Ninjitsu weapons

A ninja's skill lay not only in his ability but also in the special weapons he carried. Check out what made a ninja so feared!

Throughout history there have always been small groups of warriors who have attained legendary status through their deeds and actions. One of these is the ninja; an ancient Japanese martial artist portrayed in literally thousands of movies, books and stories over the years. But these warriors didn't manage to gain their reputation without specialized weapons that helped them out whether they were spying, waiting to assassinate an official or trying to retrieve an item. Let's take a look at some of the weapons that gave the ninja such power.

First, the ninja's sword. This sword was called a ninja-to and while at first appearance would seem to be just like the samurai swords of the same era, closer inspection shows some major differences. The blade was often shorter by almost a foot, to start with. This was because that while samurai warriors would set up long flowing movements with their sharp blades, the ninja was prepared for short and deadly strikes with little finesse and ceremony. Indeed, their lack of respect for the samurai way of fighting added to their reputation. The short stabbing sword also had a strange handguard on it – a square, flat surface that really didn't help guard the sword hand at all. That was because it wasn't meant to help you in battle. Instead, the ninja-to doubled many times as an instant step, allowing the ninja to jam it into the ground and then hop up using the handguard as a small foothold to gain height. Usually a string would be tied to the sword itself so that the ninja could pull it up out of the ground after climbing up or could reach down to retrieve it. Either way, this sword was a major weapon in the warrior's arsenal.

Ninjas were stealthy by trade, but there were times when an alert guard or a mistake would cause the ninja to be found and chased by warriors set on capturing or killing him. Makibishi were often used by the ninja to try and slow down his pursuers and hopefully maim a few along the way.

Caltrops is another term for these small triangular spiked items, common military hardware used up to the present day. These small pyramids would pierce the sole of a sandal or boot with ease, causing great injury and often death if the wound were deep enough and prone to infection. These could also have poison set on them, adding to their lethal presence. The ninja would toss these out behind him, hoping to slow down or stop any horsemen or guards chasing him.

Ninjas were thought to have supernatural powers, making them both invisible and invincible. One of the items that helped increase the average person's fear of the ninja was the use of shuko to disappear at a moment's notice.

Shuko were nothing more than metal bands that would fit across the knuckles with sharp claws stretching outwards. This would enable the ninja to climb seemingly unscalable walls and trees with ease, adding to their reputation as invisible warriors with supernatural assistance. In a pinch, these shuko could also be used as deadly weapons, the ninja slashing and cutting the assailant with the claws as dangerous to the human being as they were to the tree or clay wall.

But a ninja's job also entailed being disguised as a mere peasant or shopkeeper at times, sneaking around and easedropping on people to gain information. Unable to carry and wear many of the usual ninja equipment, the warrior would instead carry a shinobi-zue, or a ninja cane. Popular up to the present-day, this consisted of a small walking cane or stick with a blade hidden inside the main body, easily extracted with a twist of the top part of the cane. The ninja could also hide shuriken inside or use the hollow vessel as a blowpipe, shooting poisoned darts with uncanny accuracy at an official at great distance. Then he would simply snap the cap back on and walk off, carrying the weapon as he toddled past the guards disguised as an old man leaning on his cane or a monk using a walking stick to move about.

Of course this popular idea has existed to this very day with sword canes and their cousins providing a way of staying armed while giving the appearance of being nothing more than an umbrella or a simple cane.

The weapons of ninjitsu were created with one goal in mind, to help the ninja accomplish the task at hand quickly and efficiently. From a sword that doubles as an instant step to the lethal silence of tossed shuriken to the annoying makibishi their weapons helped the ninja to become one of the most famous warrior groups in the world. But this wasn't only due to their martial arts ability – it was also due to their skill in hiding themselves and their weapons in plain sight, such as the shinobi-zue. All of these things have combined to create the legendary reputation of the ninja, but none as much as their famous weapons.