But these movies got me thinking: why hasn’t there been any Japanese spy films? It seems like while some of the action in spy movies takes place in Japan (like Gunkanjima in Skyfall or the Sean Connery classic You Only Live Twice), there’s never any Japanese spy running around the world foiling terrorist plots while sipping on martinis and looking stylish.

Turns out that while the US has the CIA and the British have MI6, Japan doesn’t really have much of a spy agency to speak of at the moment. But that hasn’t always been the case. In the past, Japan has had some of the coolest, most iconic spies, and it looks like Japan might get right back into the spy game sometime in the near future. Let’s check out the past, present, and future of intelligence agencies in Japan.

Ninja!

Of course, you can’t talk about Japanese spies without talking about ninja. Before the 20^the century, espionage in Japan was all about ninja. Sure, a lot of ninja history has been exaggerated in folklore and in the media, but the parts that were real are still really cool.

Ninja filled lots of different roles for centuries before they were all but eliminated from Japan. For a detailed rundown, check out our earlier post about the history of ninja.

The Thought Police

Of course, all that ninja stuff is pre-Taisho era Japan. Japanese intelligence agencies and secret police in the early 20^th century were pretty awful abroad as well as domestically.

The Kempeitai, or secret police, spied on Japanese citizens, maintained a broad network of informants, arrested people on ideological grounds. George Orwell actually got the term “thought police” from the Kempeitai and used it in his dystopian novel 1984. Abroad, the Kempeitai did horrific things in territory occupied by Japan like Manchuria and Korea.

Fortunately, all of the secret police were disbanded at the end of WWII, putting a stop to the terror they caused at home and abroad. Since then, Japanese intelligence agencies have reformed and become much less malicious. What have they looked like since?

Japan’s CIA

Since the end of WWII, Japan’s military and intelligence agencies have been pretty modestly sized. Besides not having a “real” standing army (unless you count the Japan Self-Defense Forces), Japan hasn’t had a substantial intelligence agency for nearly sixty years at this point.

There is Naicho, which is short for Naikaku Jouhou Chousashitsu (内閣情報調査室), or Cabinet Intelligence and Investigation Office, but it’s downright pitiful compared to the intelligence agencies of other developed nations.

More salaryman than saboteur

It has a meager 200 or so employees, compared to the estimated 20,000 of the CIA. And instead of sending out savvy operatives into the field, Naicho is more of a translation agency than anything else, gathering most of its intelligence from friendly, foreign agencies. Naicho has been known to participate in some espionage, but nothing too high-profile.

But last year Wikileaks unveiled secret plans for Japan to expand its spying powers. In a leaked diplomatic cable with the US, Japan outlined plans to send spies from Naicho to China and North Korea in an attempt to prevent terrorist attacks.

Whether or not this expansion of power has actually happened yet is unclear; so much of Naicho’s dealings happen behind closed doors. But one thing’s for certain: Japan’s centuries-old legacy of spying and espionage won’t stop anytime soon.

What is a Ninja?

These are not ninja.

The ninja was a covert agent in feudal Japanese times who specialized in unorthodox warfare including espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination. Compared to the samurai who were very upfront and honorable with their tactics, the ninja proved a stark contrast.

It is unsure as to exactly when the ninja started popping up in Japan, but it is widely believed to be sometime between the 12th and 15th centuries. Some even postulate that the Japanese ninja had ties back to ancient China. The Sengoku period (15th-17th century) however, was definitely the golden age of the ninja in Japan. This was when the famous Iga and Koga ninja started to form and ninja were widely hired for their unique skill set.

By the Meiji era, the ninja were famous throughout Japan with most of the knowledge surrounding them being based on mystery and folklore. Ninja could supposedly turn invisible, control the elements, and walk on water. Basically they were like Jesus.

Despite these many folktales surrounding ninja, legitimate historical accounts are scarce. This is not really a surprise as they are in fact ninja, masters of stealth and secrecy. Many ninja were recruited from the lower class, or rejected samurai, and most of the historical focus was on the upper class and noble samurai during the time.

The Rise of the Ninja

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKYBN7PU__U']

In the 15th century, ninja were recruited as spies, raiders, arsonists, and terrorists. The samurai were expected to fight properly and with decorum. Ninja, however, didn’t have to adhere to these ritualistic formalities. Ninja were free to work in the shadows and do as they pleased to achieve their results.

