Everyone reading this blog is probably well aware of the famous "ninja sword." The straight bladed ninja-to is a common sight in movies, books and television. When you see it, you know there is a ninja close by.

The problem is, it is a myth.

Ever since the ninja really hit the scene in the early 80s, the idea that the ninja carried a straight bladed sword has been accepted by many. Stephen Hayes often wrote about how the ninja were mystics who were oppressed by a government fearful of their power and thus had to take up learning how to fight by stealth in order to survive. Part of this story is that the oppressed underclass of mystics- turned- shadow- warriors did not have the resources the ruling samurai did and so their swords were crude weapons that did not have the curve of the well-made katana the samurai carried.

Well, as I detailed in my blog a few months ago, the idea of the ninja as an oppressed minority is bunk. (http://www.coloradospringsninjutsu.com/Blog/Entries/2013/10/14_No_Virginia%2C_The_Ninja_WEre_Not_Prosecuted%2C_Enlightened_Mystics.html)

A lot of confusion comes from the fact that there is a bit in "Ninjutsu, History and Tradition" that says the ninja used straight swords. The problem is, that book was largely based on what Masaaki Hatsumi wrote, but was in fact put together by Hayes from several of Hatsumi's Japanese books. In none of the original books he took pictures and text from is there any mention of the ninja using straight swords. In fact, in none of the works by Hatsumi in Japanese, nor in his television interviews, demonstrations, etc, is there a mention of the ninja using the straight sword we all know from movies. Think about that for a second. Another source is an article by Hatsumi for Ninja Magazine where there is a brief bit saying that the ninja's sword was often crude and straight, but that was something added by the editor and is not in the original Japanese text.

Obviously, this has caused confusion. But not as much confusion as the politics that surround the issue now. Just as soon as Hayes started showing up on the covers of martial arts magazines, a horde of frauds came out of the wood work to try to convince people they were previously secret ninja traditions. They used the godai (which Hayes created) used terms like "shidoshi" (which Hatsumi created for his teachers- a kind of pun on the Japanese word "shidosha" which means coach) and of course started using the straight sword. Now, having said that the straight sword was a traditional ninja weapon taught them by the mysterious masters that they are forbidden to prove actually existed, they can't exactly turn around and admit that the ninja didn't use a straight sword. Every last dodge and excuse, speculation and exaggeration has been used by those desperate to get people to think that the ninja used straight swords. For frauds (and their supporters) the truth is second to what is good for them and this has placed those of us that just want the truth out there against them time and time again. I have heard almost every argument put forth by those with a stake in keeping the myth alive, and some of them are just plain crazy. I will deal with most of them here.

Ok, so the ninja were not a separate class from the rest of society and samurai. They were not an oppressed minority fighting for survival. Instead, they were a bunch of clans that specialized in a form of warfare that made them a sort of elite. While the job they did was not really all that glamourous or something to be admired, they were highly trained and well paid for their expertise. The status of the ninja of Iga and Koka (Koga) were that of land owning part- time samurai. They carried weapons and the Koka ninja dealt directly with the Rokkaku family to negotiate the status of their land and relationship with their nominal lord. They could afford standard katanas.

It is important to note that in all the writings by or about the ninja when the samurai still existed as a class, there is not one mention of the ninja using a straight sword. In books written by the ninja like the Shoninki (a translation of which is on sale from me), Ninpiden or Bansenshukai (coming soon from me) there are descriptions of the swords the ninja used and none of them talk about it being straight. When people wrote about the ninja, no one mentions any of them having swords that differed from what other warriors were using. There are no illustrations of ninja from the period using anything other than curved swords and no surviving examples of straight swords passed down from ninja. In short, there is no historical evidence that the ninja used a sword that was straight.

In fact, logic dictates that carrying around a sword that was fundamentally different from everyone else's would cause attention to be drawn to you. That is of course the exact opposite of what the ninja wanted. As much as Hollywood likes to dress the ninja in all black, the accounts from the time more often refer to the ninja as wearing outfits similar to what the guards of where they were infiltrating wore. Once past the outer defenses where everyone was alert, they would look like just another soldier off to deliver a message or on the way to the latrine. Obviously, a unique sword would be out of place in this situation.

