17th Century Ninja Explains How To Be A Ninja // The Bansenshūkai // Japanese Primary Source
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- Опубліковано 14 лис 2019
- Straight from the pages of the ultimate Ninja manual - The 17th century Bansenshūkai (萬川集海 - translated as 'All Rivers Merge into the Sea'), here we have a passage of advice for lords on the ten key aspects they should search for when hiring a prospective Ninja/Shinobi.
Compiled in 1676 by Fujibayashi Yasutake, The Bansenshūkai is an exhaustive guide to many of the key moral ideas that underpin the Ninja, as well as practical advice on how to execute various strategies - from castle infiltration to haircuts.
Thanks to Antony Cummins for allowing us to use his excellent translation -
www.amazon.com/Book-Ninja-Ban...
It is a great read, as is his new illustrated version of the Art of War -
www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Art-W...
How do we actually know about history? Voices of the Past is a channel dedicated to recreating the original accounts from the people who lived through events, or who lived far closer to them than we do today. We do this word for word, with an accompanying soundtrack of rousing music and images.
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- Music courtesy of:-
- Epidemic Sound
- Voice actor & editor:-
David Kelly
We try to use copyright free images at all times. However if we have used any of your artwork or maps then please don't hesitate to contact me and we’ll be more than happy to give the appropriate credit.
Thanks to Antony Cummins for the use of his translation. It is available on Amazon - www.amazon.com/Book-Ninja-Bansenshukai-Japans-Premier/dp/1780284934
I have a copy, it's a great historical document. Cummins even notes where there were mistakes and typos, and the attempts to correct them.
Is this the Ninja code or the Jedi code? Shinobe sounds a lot like Kenobi, hmmm!
Here it talks about fighting yet Cummins always say Ninja didn't fight?
Plot twist: A woman wrote this while looking for her dream husband.
😂😂😂 thats what i thought, its like an ad in a dating service....he must have a sense of humour, and be able to recite Confucius and yoga practitioner, must love poetry and dancing. Lmfao! Wtf? What is this ninja doing? Not treading roof tops, but mingling with the upper class and cutting up the dance floor.
@@shable1436 weren't they spies basically? Meaning the might have to impersonate a monk or an aristocrat (who would know poetry and philosophy). They did use things like smoke bombs but I bet a good ninja would only need to use it a couple times in his lifetime.
Anyway, the bushido (samurai book) also portrays and ideal warrior which only very few could become (the challenge being more philosophical than physical).
@@Yarblocosifilitico spies collect data and dont blow their cover, undercover assassins is more closely fitting. Work your way to the important target (mark) and then strike and vanish, so i guess one had to acquire the skills to get close to important ppl and have vast knowledge in a bit of everything the upper classes were doing to fit in.
Oh ninja my ninja
🤣
This is like a job requirement from 2014. Applicant must have a doctorate, 10 years relevant experience in this program five years relevant experience in that program. Entry level, starting salary 35000
And be no older than 25, and accept unlimited over time without compensation
More like $9 an hour with no benifits
2014? Try current year.
insaneweasel1 And be a master in martial arts!
Another 5 years of experience in the program that requires 5 experience plus a certificate of authenticity from the genetic lab where scientists grew you in a tube where you were born with job experience coded into your DNA.
"Those who have the above ten characteristics..." *just named like 40 characteristics*
And 50 of them are loyalty
It's just the NINJA WAY bro! You wouldn't understand!
If you can't parse the spoken word properly, you lack the wisdom of sages and can never attain jōnin status.
Characteristic #41: Must be able to divide by zero.
So James Bond
Yeah basically the true ninja were more like Bond and less like 47. You nailed it
"Avoid falling for smooth-talking traps..." *jeez*
I just hate it when the spike put tries to talk me into jumping in. I won't fall for your wiles, you devilish rogue!
What if they were talking about the other traps
I think what he means is that your real friends talk harshly truth about you while the fake ones talk softly
I thought he said "smooth talking tramps" lol
First rule of ninja club: you don't talk about ninja club.
Second rule of Ninja Club: You do not talk about Ninja Club!
James Richmond third rule of Ninja Club: you do write about Ninja Club so a video can be made far in the future.
