20. Shuriken
Ninjas are some of the world’s most famous warriors and they always did their jobs in the silence of the night. Ninjas lurked in the dark and used the shroud of mystery in order to take care of tasks that only spies such as James Bond can do. However, the art of being a ninja is much more than simply hiding in the dark and today we are going to give you some insight on what being a ninja warrior is all about by presenting the top 20 most interesting facts about the mysterious ninjas.
The Shuriken is the most famous ninja weapon. It’s the flying star that they threw at their enemies. What many people don’t know is that the word Shuriken was actually used for multiple weapons or tools that ninjas would throw such as darts and hooks for example.
19. Telling Time
As we have already mentioned, ninjas lurked in the night and since watches were not a thing back then, ninjas used stars in order to tell the time. They also used to look at the eyes of cats in order to see the reflection of the sun
18. Getting Lost
Another fun fact about ninjas is that they were masters of finding their way back home. Ninjas used lots of interesting things in order to find the right direction such as the Spanish moss or tree stumps which showed which way north is.
17. Big Clans
Even though most people believe that ninjas worked alone, this isn’t the case. Ninjas always worked in groups known as clans. Each clan had its own leader who everyone followed.
16. Sense of Honor
Ninjas had a high sense of honor and they never fought dirty. They were willing to lose their lives in a sword fight if it meant keeping their honor. This fact might surprise some of you since ninjas are shown using dirty tactics in movies.
15. Black Uniform
Contrary to popular belief, ninjas didn’t only wear their all-black uniform. They also wore normal clothes that helped them blend in with crowds during reconnaissance missions.
14. Female Ninjas
Ninjas were not all men! A large number of women were also trained in the way of the ninja and they were called “kunoichi”. Most of them used their looks to pose as dancers or entertainers in order to get close to the enemy.
13. Great Fighters
While modern-day movies might make it seem like all ninjas are deadly fighters, this wasn’t always the case. Most of them were trained to become spies and to use their stealth for reconnaissance missions.
12. Flying Star
We previously talked about the Shuriken, but what we didn’t mention is that the Shuriken wasn’t designed to take out enemies. Instead of being a killing tool, the Shuriken served the purpose of being used a distraction to make enemies dodge.
11. Good Scholars
Obviously, ninjas had to learn how to fight, but this wasn’t the only thing that was required of them. Ninjas also needed to learn about different industries such as explosives, poison, survival techniques and much more.
10. The Iga and Koga Clans
Most ninjas were born into the trade because the Iga and Koga clans which are both located between two mountain ranges were the only clans which could train ninjas. No other clans had this privilege.
9. Deadly Female Ninja
One of the deadliest ninjas wasn’t a man, it was a woman. Her name was Mochizuki Chiyome and she was responsible for recruiting and training more than 300 ninjas at her orphanage for young women which was actually an underground espionage training operation.
8. Highly Trained Survivalists
Ninjas are trained since birth to survive on nothing but what they can find in the wild and this is why they have mastered the skill of finding water by following ant colonies. Not just that, but ninjas also know which berries are safe to eat or not.
7. The Real Name
Even though we all know these sneaky warriors as ninjas, this isn’t actually their first name. Ninjas were originally called Shinobi, but the name was changed.
6. Fake Footprints
One of the most interesting techniques that ninjas used in order to confuse their enemies were to attach fake footprints to their shoes. The fake footprints used to look like the shoes of small children.
5. Pressure Points
Ninjas were some of the world’s first warriors to start training in pressure points. This gave them a huge advantage in hand to hand combat with enemies who had no idea that pressure points even existed.
4. Poisoned Caltrops
Ninjas had a wide array of weapons at their disposal and the caltrops are one of the most interesting ones. Ninjas would coat the caltrops in poison and throw them at the feet of their enemies.
3. Small Weapons
Even though all ninja movies show them wielding massive swords, this wasn’t their preferred weapon. Ninjas actually used small weapons such as daggers because they were easier to conceal and carry.
2. Colored Rice
Ninjas were not only great warriors, but they were also great cooks. In fact, they developed a special method of cooking colored rice that could be used to send hidden messages since each color had a different meaning.
1. Sharp Nails
Female ninjas used to attach deadly metal nails to their fingertips. This made their fingernails super sharp, sharp enough to take out an enemy in silence.