It is important to also note that there is no mention of ninja using straight swords in books by folks like Koyama Ryutaro, Gingetsu Ito or Nawa Yumio. When the mention the swords the ninja used, they talk about the square guards they sometimes had to make using it as a step ladder easier. They also mention that the sageo cord was longer than normal and that the sword was shorter than a normal katana. But there is no mention in any of these books of a ninja using a sword that was straight.

Hatsumi is quite clear in saying that they were shorter than normal katana, but not by much. It actually was fairly common to put short swords in long scabbards. The carrying of long swords was regulated, short swords less so. And there were quite a few cases of short swords being put in long scabbards to make the owner look more important than they were. Having a long scabbard wasn't against any regulation or law, just the blade length of the sword itself. The reason for the shorter blade can be found in it's ease of drawing in bad situations. While the image of the ninja with a sword slung over his back is overdone, it is the logical place to put the blade when climbing or crawling. Having the sword on the belt in the normal fashion is just not practical in those situations. When someone comes close, most often the best thing is to freeze if you have not been found out yet. Many times, people will walk within a short distance of someone who is immobile without becoming aware of them. But if they did suddenly realize someone was hiding, then the ninja had to be able to draw his sword quickly. When the sword is long, there are tricks to pulling it out from the slung position. But it is much easier to just have a shorter sword in the first place. The shorter blade can also be used in more cramped conditions, which is not uncommon when sneaking around the rafters of a castle. These sort of things are what you find in what we call actual ninja-to. But again, no credible source in Japan such as Hatsumi or the historians have said that the ninja used straight blades and there seems no good reason why they should have.

When Hayes started writing about the ninja, it set off a world-wide craze. It wasn't just in the English speaking world, or the West, that the ninja started popping up in fiction. The folks in Hong Kong started to make movies of ninjas by the dozens. Cheesy as always, they often used the same straight sword that Hayes has written about, and indeed was selling. Stephen Hayes made an arrangement with Taipei Martial Arts Supplies to license his name to a series of ninja weapons and one of them was a straight sword. In "Ninja Realm", the newsletter for the Shadows of Iga- Hayes' organization, there were ads for wooden training versions of the ninja-to and lessons in it's use was taught at his seminars.

Soon, you could actually buy a straight ninja sword in Japan at tourist attractions geared toward ninja fans, especially from overseas. In the mid 80s, the museum in Iga-Ueno even put up one (made in Taiwan) in a display. The museum is more of a tourist trap than academic institution. It's run by the local government and the local politicians want people to come and drop money in the economy of the area. So, it tends to cater to what people think of the ninja, including foreigners. A staff member a Japanese acquaintance recently asked was quick to point out that historically the idea of the sword is wrong, but it is still on display.

After a few years, Hayes reversed himself…. kind of.

On page 22 of his 1988 book Ninja Vol 5; Lore of the Shinobi Warrior, Hayes says that the ninja sword was a "stereotype" and that people thought the ninja used them because of the ninja's close associations with Fudo Myo-o who wields a straight, double edged blade. Well, the problem with that is that Fudo Myou-o really was not associated with the ninja anymore than he was associated with samurai. And as stated, none of the popular literature prior to the Hong Kong movies, the museum in Iga or television shows showed ninjas using straight swords.

Lets look at a popular kids show from the 80s, "Kamen no Ninja- Akakage."

As you can see, the ninjas use curved swords. Look up Kage no Gundan or any other popular series and you will see the same thing- ninjas using curved swords.

They are not alone. In this 1970s clip from Japanese TV, you can see a rather young Hatsumi using- a curved sword!

This seems to fly in the face of what Hayes once said on facebook.

"As I have said from the beginning, my first books were based on the stereotype of ninja as known by Japanese people. I bought a straight-blade ninja sword (mid-1970s) in a kendo shop in Tokyo. I watched my teacher do demonstrations with straight swords. "

Strangely, there is no evidence for any of this. As the video shows, Hatsumi did demonstrations with curved swords. To this date, those of us seeking the truth have not been able to find any footage at all of Hatsumi using a straight "ninja" sword. And buying a ninja sword at a kendo shop is also something no one has heard of at that time.

