This article discusses ninja guns in detail, and the next sections will cover ninjas’ other well-known weapons. There are a few misconceptions regarding the ninjas, and many people are unaware of the vast array of weapons that they employ.
Ninjas did not use guns. Ninjas were active during the period of Japanese history before firearms became widely used. Moreover, early gunpowder weapons were heavy, unwieldy, and loud. So ninjas and others who relied upon stealth for their activities refrained from using them.
Ninjas utilize a large array of tools and weapons, some commonly known, but others are more specialized. Ninja weapons were mostly farming tools, as the Ninjas were mostly farmers, but later transitioned to martial arts.
Most were used in agriculture, but ninjas converted them to killing tools later in a ninjas life. Some Ninjas also used a cool gun called hyakurai-ju, described by some scholars as a pistol, while others described it as a firecracker. A ninja would also use shoujo, weapons worn on the hands (similar to brass knuckles), or tigers claws, sharp blades worn on the palms of one’s hands that were probably as effective climbing-wise as they were in melee. The ninja was highly trained with a variety of ninja weapons, including shuriken, the ninja’s famous sword, claws, and many others.
Swords Were More Common than Guns for Ninjas
Although swords are easily associated with the ninja, it is not one of their most common weapons. Although shorter swords and daggers were used, the katana was likely the preferred weapon for the ninjas, sometimes carried around on their backs. Although daggers and shorter swords were used primarily, the shinobis sword was likely their best weapon of choice. Ninjas are adept at using standard weapons like spears, swords, as well as bows and arrows, but it is their vast arsenal of ninja weapons that makes shinobi such feared combatants.
Guns may never have been amongst the more well-known weapons for the ninja, but they were tools of their armory. This article will take a closer look at ninjas’ use of guns, as well as outline the other weapons that ninjas used, what kind of armor they wear, and who their main enemies were. The ninja weapons list goes on since there is just too much diversity in the types of weapons ninjas wields, but the majority are used extensively. Today, some of the most popular and sought-after ninja weapons include ninjato, kunai, tanto, shuriken, and slasher.
Ninja Weapons Are All Iconic
Ninja weapons are among the keystones of the rich Japanese history, a ninja is known for being an expert martial artist with great proficiency in assassination, espionage, and illusion. The ninjaken is depicted by a couple of modern-day Ninjutsu practitioners, while a Ninja sword is notably featured in modern-day popular culture.
The ninjato is frequently mentioned as a favored ninja sword, but no physical evidence exists for it to have been used prior to 1900. The ninjato has a flattened blade, and its sheath is also used as a place for blinding dust, which are used to distract enemies.
The shuriken is another popular ninja weapon classified as a concealed weapon; it is used as metsubushi (hidden dagger) to disorient the enemy. Known as the Shinobi Star, or Throwing Star, the shuriken is a small weapon that has several points that are sharp. Shuriken were highly inaccurate, usually used as a delaying weapon in case of being pursued by ninjas. There is a myth that ninjas used only throwing stars, swords, and knives–that they did not use any modern weapons.
The Battleground Determined the Weapon
If the ninjas were fighting openly, they often used longbows and arrows, like the other famed Japanese warriors, the Samurai. Some ninjas became more adept with specific weapons in the Ninjutsu, but even when that was the case, it was still necessary for them to have proficiency with the many Ninja weapons available. Some Samurai had higher-ranking men who were ninjas, or a shortage in numbers in their armies, and thus used ninjutsu arts to achieve advantages.
Yes, some ninjas did indeed own swords made by their own village, but the notion of every ninja carrying the standard assortment of weapons (shurikens and swords) and wearing the same clothes (black pajamas) was, as Alt put it, ridiculous.
While pieces of light armor purportedly worn by ninjas do exist and do date from a suitable period, there is no conclusive evidence that they were used in ninja operations. One Japanese archaeologist has suspected that a series of stone and clay artifacts found at the site of the 1590 siege of Odawara might have been some of the first weapons used by the ninja.
Flat stones and spiky clay balls were found at the site of the 1590 Siege of Odawara The 1590 Siege of Odawara may have been precursors to the weapons used later by the ninjas. They are, according to a Japanese archaeologist, precursors of later makibishi and shuriken weapons used by the feared Japanese ninjas.
Many Ancillaries Are Associated as Well
Alongside common weapons, there is also a wide variety of variety of ancillary weapons associated with ninjas. Since many ninjas dressed like farmers (heck, a lot of the ninja’s fortresses were located in rural areas), a choice weapon was probably kusari-gama, which is a sickle that has a chain attached to it.
There is no historical evidence of real ninjas using such a sword; carrying a weapon that specifically identified oneself as a ninja would have been the absolute last thing a real ninja would have used, much as how a spy would never bring a firearm or an article of clothing that specifically identified him as a spy. If a ninja stole a Samurai sword, it would amount to posing as a cop, and they would be put to death (or they should).
Some ninjas may have used poison in their bladed weapons, although ambiguous historical records make it hard to know whether that is the case. Another weapon wielded by the Samurai or Ninja, the Tanto is a Japanese knife or dagger (typically in katana form) that is typically hidden somewhere on the body and serves as a fast draw.