History Main / NINJA

** UsefulNotes/HattoriHanzo, the UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi equivalent of ninja, was a part-time ninja: as an Iga retainer in service of the Tokugawa dynasty, he was seen as a retainer with an exceptional special skillset and tactical bravado (earning him the moniker [[RedBaron "Devil Hanzo"]])-- however he was also reknown for [[MasterSwordsman swordsmanship excellence]], and skills with a spear. His appearance as a ninja nowadays is probably a direct result of his tactical choices that earned him his "Devil" nickname; tactics along the lines of subversion, misinformation, assassination, etc.

* The antagonists in ''Literature/TheGoneAwayWorld'' by Nick Harkaway are a ninja clan turned corporate empire.

* Music/InsaneClownPosse often reference Ninjas in their songs, particularly in the song "Ninja". {{Juggalo}}s also refer to themselves as "Ninja".

** Many readers, however, have noted that the original writers of Franchise/{{Batman}} created him as a ''de facto'' ninja without knowing it in the 1930s. Many portrayals of the Dark Knight had him undergoing some variety of training in ninja-style arts prior to his assumption of the mantle of the Bat, such as the Creator/ChristopherNolan Batman movies which had him training with the League of Shadows.

** For instance, the MarvelUniverse villain clan, The Hand, cropped up then, starting out as a bunch of sinister assassins-for-hire, rapidly proving to be sinister ''nihilistic'' assassins-for-hire with some mystical trimmings, and eventually evolving into world-threatening mystical all-purpose nihilist killers. Also during that period and in the same comics, Creator/FrankMiller effectively changed ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} into a good ninja.

* Although ''LightNovel/AnotherNote'' does ''not'' actually describe Beyond Birthday as being a ninja, his way of doing things ''is'' certainly very ninja-like. He makes use of [[MasterPoisoner toxins]] (anesthetizing his victims with poison before actually killing them), sneaks into his victims' homes, hides in plain sight, eavesdrops on conversations, evidently works quickly, and takes on the role of an "unprivate detective" to get the families of his victims (and the FinalGirl) to trust him.

The "classic" black ninja costume is, in fact, the outfit worn by stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre. Japanese stagehands are frequently in full view on the stage, but the audience was meant to ignore them and thus they are considered "invisible" by the audience. It became a practice to hide ninja characters in full sight by putting them in the same outfits as the stagehands, for a startling effect when characters [[NinjaProp were suddenly attacked by "thin air"]]. The stereotypical black "ninja outfit" would be actually horribly conspicuous, even at night. For night stealth, real ninjas wore dark blue outfits; someone dressed in solid black will stand out like a silhouette. Usually, though, ninjas simply dressed like ordinary people (peasants, monks, merchants, scholars, etc). That way, they can move about unnoticed, day or night. Even the split or toe-divided boots which are a trademark of the ninja costume are actually an AnachronismStew: toe-divided shoes or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jika-tabi ''jika-tabi'']] were actually invented in the 20th century, and only some modern ninjutsu schools would adopt them for practicality reasons.

* Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow (among many others, some of whom [[DorkAge we do not speak about]]) from ''ComicBook/GIJoe''. The unnamed "narrator" of the ''Order of Battle'' series and the action figures File Cards (actually Card and comic series writer Creator/LarryHama, writing in-universe observations about the characters) said "The great Ninja assassin clans disappeared a hundred years ago. If they were wiped out, nobody took the credit for it and if they're still around, ''who are they working for?''"

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' universe has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2928 SCP-2928]], which are literally ninja. One of the disciplines of ninjutsu that they use binds them to the idea of what a ninja is, which means that as long as whoever is looking at them believes that actual ninja are stealthy, sneaky, and undetectable, they will be. But if whoever looks at them believes that ninja are [[HighlyVisibleNinja highly visible]], then they stand out like a sore thumb. The Foundation intentionally funded shows that made ninja seem more open and visible to weaken them. Also, according to one of the ninja in Foundation custody, [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles the turtles are real]], but [[NoodleIncident their creation involved a lot of cocaine.]]