Hundreds of times, I have been asked to translate while in Japan. Many times the question is about the straight sword. In all cases, with all the senior Japanese teachers, the answer is the same. Hatsumi has never used, taught or demonstrated using a straight "ninja" sword. It seems unanimous, which makes Hayes' statement rather puzzling.

Indeed, it would seem Hayes has a rather large stake in the matter. On a blog of his, he wrote the following about the matter.

"A friend asked me why this was important enough to put on my web site. He was concerned that it made me look defensive arguing back against my inferiors. Why would a master need to justify what he teaches?

I post it because the “no straight blade ninja sword” argument makes me look wrong. If you just follow the foolishness on those critical internet sites, you could assume that others who know more than I do proved me wrong. And if I were wrong, I would expect my best students to be alarmed over what else I might be teaching wrong."

So it seems clear. While many of us are seeking the truth, Hayes' primary concern is with maintaining his status. He refers to himself as a master, others as inferiors and admits that he is worried that if proven wrong in this case, his students may begin to question what else he is teaching incorrectly. Honestly, they have plenty to worry about. As the blog I wrote and posted to about the status of ninja shows, Hayes has made quite a few errors that he now seems unwilling to admit to his students.

This of course ads more problems to seeking the truth. Those that follow Hayes can be quite determined in trying to protect him. I have run across many who strike me with their cultish devotion to him and their unwillingness to question what he says. Some of them will say or do anything to protect their financial status as full time teachers or contemplate that they have invested their time with someone who makes mistakes like this.

So, we have a lot of people from Hayes to the outright frauds who have stakes in convincing the world that the ninja used straight swords. They use many dodges and arguments, all of which are easily shot down if people have the time to think.

While many have tried to present photos of Hatsumi taken from a distance away with a sword that MIGHT look straight from a certain angel as “proof” that he used straight swords, here is a photo from an article by him in the 70s that details the sword of the ninja.

Just in case anyone thinks this is a fluke, here is a picture of a page of an article from the 2000s on the ninja sword and Hatsumi.

Indeed, I challenge anyone to produce something like this from a Japanese source. I don’t want something that might be looked at as straight when viewed from a certain angle, or might not. I would like those saying that Hatsumi claimed the ninja used straight swords produce something in Japanese as clear as these two examples with photos of the entire sword taken in such a way to make it clear what kind of curve (or not) it has. Find a source in Japanese where Hatsumi says it was straight. And of course sources that say they saw a reference in Japanese by Hatsumi, but like Hayes and the kid claiming to be a Koga ryu grandmaster have a stake in the matter, aren’t to be trusted.

The original argument that straight blades are easier for someone to make than a curved one is stupid. Go ask someone who makes swords if you doubt me. Sword shape is a matter of purpose. Swords meant to thrust into someone tend to be straight- like the famous rapier. Swords used to slice and cut lean more towards curved, like the sabers the cavalry used to carry. You can make crude curved swords as well as straight ones just about as easily. Just ask an experrt if you doubt me.

One of the arguments that shows the lack of knowledge of the folks presenting it is the, "Japanese used straight swords in the first millennium." Yes, they did. Of course, the British used longbows in their invasions of France and wielded them to good effect at places like Agincourt. That is not to say that they equipped all the troops going ashore when they again landed in France at Normandy during D-Day of WWII. Yes, a soldier in the 7th century would have had a straight sword. But for a ninja in the 16th century to still be using an antique like that is even sillier than my example with the longbow. No one who tries this argument knows a thing about how Japan is like or knows it's history. Just keeping a sword like that around in the land of perpetual humidity would be a chore. Anyone walking by a train station with it's pile of abandoned bikes can see just how fast things rust in that country. If you were a noble, you can probably pull it off. But if you are able to put that much care into an old blade, you have the resources to get one better suited for combat.

