YOU CAN’T SEE ME, I’M A NINJA!

Ninjas or Shinobi were serious warriors in ancient Japan, with skills that were obtained through long years of serious, dificult training and discipline. They were reviled and loved by their peers. They are no more, though Ninjitsu is taught as a serious martial art around the world.

But, they have also become huge pop culture icons, especially in America, a place where shinobi never were. There are videos:




Ninja Parade



How to be Ninja



Mythbusters - Ask A Ninja!

There are pictures:

Ninja inspired crafts like this felt ninja:

This one is crocheted:






And there are hundreds of movies, video games:







Anime and Manga such as Rurouni Kenshin, Basilisk, Naruto, Ninja Scroll, Ninja Nonsense, and Puppet Princess that feature ninja or they are the main characters. There are shirts, pants costumes:





Everyone wants to be a ninja!!


There is even a debate in the anime internet community about who is better—Pirates or Ninja?







Silly though all of this maybe, I still think it is carried out with a modicum of respect for what these highly trained man and women were capable of.

I am a ninja.

DAILY LIFE OF NINJAS

The two most famous locations for shinobi were Iga and Koga regions of central Japan. The two provinces shared a common border and they prospered until Oda Nobunaga’s attack in 1581. But what about the daily grind for a shinobi you might ask? What was a typical day like—get up, sharpen your throwing stars, kiss the wife and kids, assassinate a few people and come home to a hot meal? Well, no not quite.

THE NINJA VILLAGE

The average shinobi village had a ridged hierarchical structure. At the top were the Jounin, who depending on their wealth could live like a minor daimyo or an upper-class village headman. Some of the most famous jounin were Hattori Hanzo, said to be one of the handsomest men of his day, Momochi Sandayu, and Fujibayshi Nagato no kami, who some suspect to be Sandayu.

Either way, these were the big guys, who sent other people out on assignments. The next rung on the shinobi social ladder were the chunin, who were the executive officers and leaders. They were also in charge of hiring mercenary shinobi for temporary duty assignments. On the final rung were the genin, not to be confused with gaijin. The first one is your work-a-day shinobi, and the other is a foreigner.

The houses that the shinobi lived in were small, typical Japanese style houses. The shinobi jounin’s house may have had special “ninja upgrades” to make it difficult to attack him in his home, such as “disappearing” staircases and secret room with double entrances. One leads to the stairs, the other to a horrible death on spikes embedded into the floor.

The children went through the rigorous training I mention in the last ninja post, but they also had to farm to feed the village, care for life stock and the other daily activities of a typical Japanese village.



NEXT: NINJAS IN POPULAR CULTURE or YOU CAN’T SEE ME, I’M A NINJA!

Shinobi 忍者

This is most peoples' idea of a ninja. A man dressed in black, scaling castle walls, silent as the night.

And they are partly right. This image is proably closer to what a real ninja looked like.

Many Ninja or Shinobi as they are properly called belonged to the lower classes and were despised by the samurai nobles for their low birth and secretive and underhanded methods.

ORIGINS

Many of the shinobi originated in the Iga and Koga areas of central Japan. Shinobi really got their start during the Sengoku Jidai—or Warring States Era. This was a time of great civil war in Japan and the spying skills that the shinobi brought to the various factions was often exploited. It should be noted that there were two kinds of shinobi—the experts who trained and passed their skill on to their descendants like those of Iga and Koga, and the ones who were little more than brigands or ordinary samurai who were hired for temporary secret operations.

The famous Iga and Koga shinobi were active between 1485-1581. They were hired by rival lords or daimyo for spying operations and assignations. Oda Nobunaga attacked them in 1581 and the survivors scattered into other provinces, including Mikawa where they found refuge with Nobunaga’s enemy, Ieyasu Tokugawa. Tokugawa became the shogun in 1603 and the Iga and Koga shinobi fell under the auspices of the new shogunate.

TRAINING

A boy of a noble samurai family will begin training early in his childhood to be a warrior. They learn to ride, swim, use a sword, spear, and bow. Before the closing of Japan in the early 1600’s, they learned to use a gun as well. A child born into a shinobi tribe, boy or girl also began martial arts training. Besides learning the same skills as a samurai child, they also learn to make explosives, blend poisons, and fieldcraft and survival techniques. They may also need to learn to read, write, and pull off a convincing disguise or alternate personality.