Legendary ninja include UsefulNotes/FuumaKotaro, UsefulNotes/HattoriHanzo and UsefulNotes/SarutobiSasuke. During the Sengoku Jidai, the most prolific shinobi were of the Koka [[SpellMyNameWithAnS or Koga]] province and the Iga province, rugged, secretive clans notorious for guerilla warfare, unorthodox tactics and selling these services to warlords. Their mysterious histories and supposed rivalry have been popular fodder for Japanese fiction for years. While commonly thought to have originated in Japan, ninjas [[http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1004 may have originated in China, and the idea and practice later spread to Japan.]] Historically, the word "ninja" was not generally used; in Japanese historical documents, ''shinobi'' was often used.[[note]]Strictly speaking, the word 'ninja' wasn't proper Japanese at all, originally; according to Wiki/TheOtherWiki, it comes from an alternate ''on'' reading of the characters 忍の者 (''shinobi-no-mono'', "man in hiding/in shadow"), making 'ninja' a sort of pun. It appears to have originated as slang or code during the Meiji period, possibly in connection to the Satsuma Rebellion.[[/note]]

* ''Literature/{{Shogun}}'' features realistic ninjas, and it's amazing to read James Clavell actually [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready explaining to the reader]] what ninjas are.

Or so popular legend has it. While ninjas did indeed exist, their reputation for invisibility and infiltration more likely stemmed from their willingness to dress as members of a lower social class when no one else in Japan would consider doing such a thing. Their "invisibility" was part ''psychological'' in cause -- by dressing as a peasant, they were ignored and dismissed, or [[BeneathNotice never even noticed at all]], by the upper classes, a useful thing despite the oft fierce travel restrictions on the lower classes. Superior knowledge of survival skills, a lot of actual stealth, poisons, assassination techniques and [[CombatPragmatist unorthodox tactics]] (added to the fact that the ninjas actively encouraged the spread of rumors of their magical abilities) were the most important though. A popular myth states that ninjas came from lower classes (at least compared to the {{samurai}}) and they were often hired to do the dirty deeds honorable samurai would not do, but in reality ninjas were usually samurai, or in rare cases, mercenaries hired by samurai. Ninjas were mainly deployed for espionage, sabotage, and sometimes assassination. More recent research indicates that ninja as even well-learnt historians thought of them may not have existed at all. All of the most famous historical figures known today as ninja were also samurai, specializing in guerilla tactics and espionage aside from the usual skills samurai were known for. One of the most popular Sengoku-era historians, Stephen Turnbull, has also written a dissertation refuting his own previously published work on ninja, bolstering the theory that a lot of what we know about (real-life, historical) ninja may also be based on legend and unreliable sources.

* The pulp magazine version of ''Literature/TheShadow'' was essentially a ninja...with guns and the coolness factor turned UpToEleven.

* In ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'', a {{cyberpunk}} novel by Creator/WilliamGibson, [[AwesomeMcCoolname Lady 3Jane]] has a [[BattleButler ninja butler]], Hideo.

* The pulp magazine version of ''Radio/TheShadow'' was essentially a ninja...with guns and the coolness factor turned UpToEleven.

Or so popular legend has it. While ninjas did indeed exist, their reputation for invisibility and infiltration more likely stemmed from their willingness to dress as members of a lower social class when no one else in Japan would consider doing such a thing. Their "invisibility" was part ''psychological'' in cause -- by dressing as a peasant, they were ignored and dismissed, or [[BeneathNotice never even noticed at all]], by the upper classes, a useful thing despite the oft fierce travel restrictions on the lower classes. Superior knowledge of survival skills, a lot of actual stealth, poisons, assassination techniques and [[CombatPragmatist unorthodox tactics]] (added to the fact that the ninjas actively encouraged the spread of rumors of their magical abilities) were the most important though. A popular myth states that ninjas came from lower classes (at least compared to the {{samurai}}) and they were often hired to do the dirty deeds honorable samurai would not do, but in reality ninjas were usually samurai, or in rare cases, mercenaries hired by samurai. Ninjas were mainly deployed for espionage, sabotage, and sometimes assassination.