The Sengoku period was rife with conflict, and the ninja became particularly useful during this time. Ninja families were organized into guilds, many with their own individual territories throughout Japan. They were even ranked into three classes depending on their role and function within the guild.

The Iga and Koga Ninja

Unlike the commoners that were hired as makeshift spies and mercenaries, the ninja from Iga and Koga were the real deal. They were professional, full-time ninja. They were actively hired by the Japanese ruling class between 1485 and 1581 to carry out their dirty deeds. That is until Oda Nobunaga came in and wiped them all out, scattering them all over Japan. No one messes with Nobunaga and gets away with it.

The ninja that managed to escape Nobunaga went on to become specialized bodyguards and hired guns. During the 18th century, some ninja were brought together to form Japan’s first secret service and intelligence agency. These ninja were assigned as bodyguards and secret police, with many disguised as common workers and gardeners to discreetly infiltrate, observe, and protect.

Main Roles and Countermeasures

“lol, no one knows I’m a ninja.”

Espionage was the main role of the ninja. Armed with an array of disguises, the ninja gathered information on enemy terrain, building specifications, and secret passwords. They also practiced sabotage, most often in the form of arson, targeting castles and camps. But ninja are perhaps most well known and infamous for their assassinations. Even Oda Nobunaga himself had several attempts made on his life by ninja. No wonder he wanted to have them destroyed.

To prevent these ninja from running amok, a series of countermeasures were implemented. To prevent potential ninja victims from being caught unprepared, weapons were often concealed in bathrooms and under floorboards. Buildings were also constructed to include traps and trip wires attached to alarm bells.

By design, Japanese castles were difficult to navigate, with winding paths abound. See for yourself with the Japanese Castle Explorer. Holes in the walls also allowed those on watch to have a great view of pretty much everything going on along the pathways.

There were even hallway floors specifically designed to squeak loudly when walked over. Many grounds were also covered with gravel which is pretty hard to traverse silently. Buildings were also segregated in such a way to help in contain and extinguish any fires.

Tactics, Weapons, and Other Junk

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBL_VXJfaQU&feature=related']

Ninja did not always work alone and often worked in teams. Some ninja would even dress in the same garb as their enemies during attacks, causing great confusion. Often they would disguise themselves as priests, street performers, fortune tellers, merchants, ronin, and monks.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRSEvBGAl6k']

As far as equipment, the ninja employed a wide variety of tools, many of which have been popularized in movies, comics, and video games. Many of these specialized tools and equipment were responsible for starting the legends of the ninja having supernatural powers. Under the cover of night, many of these unfamiliar tools seemed like magic to their victims.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWBFokVoMSQ']

And for even more on the ninja, I recommend checking out the above video which is the first part of a four part documentary on ninja. It’s pretty good.

So as one can see, there’s much more to ninja than just swords, shuriken, and shinobi magic. They were not just assassins, and played a large part in Japan’s history. Over time, they’ve been dramaticized in popular media and their image warped. But all in all, ninja are pretty darn cool.

So tell me, what do you think of ninja? How do you think they stack up to other fighters such as samurai? Have you ever taken any ninjutsu or ninpo martial arts classes? Let us know in the comments!

NINJA!

Even people who know nothing else about Japanese history know about ninja, their clothes, shuriken, and their sneakiness. Ninja have infiltrated popular culture like a well-guarded castle.

But in the hundreds of years since ninja were around, their image has been muddled. So what were ninja actually like, and are there any ninja today?

Old-School Ninja

Ninja were, at the most basic level, spies and assassins in Japan hundreds of years ago. That much is undisputed.

But over the years, ninja have become so sensationalized and romanticized in folklore and media that sometimes it’s hard to get a clear grasp on what ninja were actually like.

Ninja climbing a rope, or playing vertical tug-of-war?

Even years ago during the Meiji era, people in Japan were telling tales about mythic characters like Hattori Hanzo and exaggerating the legacy of the ninja.

Given the legend of ninja in Japan, it’s no surprise that the western perception of ninja is so skewed.

Note: ninja don’t traditionally drink canned beverages.

And today? There are ninja movies, theme parks, anime (rhymes with “are moo toe”) and video games. People have basically run wild with ninja lore and gotten pretty far from the truth. But there are also people who are trying to get it right.

There’s been an attempt to return to the traditional martial arts of the ninja (ninjutsu), instead of the campy, goofy ninja that you see today.