A related argument is to bring out other types of straight blades. Yes, the Japanese occasionally made fancy blades that were straight. Some were meant to look like the blades Fudo Myou-o carried, some were just experiments by smiths. Some were blades that were cut down and were not as curved, but still curved. In all cases, putting these swords in the hands of ninja has not been done yet. The whole argument is that the ninja could not forge their own blades and had to pound out crude straight ones, so one of the fancy blades made straight is rather silly. Just because a few examples exist in the country does not mean that they were ever near a ninja. If they had, you would expect someone to note it. So the lack of reference is rather damning in this case.

Then there are those sightings of straight swords in pictures and the like. If you really want to see a straight blade to confirm your belief in your teacher, you can usually find it. Even the most curved blades look straight if you turn them 90 degrees. Pictures like the following are clearly curved, but have been used as "proof" that the ninja used straight blades.

Let me just take this opportunity to give a message to those that use these types of arguments. Do you read fluent Japanese? Have you talked this over with a Japanese master teacher? Have you even lived for a long time in Japan? If you can't answer any of the questions with an affirmative then do the world a favor and educate yourself before you start arguing about things you have no idea about. To think that someone who has no ability in the language more advanced than ordering a beer can pioneer a new way of thinking about Japanese history is a sure sign of an ego out of control. Do us all a favor and keep quite so that the adults can talk rationally. Are you getting my message, Garth?

Here is an example of someone who really should just shut up.

http://blackdragonninjitsu.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-ninja-to-sword-of-ashigaru.html

That blog is written by Ron Collins, whom followers of this blog should be aware of. He is the incompetent martial artist who claims to have been taught as a kid by a mysterious asian man who no one else can ever see or whose existence can be proven. Wait, that is the MO of a lot of frauds. To be more exact, Ron is the guy who spent time behind bars for “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” (on one forum, he claimed that the 13 year old came onto him as part of an elaborate conspiracy against him) and was facing charges of kiddie porn (hmmmm..... I am seeing a pattern here) when he made threats on his blog (go ahead, you’ll find them on that blog spot) against the police and is now back behind bars awaiting trial.

Obviously, Ron isn’t too bright so his insistence that the ashigaru and ninja had a link somehow is not that surprising. For those of you that don’t even know what ashigaru were, you at least admit that you don’t know.

Here is how silly the idea Ron pushes is, the ashigaru in the age of wars were peasants recruited into the armies of the warlords to swell their ranks quickly. They could not use swords nearly as well as the samurai who had trained from childhood, but they did well enough with the matchlock guns they had and working in pike formations. They made up a majority of the armies by the time peace came around.

The thing is, in 1588 Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was emperor in all but name, decreed that no one other than samurai could own weapons. Three years later, he said no one could again change status and all the ashigaru had the choice to either go back to their farms or become the lowest rank of samurai. By this time, the wars were largely over. In the early 1600s, the Tokugawa Shogunate was ushered in and Japan largely had peace. If you go by sources geared toward the ashigaru written in the age of peace, you are dealing with men born into the warrior class, albeit the lowest level of the hereditary military class.

During the age of war, things were of course different. Instead of being born into a warrior class, they were farmers and did not train from birth in anything other than agriculture. Ashigaru could not be expected to know what a ninja trained from birth would know. The skills of stealth alone would take years to learn. To be able to dress in a disguise and pull it off (if you were dressed as a monk you had to know sutras, etc) put the job of the ninja out of the expertise of the typical ashigaru. And if a warlord was willing to take a peasant and pay the expense in time and money it would take to train them, then there is the matter of their loyalty. In truth, ashigaru were not known for their loyalty. As Stephen Turnbull in the his book “Warriors of Japan” put it,

“The Daimyo who rose to power needed fighting men, and for landless peasant dissatisfied with his lot the lawlessness of the times was a seller's market.  The name 'ashigaru' (light feet) indicated their lack of armour, footwear, or even weaponry until all three were looted from a defeated enemy. Such men found it easy to attach themselves casually to samurai armies, then fight, pillage and ultimately desert.

An ambitious daimyo was therefore about the increase the numbers of his foot soldiers tenfold by the addition of such a loose and uncertain rabble. Unfortunately, it often turned out that men who had been casually recruited would just as easily disappear to till the fields or swell the armies of an enemy.”