** For instance, the MarvelUniverse villain clan, The Hand, cropped up then, starting out as a bunch of sinister assassins-for-hire, rapidly proving to be sinister ''nihilistic'' assassins-for-hire with some mystical trimmings, and eventually evolving into world-threatening mystical all-purpose nihilist killers. Also during that period and in the same comics, Creator/FrankMiller effectively changed Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} into a good ninja.

* Often appear in the works of Adam Warren. ''ComicBook/{{Livewires}}'' has Hollowpoint Ninja, ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' has Ninjette and several clans of ninja.

* Of course, the ''Comicbook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage'', which are basically the most famous American comic book ninja.

* ''FanFic/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiDuo'': In chapter 8, at Noel's suggestion, she, Caren, and Coco dress up as ninja to sneak into the aquarium.

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' universe has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2928 SCP-2928]], which are literally ninja. One of the disciplines of ninjutsu that they use binds them to the idea of what a ninja is, which means that as long as whoever is looking at them believes that actual ninja are stealthy, sneaky, and undetectable, they will be. But if whoever looks at them believes that ninja are [[HighlyVisibleNinja highly visible]], then they stand out like a sore thumb. The Foundation intentionally funded shows that made ninja seem more open and visible to weaken them. Also, according to one of the ninja in Foundation custody, [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles the turtles are real]], but [[NoodleIncident their creation involved a lot of cocaine.]]