NEXT: THE DAILY LIFE OF A NINJA

Do you Feel Lucky?

People in every culture want to have good luck. Some people believe that they make their own luck, while other people believe that it doesn’t exist and still others think that a symbol will help you get it or keep it if you already have it.

The objects do not have to be anything major or even anything big. Most people think of a rabbits foot, or a horseshoe, or a 4-leaf clover, or a Maneki Neko 招き猫.

"A what?" you ask.

This is a maneki neko—a waving cat. If you have ever eaten in a Japanese or Chinese restaurant, you have probably seen this. The web site The Beckoning Cat, quotes The Cult of the Cat (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1963) by Patricia Dale-Green. She says:

“. . . the Beckoning Cat is associated with an ancient cat-shrine on the grounds of a temple known as Gotoku-ji near Tokyo.

This temple was originally a very poor one, no more than a thatched hut run by poverty-stricken and half-starved monks. The master-priest had a cat of which he was fond, and shared with it such little food as he had.

One day the cat squatted by the roadside and, when half a dozen Samurai appeared on splendid horses, it looked up at them and raised one of its paws to its ear, as if it were beckoning to them. The noble cavaliers pulled up and, as the cat continued to beckon, they followed it into the temple. Torrential rain forced them to stay for a while, so the priest gave them tea and expounded Buddhist doctrine.

After this one of the Samurai—Lord Li—regularly visited the old priest to receive religious instruction from him. Eventually Li endowed the temple with a large estate and it became the property of his family.

Visitors who pass under the temple's gateways, walk through its broad avenues of towering trees and enjoy the beautifully laid-out gardens, discover, near the cemetery of the Li family, the little shrine of the beckoning cat -- which, it is said, still draws pilgrims from all parts of Tokyo.

Because the Beckoning Cat had lured a wealthy patron to the poor temple, images of this cat soon became talismanic emblems and were particularly favored by shopkeepers. . .”

When you see it in store windows and in restaurants, it is supposed to attract customers into the shop, thus growing the owner’s business, and bringing them luck.

In the Western world, many unusual objects are considered good luck charms. On Good Luck Symbol, they mention several that I have never heard of.

During the Norman Conquest, the English carried dried acorns to protect themselves from the brutalities of the day. They were considered to be an emblem of luck, prosperity, youthfulness and power; it also represents spiritual growth.

This is called a caduceus, and most of us know it as a medical symbol. It was used as a good luck symbol in Egypt, India and ancient Greece, this emblem was said to ward off sickness, quarrels, and bring peace to any situation. The wings represent those on the feet of Mercury who was the messenger of all the Greek gods. The snakes represent the balance between good and evil.

Most Americans are familiar with the horseshoe as a good luck symbol. I was told that when the horseshoe is place over the door or elsewhere in the house, it must be in the upright “U” so that the luck doesn’t drain out. I was never told exactly how it was supposed to get in the horseshoe, but never mind.

***

Let’s jump back into the East for a moment, and talk about another interesting good luck symbol: a daruma.

A Daruma is supposed to represent the 5th century monk, named DARUMA - Father of Zen Buddhism – who obtained enlightenment after he sat for nine years against a wall. His arms and legs withered away, which is why the doll is round. Similar to a

weeble, when tipped, the daruma pops back up.

When you buy a daruma, there are no eyes on it.
You make your wish, and paint in the RIGHT EYE only.

Then you put it in your house and when your wish come true, hopefully within a year, then you paint in the LEFT EYE.

Then you take the finished daruma to your local temple at New Years, where it is burned, and you buy a new (and bigger) one.

Jade turtles, like this one, can be very cute. The ancient Chinese used to use turtle shells for fortune telling and since jade was considered a precious stone, jade turtles, in Chinese belief, came to symbolizes good luck, health and a long life.

This symbol is also Chinese, and it is called SHOU. The October 14, 2008 ed. of the ShanghaiDaily.com says “ . . .Shou, meaning longevity and prosperity, is a traditionally lucky Chinese character.

It can be found on inscriptions of ancient bronze objects, royal seals, paintings, books, coins, chinaware and epigraphs, according to the dictionary's editor-in-chief, Wang Rongtai. "The earliest forms of the character date back to the Shang Dynasty (17th century-11th century BC)," Wang said.

