But, the origins of ninjutsu are thought to have been introduced, in part, to Japan through the teachings of Chinese military theorist Sun Tzu and by Chinese pirates who historically staged raids on the Japanese islands. The stealth tactics and combat style of ninjas became known as ninjutsu, and eventually it became practiced as a formal art in Japan. It’s believed that, at least by the 15th century, they were foot soldiers, usually from lower-class farming communities in Japan, who performed mercenary work, or “work that is purely for money or reward.” In his 2008 book Ninja: Shadow Warrior, author Joel Levy explains that ninjas relied on subterfuge, dishonesty, and trickery to perform tasks for which they were hired, and sought to avoid hand-to-hand combat in their efforts. Historically, ninjas were not the elite fighters we see in movies and on TV. Ultimately from Chinese roots, ninja comes from the Japanese words nin, “endurance” or “ stealth,” and sha, “a person.” When combined, these characters roughly mean “one who endures” or “one skilled in stealth.” Since then, ninja has expanded to describe “a person who is an expert or highly skilled in a specified field or activity.” We might call someone who’s really good at video games a gaming ninja, for instance, or tell someone who is really good at their accounting job that they are a ninja accountant (weird compliment, right?).
Traditionally, the word ninja is defined as “a member of a feudal Japanese society of mercenary agents, highly trained in martial arts and stealth (ninjutsu), who were hired for covert purposes ranging from espionage to sabotage and assassination.” These ninjas have captured the Western pop culture imagination since at least the 1960s, when the word was borrowed into English.
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