18:55.840 --> 0:18:59.440 ninja skill, and it's the ability to tell time from 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:03.880 looking to a cat's eyes. Now something I would never do, 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:06.639 but I respect this skill and this is a real thing. 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:09.800 I'm not making this up. It's called nikom jutsu, and 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:12.720 it's based on the fact that cats have these especially 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:16.840 sensitive eyes, including these pupils that can drastically change in 0:19:16.920 --> 0:19:20.359 size throughout the day and response to changing light. And 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:23.840 so Ninja's would spend a lot of time apparently staring 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:26.679 into cat's eyes because they were able to determine the 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:30.320 time of day down to the exact hour just by 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:34.159 looking at these cats pupils. So weird, Yeah, I know, 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:35.960 it really is. It is. And you know, for all 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:38.440 of our more cat inclined listeners out there that want 0:19:38.440 --> 0:19:41.160 to give this a shot and report back, you should 0:19:41.200 --> 0:19:43.760 know that a cat's pupils start out super round in 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:46.600 the early morning, and then they begin to narrow to 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:49.480 like more of an oval shape as the sun climbs 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:52.320 higher in the sky. And then the pupils reach their 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:56.240 narrowest at noon, when they basically look like those thin 0:19:56.400 --> 0:19:59.840 straight lines we sometimes picture as cat eyes, and they 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:03.000 gradually start to widen as the afternoon goes on. And 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:05.640 so if you really want to get precise about this, 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:09.399 you can search online for cat's eyes sun dial and 0:20:09.480 --> 0:20:13.480 become a nakoma jutsu master yourself. That's funny. So you 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:17.560 can actually like look at a cat print advertisement until 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:21.359 exactly when it was shot by looking at the That's crazy. 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:23.800 You know. I feel like telling the time by your 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:27.120 cat's eyes is somehow both the dorky ist and kind 0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:29.639 of the most impressive thing I've heard about ninjas today, 0:20:30.000 --> 0:20:33.440 I think so. So this next skill doesn't involve seeing 0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:36.440 like a cat. It is more about moving like one. 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:40.080 It's called taihn jitsu, and it's basically the art of 0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:43.440 quieting your movements because obviously ninjas have to sneak around 0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:45.399 a lot, and that's kind of a big part of 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:48.359 the job. So they grew adept at all kinds of 0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:53.320 noise canceling practices, like absorbing their falls or rebounding off 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:56.760 something quietly, or just softening their footsteps by walking on 0:20:56.800 --> 0:20:59.240 the out soles of the feet and keeping their knees 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:02.639 bent as they did. You know, ninja's had become such 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:07.280 masters a quiet movement that it really freaked out war lords, 0:21:07.359 --> 0:21:10.520 and warlords started building houses with these floors that were 0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:13.719 prone to squeaking, just so a ninja couldn't sneak up 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:16.639 on them. And that wasn't all either, Like some warlords 0:21:16.720 --> 0:21:19.400 hired these bodyguards to watch them sleep every night and 0:21:19.800 --> 0:21:22.760 even demanded that all members of the household where baggy 0:21:22.840 --> 0:21:26.000 clothes so that they would drag along the floor and 0:21:26.119 --> 0:21:29.680