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* Over in one of ''Sentai''[='s=] sister franchises, ''Series/MetalHeroes'' includes ''Series/SekaiNinjaSenJiraiya''.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'': The fab four have been been kickin' shell on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings since [[TheEighties the mid '80s.]] They started as traditional ninja by operating in secret, or under the cover of darkness. But it wasn't long before the people of NY knew about 'em. Now? Depending on the series and the setting, they're either adored by the public or [[HeroWithBadPublicity they're misunderstood.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' is infested with them: a few one-shot bad guys, some specialized "embarrassment ninjas", a secret ninja high school where Ron spent a week as an exchange student, and of course Monkey Fist's ninja clan made entirely of monkeys.
* ''WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake'': Sour Grapes has ninja ability in 2009 series.
* Basically every and any action/adventure cartoon in the U.S. is bound to feature Ninja at some point. ''WesternAnimation/SkunkFu'', ostensibly a children's show, has [[RuleOfCool Ninja Monkies]]!
* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' the Shadowkhan, a milita of demonic ninja, were often deployed by the bad guys to fight Jackie. Season 4 featured nine different groups of Shadowkhan.
* It took four seasons before ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' fought a ninja, but he did -- a robot ninja at that. It was, at least, a stealthy one, made completely invisible whenever it stood in shadows. And then Jack revealed he could do the same trick with sunlight, leading to one of the most visually incredible fights in the series (which is ''saying'' something), [[RuleOfCool as the series is made of cool]].
** Of course, Jack himself is both a Ninja ''and'' a Samurai. His skills in Ninjutsu came in handy when he had to go through the labyrinth.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' has [[TheStoic Prowl]] and [[JiveTurkey Jazz]] as goddamn NINJA ROBOTS. [[RuleOfCool How much cooler can you get?]] Ironically, Prowl's a pretty honourable guy as a ninja (as is Jazz) but the moment he puts on the Samurai Armour Upgrade, he becomes a totally arrogant asshole one step away from turning into a villain.
** Prowl was slightly arrogant already, as he seems to think a lot of his own abilities. This is tempered by the fact that he actually just is that badass.
** ''Animated'' went on to reveal that there's an entire order of ninjas back on Cybertron, which includes ''Animated'' versions of almost every Autobot martial artist, melee-weapon user, fist fighter... [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Grandus]].
* The short Australian CGI spoof ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSPy_4HYqGs Samurice.]]'' Ninja Rice steal the sacred Soya Scroll, and samurai hero Ricesashi has to get it back.
* Kyodai Ken (a.k.a. the Ninja) from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats'', Mumm-Ra summons a samurai named Hachiman and tries to trick him into fighting Lion-O. When that doesn't pan out and one of his minions is captured, he tries to salvage the situation by doing the unexpected: ''Summon a ninja.''
-->'''Monkian:''' I don't see anyone!\\
'''Mumm-Ra:''' Look behind you.\\
''[Monkian looks behind himself, only to fall over in surprise]''\\
'''Mumm-Ra:''' This... is the NINJA! If the samurai has all honor, then the ninja has none. His methods are silence, secrecy, and stealth. And his weapons -- dagger and disguise...
* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Katara and Zuko dress in all black and stealth their way around several Fire Nation navy commands, seen by no one until they attack, in order to get information on the man that killed Katara's mother. It's all kinds of bad-ass.
** The Dai Li are Earthbending Ninjas. While they don't do the all black attire normally attributed to the profession, the training and combat style they use fits the bill perfectly. Unlike most Earthbenders, or any capable bender in the series, they use hidden weapons and misdirection in their combat style.
** Also, Zuko in Blue Spirit mode. Silent, stealthy, wears all black, incredibly badass, one of the only characters to be actually ''deadly'' in each appearance... total ninja right there.
** The Equalist chi-blockers in ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'' are stealthy mask-wearing fighters that use a pressure points to disable benders alng with bolas and smoke bombs to throw their opponents off balance. True to the idea of ninja, they also [[CombatPragmatist don't care about fighting fair]], though when your opponents have ElementalPowers you need every advantage you can get.
* Kabuto, the main villain of ''[[WesternAnimation/PixarShorts Tokyo Mater]]'' has ninja ''racing cars'' for henchmen. He summons them to distract [[WesternAnimation/{{Cars}} Mater]] about halfway through the short, only for them all to be knocked out by Dragon [=McQueen=]. At the end of the short, Mater wins the race, and since Kabuto threatened him that if he lost the race, he will strip Mater of his modifications, when Kabuto lost, he is stripped of his own modifications, and is laughed at by his own ninjas who then turn to the side of Mater, now "King of all drift racers."
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' has Wheeljack. No longer a wacky scientist with a penchant for inventions that blow up. He's now a badass ex-Wrecker ninja with a pair of laser-deflecting katanas and a mask to boot. Not to mention quite cocky.
-->'''Starscream:''' Do you not see that you are vastly outnumbered?\\
'''Wheeljack:''' I see fellas who might vastly enjoy watching me pound some dents into you.
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'':
** When Roger shows up in one episode: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Pb-EnT560&feature=relmfu "I'm a ninja everybody! I'm doing NINJA stuff now!!"]]
** Yoshi and Akiko's mother, Mrs. Yashida who sneaks into the Smith's home dressed to rescue her daughter being held prisoner by Francine so Steve can win a spelling bee. She knocks Hayley unconscious with a dart.
* The heroic TechnicolorNinja protagonists in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'' are your stereotypical HighlyVisibleNinja. They are able to perform Spinjitzu, which are elemental-powered [[TornadoMove combat tornado moves]].
* ''WesternAnimation/RandyCunninghamNinthGradeNinja'' features a ninja-superhero protagonist.
* The Canadian animated series ''WesternAnimation/ChopChopNinja'' (itself an AnimatedAdaptation of an [=iOS=] game) features a group of students at a NinjaSchool training to earn the title of "Chop Chop Ninja".
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Storks}}'', Nate makes it clear in his letter to the storks that he wants a baby brother with ninja skills. Instead, he gets a baby sister [[spoiler:...with ninja skills.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/PJMasks'' has Night Ninja, one of the original three [[RoguesGallery Nighttime Villains]]. He is supported by a group of smaller ninja's called Ninjalinos. As a typical ninja, he is very agile, and some of his powers include (dis)appearing in a puff of smoke, and telepathically levitating objects. Since it is a show aimed at preschoolers, he does not use actual weapons, but he and his mooks have [[StickySituation Sticky Splat]] which can be used for various purposes.
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