Third rule is don't write a book about ninja club.
This is the kind of thing that should be listened to each day while first waking up
So you can realize what's required for greatness and realize it's impossibility and just go right back to sleep
@@calska140 Try to cultivate the opposite effect; encouragement to improve your mind, body and soul, one step at a time. :)
Ninja should be proficient in calculus 1-3 and be able to do complex derivatives in their head quicky. Ninja should also have a passing familiarity with topological algebra, statistics, matrix calculus, statics, dynamics, and master level knowledge of creating ornate woodcut prints on a level equal to Albrecht Durer.
Fantastic selection. Very revealing about the Japanese culture, not to mention provoking introspection on oneself.
blind swordsmen also are good to hire according to tv
Zatoichi wasn't a ninja.
Hey, it worked in Star Wars.
17th century Watchmojo
In the subject of Japan, I was in Greece recently and went to an Asian museum. The samurai armour was astonishing and I had no idea how intricate. Fascinating culture and history.
Sounded like the beginning of an indepth joke "I was in Greece lately but went to an Asian Museum" 😆
So what you want out of a merciless spy and assassin is that he should be a nice, scholarly guy with a good family?
Yes. They were not really assassins, they're more like secret agents. Most of the time they would be among people impersonating someone so they need to be good at it and know how to speak well to get what they want. They need to be cultured so they can impersonate anyone from other regions and know the customs and dialect of the place they are going to be sent so the enemy couldn't discover them.
The good family requirement is so they have something to bind them to their land. Having your family's name at risk, having their life's at risk or even wanting to do stuff for your clan to gain prestige by defeating the enemy is a pretty good incentive. If everyone knows your family is harder for you to betray your Lord or sell his information to the enemy like a double agent, they said it in the text itself.
If they send any random guy with nothing to lose then that guy could easily change sides. But a guy from a good family and with children couldn't do that. Unless he's a sociopath. It makes sense if you look at it with this mentality.
Running on the roofs at night is not a day to day thing. We like the idea of a stealthy assassin but the reality is more like secret agents socializing with the enemy and being among people with a fake identity doing regular stuff
The least you'd expect of course.
So you're saying James Bond was a ninja?
Vasilil Stan Good to know. I've been meaning to read up on the subject for a long time now. And now I might finally commit to buying some books on their ancient ways.
@@StephenGillie James Bond had no family. MI6 recruits orphans for a reason.
Information from the reading, comedy from the comments - a great combination!!
Fantastic video, I adore this channel
Does the text include Naruto running?
Not all of us are fucking losers man
God bless!
@@whiteasfuck7263 but you are
@@geth7112
Oh, you got me man!
Damn! Guess I better start fapping to cartoons, supporting socialist ideas, living in my mom's basement, and watch Naruto....
Lmao
Yes.
@@whiteasfuck7263 wait hold up your mom let you use the basement? Lucky
Thank you for your interest in this position. Unfortunately our selection process has moved on and you have not been included at this stage. We wish you the best of luck in your future career.
The interesting thing is how actually killing people was only a very small part of the job of the shinobi, as far as we can tell.
Most of their time was spent in gathering intel.
007 is a Ninja?
Yes, he is.
You only live twice.
Basically 😁
If he lived on 17 century Japan they would consider him the pinnacle of ninja
Ninja's typically are spies, so the comparison is not unusual.
Honestly, the ideal ninja and the ideal British gentleman overlap near perfectly.
Odd, this book pretty much says the ninja should be like a role model, a pillar of their community. I expected something...darker, and more focus on tactics and the work of ninja in general.
It is words like these which justify the dark deeds done, for what is being sold to him is that these deeds serve a noble ideal and that he is not a man to be discarded at earliest convenience.
Should he buy into these words, he would surely turn into a powerful tool for his patron. If he doesn't buy into these words, well, he has seen through the ruse and may serve the lord by other means presuming such need exists.
What do you mean darker? They were spies. The text talks about choosing wisely who you are going to send on a secret mission so they can't betray you selling your information to the enemy. They talked about how they needed to be good on conversation and hard to deceive, to know hot to impersonate others so they blend in with the enemy environment, to be cultured and know the different customs of each region so they don't do suspicious stuff or talk like with a different dialect...