Bujinkan

The most famous modern-day ninjutsu school is probably Bujinkan. Founded in the 70s, Bujinkan is supposedly based on techniques gleaned from ancient scrolls. These scrolls are claimed to contain many crazy, mythical ninja techniques like killing people by yelling at them or hitting them in just the right spot.

The founder of Bujinkan also claims to be of ninja lineage. Pretty legit, right?

Well actually, nobody has actually seen these scrolls; and the last of the ninja died out long, long ago, so there’s no way that the founder of Bujinkan can be a ninja descendent.

But you’ve got to take some things on faith, you know?

Bujinkan practitioners kicking ass, taking names.

Skepticism aside, the actual practice of Bujinkan is pretty serious. It largely focuses on disabling an attacker, with a little weapon training thrown in for zest.

Bujinkan incorporates nine different styles of martial arts into one, giving you multiple ways of crushing your opponents.

And  unlike many martial arts, there aren’t any Bujinkan competitions because Bujinkan techniques are meant to break limbs or kill you. Not really something you want to mess around with.

Beside Bujinkan, there are other people and organizations that are trying to revive ninjutsu, most of them are offshoots of Bujinkan, or at least tied to the founder of Bujinkan in some way.

Unfortunately, a fair number of modern ninjutsu schools seem to be based around Steven Seagal wannabes selling Westerners DVD sets on how to become ninja.

But probably the most interesting and authentic instance of modern-day ninjutsu I’ve seen has been – weirdly enough – in Iran.

Iranian Lady Ninja

Over 3,500 women in Iran train in ninjutsu  today, tossing shuriken at each other, doing flips, and generally being sneaky.

Iranian state media has jumped on this phenomenon and produced an over-the-top news piece about it, complete with dramatic music and camera angles.

But with all of these new-school ninja schools, will ninjutsu ever return to its glory days? Probably not. Espionage nowadays is much more about high-tech intelligence than sneaking around and dressing in black. But ninja will always be iconic figures in Japanese history and in martial arts.

[Header image source.]

Ahoy ye Mateys’! Captain Viet is here to bring you on a journey to the Seven Seas of pirate culture, Arr! Before you meet Davy Jones’ Locker, come gather at the deck with grog in hand and be prepare to listen to my tales of legendary Japanese pirates! Before I share the tales of their plundering, lets get informed a bit on pirate culture in Japan and its history.

Gomu-Gomu no Era of Piracy

One cannot talk about pirates in Japan without mentioning Shounen Jump’s One Piece. Making its debut in 1997, it is currently touted as the best-selling manga series of all time worldwide. As of 2010, over 640 chapters have been released, with a total of over 230 million volumes having been sold. In addition, the anime series has been going strong. At the date of this posting, 518 episodes and 11 theater movies have been aired and released since 1999.

What is One Piece? In a nutshell, it’s about the adventures of a young teen with elastic rubber properties named Monkey D. Luffy and his small, yet skilled crew of pirates, named the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy’s goal, the underlying plot of the series, is to become the Pirate King, which is made possible by obtaining the ultimate pirate treasure One Piece. Throughout their voyage, they end up saving many villages & kingdoms, crews, and individuals from disasters. Many of the individuals they meet are named after famous pirates that have existed in the past. Essentially, the Straw Hat Pirates are the “good guy” protagonists of the story, where serving moral justice is more of their game, instead of hoarding material goods and gold (unless you are Nami). Not much raiding, plundering, and whoring up with the wenches here, folks.

This trend of heroic pirates portrayal is common throughout many of Japanese anime and media, notably Cowboy Bebop, Tenchi Muyo, Outlaw Star, etc. How does this compare to the history of Japanese pirates?

Enter the Wakou

Wakou (倭寇) is an umbrella term to described East Asian pirates that raided the coastlines of China and Korea as early as the 13th century. However, the etymology of the word stems back to Japanese piracy. In a literal translation, it translates to “Yamato Bandits” where Yamato refers to the Japanese peoples. The first wakou were mainly Japanese merchants, ronin, soldiers, and smugglers. In modern times, the usage of the word wakou can have a derogatory meaning. It is typically used by Chinese and Korean nationalists when describing their displeasures with their “Japanese invading neighbor.”

The Wakou started out in 1223 when they attacked Goryeo, Korea (according to history books from there). Their base of operations was in Tsushima, an island between Japan and Korea. Pretty centralized, wouldn’t you say?