Obviously, training ashigaru to be highly skilled, highly paid elite spies would be a risky investment. Those that say that during the age of wars the daimyo did this should recheck their premises and basic knowledge of Japanese history.

But that is not the only example I could pull out. Those making these types of arguments will use just about anything to try to make their point, all based on faulty knowledge of history.

Here is an example of why you should not try to debate this sort of thing unless you can read Japanese.

Really, one of the comments makes a good point. Of all these arguments you see in English on the internet, not one scholar or author in Japan has used them to say that they have found an example of a straight ninja sword. What kind of ego do you have to have to try to say that you know more than people who actually can read ancient Japanese and have spent years researching the matter? Proof of the existence of the straight ninja sword is not to be found in Japanese sources, but in a blog written by someone who can’t even read a book in Japanese? Seriously, show me a Japanese source or STFU.

So where did this idea that the ninja used straight blades come from? Well, it is obvious that Hayes really made the idea a world wide thing. But sadly we have established that he has too much invested to admit that he made a mistake so we can't expect an honest answer from him. All we can do is theorize.

A possibility is that he got the idea from an American source. The following picture is from an advertisement in Black Belt Magazine. It is (obviously) from 1973.

We can't find anything like this at this time in a Japanese source. We know that Hayes read Black Belt, and was featured in it a few years later. If he got the idea from this I somehow can't imagine him admitting it. As much as he took from other sources and passed off as if he learned it in Japan, it is not unreasonable to think that he wrote in his early works that the ninja used straight swords from an American magazine. But as we have seen, he is fearful of having his status as an infallible master threatened.

Why did someone sell a straight bladed "ninja" sword in America when we can't find examples of it in Japan? Again, we can't get an answer. This time because of time. My guess is that with all the other katana for sale, they had to find a niche market in order to differentiate their product and build a consumer base. And when working with bar stock of metal to be merely cut and worked on, it actually might be cheaper to make a straight sword than a curved one.

Is this the sword that caused Hayes to make his mistake and led the world to believing that the ninja used straight swords? The world may never have a straight (pun intended) answer. But we know a few things,

Masaaki Hatsumi can't be found in any Japanese source saying that the ninja used straight "ninja" swords, and those senior Japanese in his organization that have been asked have all denied their use in the Bujinkan.

There are no historical records of the ninja using them.

There is no decent explanation of why they would use something that would make them stand out.

A look through popular media in Japan in the 20th century shows that the Japanese did not have the idea that the ninja used straight swords.

All this put together leads to the conclusion that the idea of the ninja using straight swords is about as likely as them using hot air balloons. Those that are of a conspiracy bent, or watch too much history channel programs involving alien visitors in history, might still cling to their pet theories. And of course, those with an stake in it are unlikely to change their tune. But for the rest of us, we will have to agree that there is no evidence and thus we can put the idea to bed.

2020 Edit and update.

In the above article, I never mentioned the hand guard (tsuba) of the sword. I concentrated on the straight blade portion.

In the Bansenshukai, which I have translated, it is mentioned that the sword can be set against a wall and the tsuba stepped on to help the ninja get over. Though it does not mention the shape of the tsuba, you would need a straight edge to lay against the wall. A round tsuba would be too unstable.

So, the square hand guard would work. Though rare, there are surviving examples of square tsuba. They were not exclusive to the ninja, so they would not stand out.

By the second half of the 20th century, ninja could be found using square tsuba in popular media. Fujita Seiko had square guards on the illustrated swords, as well as others. The swords they were attached to had curved blade, but the idea of the ninja having square guards is a common one and can be found prior to Hayes.

Historically speaking, we don’t know if they used square ones or not. Square guards will work, but you only need one side of a guard to be straight. Japanese hand guards come in all shapes and forms, not all of them symmetrical. It is possible that something like a guard with the portion nearest the blade was straight, and the other three sides round to give it a half moon look or something. It is possible, but we really don’t know for certain.

So while the ninja in popular culture tend to have square guards, we can’t find a surviving example to back that idea up. It is possible that they used them and they would not stand out, but I am not willing to say for certain that was the case.