The text did talk about war and the ninja's requirements. Most of the non violent requirements are very important because most of the time they would be among people and during the day.
Of course if you expected them to be required to naruto run and kill people you got disappointed. 😂
The text repeats in multiple occasions the importance of the ninja being loyal and do anything their Lord commands, and the fact that they said it would be good if they were noble so they couldn't change sides because their family and stuff, which it could happen if they just sent a random broke guy that doesn't have anything to lose if they changed sides.
I don't know what more could you want, to me this text makes a lot of sense as a guide for feudal lords to choose their spies
contract killers, pure n simple...
"Ninja" just means "patient person". Have you been watching a lot of Ninja Scroll?
@@StephenGillie Nope, spent 4 years in Tokyo, learned a lot about Bushido, and Nippon military ways. whatever their "good qualities" were they murdered for money......
Basically, ninja had to be the most righteous people who dealt in the underworld
Beautiful.
Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Grateful
Nice dude
What a great video about me.
This and the Samurai one are my favs.
3:42 No, Sun Tzu says ain't nobody got time fo' dat!
Reminds me of job application requirements.
Nice.. ❤
Very cool
Yes !
Sounds like the perfect man to me.
It would be lovely to se a representation of one of Plato's dialogues concerning love (Symposium), if possible with two voices in relation to the two characters of such dialogues. Thank you, and forgive my bad English.🌷
The music in this video is majestic! What's it called?
3:40
*Sun tzu said that!*
Versatility and adaptability, and to satisfy the employer, trustworthy and effective.
Said with fewer words, and is really not so unique, is it ^^
A special agent, well versed with weapons, concoctions and techniques available at the time, some would be a "trade secret", naturally.
He would also have to be familiar with various possible attempts at defenses against him, like "singing stairs".
Smooth talking traps.
Watch out for them
Khajiit has wares if you have coin.
He probably traveled to Siam.
Japan haven't changed much in that regard.
Although I've heard Taiwan have even more smooth talking traps nowadays.
And here I thought Nigahiga told me everything I needed to know about becoming a ninja...
It's a good primer. People who want to know more always need to go to Ask A Ninja.
Please do a knight one
This kind of flies in the face of the historical events, where most spies were of common decent, and lived as commons.. At least the parts of "Good upstanding birth" and all that stuff.
It does not, actually. The book IS historical, it's written by a low level samurai from Iga province in 1676 whose family served as ninja for the Todo clan.
Actual written material on ninjutsu were usually written in military strategy books for samurai in the Edo period, as a way to preserve war traditions in a time when war wasn't happening and the role of the warrior class was limited to national security and government. But even pre-1603 passages about ninja always talk about them as military units undergoing secret operations, i.e., they were samurai of some kind doing sneaky sneaky.
@@alittlepuertoricanboy1993 - so not much of an agent really, just a samurai class sabatour?
there are plenty other shinobi and spy texts that read as survivalist guide, people intergrated into communties to actively report info, and conflict with enemy plans.
but shinobi as a military unit were pretty much a thing a few dozen times in total.
Civil war and all, and its time period arent tooo accurate as long term text is.
...oh....liked this one a lot....thank you for posting...
Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching 👍
My my ... This is certainly an interesting area, I hadn't even thought about. More martial arts material would be appreciated.
Absolutely
Aside from The Art of War book by Sun Tzu, you might enjoy The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi and Family Traditions on The Art of War by Yagyu Munenori. The latter two are available as one book which is translated by Thomas Cleary and is available from Shambhala Publications.
@@jauntyangle5667 thanks!
@@bczarrockbeast6264 Enjoy! (I found the last book to be the most insightful).
Description of a modern spy 👍
i'm a bit of an expert on the subject as i have the "american ninja" series on vhs and most of this info is bogus... the guy is forgetting important things like blowgun and throwing star skills
hahahaaaha yhnxa for making my day with your silly antics i need it in this shitfest pandemic 😃
I'm just happy to see "bogus" back in use. Naturally it'd take someone with a VHS collection of ninja tapes to do it!