In the mid-1200s, Wakou activities decreased, due to higher fortifications of cities during the Mongol Invasions of the time. They made their comeback in the 1300s after the Mongols stopped doing what they do best, and when governments were in a state of chaos. Korea got the worst of it, and even their capitol was sacked repeatedly.

The Wakou had a lot of good luck for a long time, even getting involved with a Ming Dynasty Tribute system, where Chinese coastal towns would pay off the Wakou to not raid them… sort of a protection racket.

Would be a shame if something bad were to happen to this peaceful village community, yeah, see.

Things were going pretty steady, but Wakou activity really surged in the mid-16th century. This occurred due to the Ming dynasty implementing a policy that forbade any civil trade between China and Japan, in favor of government only trade. This was known as the Haijin policy. Needless to say, the implementation of the policy didn’t deter Chinese merchants from continuing to trade with Japan, albeit illegally. What resulted was increased piracy due to the lucrativeness of being able to steal goods without much penalty. The humor behind all of this is that the purpose of the Haijin policy was to deter piracy by limiting the amount of trade that was occurring. Oops?

By the end of the 15th century / beginning of the 16th century, the Wakou pirates were at a decline. Some folks think it’s because the restrictions on trade were getting lifted, some people think it’s because the Portuguese started coming in to trade, and others think it was because of the Korean / Japanese governments cracking down. It was probably a combination of all of these things, but nobody can deny the Wakou had a pretty nice ride of things.

With hundreds of years worth of Japanese pirate history, there had to be some stories and tales about famous Japanese pirates as well (really, it’s stories about particular pirate crews and captains that make pirates so fascinating). Many notable past figures have partaken in some form of piracy, but there are two Japanese pirates in particular that I thought were worth sharing: Shirahama Kenki and Fuuma Kotarou. Yarrr.

Shirahama Kenki: Goodwill Ambassador?

Hoi An Japanese Bridge

Kenki led a free-spirited true-to-the-bones pirate life in the late 16th to early 17th century. Raiding and plundering the Asian coast lines was his M.O., just like any other typical wakou. However, by chance, his pirating actions led to two nations making their first formal contact and shortly after, establishing strong economic and friendly social connections.

Shirahama and his crew of five ships arrived on the coasts of Vietnam in 1585, and began to conduct their piracy business, which was to save the locals from unfriendly pirates and making new friends. Sorry, what I meant to say was they raided and plundered like actual piratey-pirates. Not surprisingly, the Vietnamese Imperial government didn’t kindly take to this. A fleet of ten ships led by one of the sons of Lord Nguyen Hoang met Shirahama’s crew in a ship-to-ship battle royale. After having lost two ships, Shirahama fled the area. The nationality of Shirahama was mistakenly identified by the Vietnamese defenders as Western, so no further action was conducted.

This wasn’t his last contact with the Vietnamese government. A short fourteen years later, Shirahama’s ship crashed near the Vietnamese port of Thuan An. The local magistrate of the area attacked Shirahama in defense and was killed in the altercation. This led to Shirahama’s imprisonment by Vietnamese forces. Having identified Shirahama’s nationality, Lord Nguyen Hoang sent an official letter (and the first official contact between the two governments) to the newly appointed shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu , seeking consul on how to deal with law breaking Japanese nationals. This contact cultivated to many decades of friendly relations. Japan began establishing settlements in Vietnam, one of them most notably in Hoi An, which was considered to be THE trading hub for Southeast Asia between the 16th and 18th century. The Japanese believed the heart of all of Asia (the dragon) laid beneath the earth of Hoi An. Japanese influence remains in the UNESCO World Heritage city to this day, such as the famous Japanese bridge that linked the settlement to the Hoi An city.

Fuuma Kotarou:
Half Ninja, Half Pirate, Half Zombie

Ninja-pirate love, how cute

Fuuma Kotarou is actually a title given to the leader of the late Fuuma clan (also known as the kick-ass pirate-ninjas of Kanagawa). The most well known of the Fuuma Kotarous was the fifth successor. Kotarou led a large band of ninjas that were categorized in four groups (brigands, pirates, burglars, and thieves), foregoing the traditional ninja ranking system. His clan has also been known to employ very primitive forms of submarines in their escapades. Doesn’t 17th century pirate-ninjas in make-shift submarines paint a scary picture for you too? In popular culture and history, he is often portrayed as an evil individual that lusts for chaos and destruction.

Kotarou was famously known for two events. A 1580 covert evening assault on a Takeda camp was considered one of his crowning achievements. The successful infiltration disoriented the enemy enough that mass fratricide occurred. This is just a testament on his skills as a master ninja sorcerer.