@@hard2getitrightagain314 you'll be glad to know then i dont plan to bogart on an future claims of bogosity
I'm conflicted. I genuinely can't tell if you're joking or not
Imagine trying to demonstrate all that in the yearly appraisal.
What's a "reverse shinobi" ?
A double agent?
👍
oK, i think I qualify. where do I go?
Loyalty, courage, strategy, achievement and fidelity. I know more dogs with those traits than people!
Thomas Paine Damn! For such an innocuous sentence, that was a serious over-reaction. Whatever’s going on in your life, I hope it gets resolved and you’re in a better place soon.
Paul Keating
>over-reaction
You and your doggo obsessed people. I like pets too but there is such thing as over obsession you know and it’s cringe inducing.
Sorry for using profanity it’s internet you know people do things sometimes.
Thomas Paine For what it’s worth, I don’t have any pets, it was a simple expression of thought.
I’ve done the same myself, hence the last part. We’ve all been there.
Just because a person doesn't aim those qualities at _you_, doesn't mean they don't have them.
YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
And say GET OVER HERE ----->
This certainly doesn't sound like the Hollywood shinobi we've seen. Making a movie from this information would be easy.
like Thomas Shelby
Not until 四 did I realized the black bars were one, two, three in Japanese.
一 one 1 I un/une unus
二 two 2 II deux duos
三 three 3 III trois tribus
四 four 4 IV quatre quattuor
五 five 5 V cinq quinque
六 six 6 VI six sex
七 seven 7 VII sept septem
八 eight 8 VIII huit octo
九 nine 9 IX neuf novem
十 ten 10 X dix decem
陰茎
How to write a Gary Sue: 1676 Edition
I get it, you don't want me.
Interesting how they advise veneration and knowledge of Chinese religion and history, I wonder what that means.
Culture preceded knowledge
So basically Chris Farley from Beverly Hills Ninja
He must have four basic elements: Water. Earth. Fire. Air.
2:15 what is a "reversed shinobi"?
Ibonihs
A double agent; a spy who has been turned to spy on their own employer on the behalf of the enemy who they were originally supposed to spy on.
I mean, where it teachs to use shurikens and infiltrate castles?
Shuriken classes are normally on Saturdays.
Castle infiltrations on Tuesdays.
Castle exfiltrations on Thursdays.
More typically they’d use peasant tools so that they wouldn’t blow their disguise.
I think I may be a ninja...
Gerdronex I know I am a ninja.
@@isaacolivecrona6114 A real ninja doesn't even know he's a ninja
Did she find him?
There aren't enough hours in the day
1. Hokage Dattebayo
2. Sasukeeeee
So even in 17th century japan we got unrealistic job descriptions...
Is this teaching people how to be ninjas or is it teaching people to be model citizens?
Ninjas. You want spies who are accustomed to the region/social circles that they have to infiltrate and you need them to be loyal otherwise they might change sides at the first opportune moment.
You need a seemingly perfect man with a perfect life if you want to have a good spy and infiltrator. The shinobi have to appear as an extremely honourable and honest man, so he can use subterfuge apropiately
Would you want a less that perfect Ninja?
once it got to the part about being "proficient in all forms of art" i started to suspect it's a parable about how no one can be a good ninja or something lmao
God bless you dude.
Some of your videos will get hit by the 4lg0rthim.
Don't let that get you down.
This is just one guys perspective folks don't get your panties in a bunch!
THE REAL ULTIMATE POWER!
Classic!
So Naruto is a documentary?
If that is the requirement of a ninja, you pretty much have to be a god to be a lord huh
It's to ensure that your spy is loyal, good at his job, and doesn't turn against you.
Well if I found someone like that I would serve under him as my lord instead haha
Ninjago
Thank you from Ninja dating services.
Step 1. Buy some pyjamas
Step 2. Dye them black
Step 3.....😉
Did all of these things and now im better at fortnite
Isn’t this about when they decided to outlaw gunpowder so no lowly peasant could take out these superhuman ninja and samurai?
So kind of like a knight? Idk...
1k
Wait. Naruto is a Buddhist?
I thought he was gonna say,,smooth talking tramps"
Those too
Watch some people say : "hey those were Chinese characters, not japanese. You should correct that"
All who say that are big dumb dumbs.
Yep. I'm a Ninja.
Well first you need to lose that arm so you can have a literal toolbelt of tools attached to your fake arm replacement.
This describes Raizo of the mist to a T
Description of Alexander the Great
Well, I ain't no ninja
Ninjas would have made great improv comics!
My philosophy on Life:
Ninjas Gotta Practice
Girls: Omg I want to be a princess!
Me and the boys:
I thought the actual ninjas were poor guys. Thats why they didn't have any fancy weapons and no armor. So they could not beat samurais in an open fight and that's why they would suprise them from some hiding place or something. Is my information wrong? Or is this after the original ninjas and things have changed?
The idea of ninjas as assassin revolutionaries or criminals diametrically opposed to the samurai is a modern myth. Historically, they were basically spies in the service of their samurai lords. That said, the primary enemies of the samurai were other samurai, so a lot of their work involved spying on samurai and their servants (and yes, on rare occasions, assassinating them.)
@D'lish Donut You're still wrong there. A mercenary is someone you temporarily hire for war that is outside the society, both by meaning and in practice. A daimyo using ninja would be using men that he retained full time, and since ninja were often samurai themselves, they would be part of the society that they are working for. Just because they are hypothetically from a different province doesn't make them mercenaries. Hiring samurai from different regions was the norm pre-1603.
Also, accounts during the Sengoku period of Iga and Koka samurai in war, whether in secrecy or open warfare, have them involved in battles that are in neighboring provinces. So they still wouldn't have been working as mercenaries, they were involved in local, domestic disputes and were protecting their own homes.
@D'lish Donut You're quoting from a first edition of Antony's Shoninki, first of all. I can just as easily say that Masazumi was expressing disapproval at the Iga and Koka because they were more like thieves pre-1603 than proper shinobi. Second, every proper Sengoku period text written about the Iga and Koka-shu in war was always about them either fighting in a local battle or in a nearby province, again, which doesn't make them mercenaries. Tamon-in no Niki is one of those texts. There's even a passage in it about Iga samurai sneaking into the building and burning it down.
@D'lish Donut Yoshie didn't read the original texts either, she's reading transcriptions in more modern Japanese. And I know this for a fact because Antony himself told me that before. I've spoken to him several times a few years ago, I even have him on Skype. This was when the team was starting to churn out the ninjutsu manuals. He had a Facebook group that he used to be heavily involved with and would talk about samurai history and ninjutsu with anyone and everyone.
You keep using Antony and his team as a primary source, which isn't in itself bad. The problem is that they are your only sources, where as I'm using not only Antony, but also Stephen Turnbull, Ikeda Hiroshi, Steven Nojiri, and several others as sources.
Testimonial:
Ninjas can kill anyone they want! Ninjas cut off heads ALL the time and don't even think twice about it. These guys are so crazy and awesome that they flip out ALL the time. I heard that there was this ninja who was eating at a diner. And when some dude dropped a spoon the ninja killed the whole town. My friend Mark said that he saw a ninja totally uppercut some kid just because the kid opened a window.
And that's what I call REAL Ultimate Power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you don't believe that ninjas have REAL Ultimate Power you better get a life right now or they will chop your head off!!! It's an easy choice, if you ask me.
Ninjas are sooooooooooo sweet that I want to crap my pants. I can't believe it sometimes, but I feel it inside my heart. These guys are totally awesome and that's a fact. Ninjas are fast, smooth, cool, strong, powerful, and sweet. I can't wait to start yoga next year. I love ninjas with all of my body (including my pee pee).
your hilarious lol
Israelites 🧐
Dismisses almost all modern practicioners of Ninjutsu...
Ninjutsu is espionage. Real "modern practitioners of Ninjutsu" are either government agents or terrorists.
More Eastern voices, please.
Yes! Agreed
@@VoicesofthePast I know you'll make it happen!
And he should know how to cook; I'm frying eggs and bread as I'm listening to this.
what about blood limit genes..you didnt mentioned it. XD
Sounds like the perfect husband. Must he also be handsome?