The second event Kotarou is known for is the death of the famous samurai and ninja master Hattori Hanzo, the man who is credited for saving Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1596, Hanzo, acting on the orders of Ieyasu, was to track down Kotarou. Kotarou led the Hanzo-commanded fleet of gunboats, into a small channel of the Inland Sea, where a firey ambush was waiting for them.

Kotarou’s diabolical shenanigans didn’t last long, though. Eventually, government forces captured Kotarou and was later executed in 1603. With the absence of Fuuma Kotarou, Japan has been safe for 400-some years. It’ll be very dark times when the zombie strain hits and the Pirate-Ninja-Zombie Fuuma Kotarou rises from the dead.

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I came upon this Ninja Akasaka’s website while planning a trip to Japan with the Tofugu team; when I presented the idea of going there to the boys, they were excited, to say the least. Even when I started to have second thoughts and tried to talk them out of going, they wouldn’t hear of it. They pouted, they whined, they eventually won me over. Ok, so only Koichi pouted.

So it was, one chilly Tokyo winter night, we found ourselves in Akasaka (赤坂), anxiously awaiting our dinner. “I will be very disappointed if we come out of this restaurant alive,” said Viet.

Despite being run by ninjas, NA‘s main entrance is in plain sight. Maybe it’s a trick, I thought. It wasn’t (the trickiness doesn’t start until you’re inside, silly me). After entering and descending a flight of stairs, we were greeted by our very first ninja, standing in a small, cave-like room, dressed in black and standing behind one of those little hostess podiums. After ensuring that we had made reservations, the host ninja summoned one of his black-clad underlings—a cheery seating/serving ninja named Kuro who burst in with a cheer through a sliding door—to show us to our table.

Kuro led us through a winding, dimly-lit lava-tube like hallway which was, in some places, dangerously narrow and in others, only traversable via a “secret” bridge conjured by, uh, ninja magic I guess. At this point, I was kind of underwhelmed, but trying very earnestly to get into the shinobi spirit and fully enjoy the experience. Eventually we arrived at the “dining area” which is fashioned, I think, to look like a kind of dark and foreboding ninja hide-out, maybe? I guess that’s what the tunnel was for, you know, to keep out hungry intruders and whatnot.

Our table was in a tiny room meant to look like a dungeon (we were bad, bad restaurant patrons), complete with bug (drawings) on the wall and minimal levels of light. Kuro left us in there and said she would be back shortly. The three of us sat around for a while, wondering how we were going to eat our food without being able to see it. Luckily, our ninja saved us from the darkness by yelling something ninjacal outside, causing the lights to flicker on. Very clapper-no-jutsu. When she returned, Kuro presented us each with scrolls, which turned out to be our menus.

Although I wanted to order ala carte (the prices were a bit steep), Koichi and Viet were going with the set courses, so I figured I’d be a sheep and ordered the Surprise (びっくり) Course for ￥7,777, as well. As for how the boys enjoyed their food, I can’t really say, as I was too engrossed in my meal to notice them much. Some of the things were great (as well as showy) such as the vegetable and seafood soup cooked on hot stones and the escargot bombs, which were served with a bang. Some other things were not so great, like the lobster pudding and the foam that was served with so many of the dishes. Why chefs insist on using foam to season/accompany their dishes, I do not know. Maybe they think it makes them cool. Regardless of the reason, I absolutely abhor foam.

Luckily, just in time to take my mind off of the meal’s shortcomings, a ninja magician (English-speaking, because we’re 外人, right?) showed up to entertain and enthrall us. I didn’t think ninjas were required to know card tricks, but apparently I was wrong. While his tricks weren’t anything new, the fact that he did them right in front of us was really fun.

All in all, Ninja Akasaka wasn’t half bad. I would love to go again actually, except next time I would probably have a pre-dinner drink first, to help me loosen up a bit and enjoy the theme-y nature of the restaurant, haha. Also, I would order my items separately to save money, definitely. Oh, and they recently opened a Ninja Restaurant in NY, but I’ve never been, have any of you? How is it?

P.S. How do you guys like the flickr?

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-wLIg4dGCI']

Ninja Akasaka

Hours: Mon-Sat, 17:00-26:00 and Mon-Sun, 17:00-23:00

Location: Akasaka Tokyu Plaza (1st Floor, on the street)

Telephone: 03-5157-3963