Shou is also widely used in modern decoration and art, including sculpture, calligraphy, seal cutting, miniature gardening and paper cutting.

The shou character can be presented in numerous shapes, each one with their own meaning. For example, a round shou suggests complete and perfect life and health. . .”

***
It is interesting to look at the things that various cultures attach meaning and symbolism to. They are usually innocuous, simple things that were common in everyday life and were simple passed down to us, though the meaning are being lost to time.

And remember to keep your keys handy. Three of them worn together open the doors to health, wealth and love.

Kimono 着物 or Thing to Wear

In my last post, I talked about Anime and a very little bit about the samurai. Today, I’d like to talk briefly about another aspect of Japanese culture that I find so interesting and that many people love: Kimono.

In Japanese, the word simply means “a thing to wear,” and only in the last 140 years has it come to denote traditional Japanese clothes, as opposed to Western clothes.

One of the nice things about kimono is that there is so much information about the wearer built right into the garment.Look at this young lady and this doll. Both of them are wearing a style of long sleeved kimono called a Furisode. Furisode are worn by young unmarried girls.



The fancy stytle of the obi or belt on the girl also indicate that she is unmarried. Their obis have fancy names like Butterfly bows, Fukuro Tsuzume or Fat Sparrow.

A kimono for an older or married woman has shorter sleeves, and is called a Tomesode. They also wear a simpler obi tie called a Taiko or Drum Knot.

There is also a scarf called an obi age that is worn in the front of the obi, at its top. The more of the scarf that is showing, then the girl is unmarried.

Men’s kimonos are much simpler, as you see here, with a simpler obi. For formal dress, men add a pair of pleated, pants called hakama.

Finally, a yukata is a simple, unlined kimono that is worn in the summer and in the past, the plain ones were warn as pajamas.

Yukata are easily distinguished from regular kimono by the fact that they have simpler obi, and don't usually have an under kimono with them.

Here’s how to put on a modern Kimono.


6 minute　Kimono dressing with English　explanation

***

The kimonos that we all know now are actually period. This style came into fashion during the Edo Period (1601-1867).

During the Heian Period (794-1185), kimonos for women were called Junihito, or 12 Layers.

Yes, 12. Until the sumptuary laws were passed in 1074, some kimonos had as many as 15 to 40 layers, and were so heavy that the women spent most of their days lying down.
Junihito is derived from a story about a lady-in-waiting who drowned trying to save the Child Emperor. It was said that her ‘twelve unlined robes’ weighted her down." Exactly where this story came from is unknown. But this legend gave name to the style of court dress, even if it was a bit of a misnomer. . . After 1074 CE, this number was reduced to five. . . (from Here)

Regardless of the number of layers, wearing colours was important, and the order of the colours was also important. Some colours were associated with certain seasons—for instance wearing yellow, a fall colour in the summer would be see as a sign of vulgarity and bad taste. You can see the colours and layers in this in this picture and in the video.

Dressing KIMONO Juni-hitoe 十二単

The kimono that the model is wearing has some red in it. Why is that important? Well, red was a colour that could only be worn by a woman who was shown favour by the Empress. Here’s a list of the layers needed for a Junihito kimono:

Juni-hitoe Glossary:

*Kosode: An under-kimono with small sleeves

*Hitoe: A chemise or unlined first layer

*Itsutsu-ginu: The 5 layers of lined uchigi or kinu robes

*Uchiginu: A stiff-silk garment worn between itsutsu-ginu and uwagi that provided stiffening for formal gowns

*Uwagi: Formal over-robe that trailed the floor in varying lengths due to each woman's position in the Imperial Court

*Karaginu: Short Chinese Jacket that could be brocaded, embroidered, or painted

*Mo: An apron-skirt that was worn on the back to act as a cascading train'

These kimonos are indeed beautiful, but it is no wonder they spent so much time sitting around and not walking!

Victorian Boys' Clothes

Normally, I don't think or write about clothes. Yes, they can be interesting to look at, but on the whole, I am of the opinion they are just there to keep you from being naked.

That said, I found this dress here, and according to the description, this dress is for a young boy. I started to think about it, and it really does make sense. Clothes were hard to make and clean, diapers had to be changed, and it would be easier to lengthen a dress for a growing child than to sew them a new pair of pants every few months.

A bit more searching brought me to these young gents: who are clearly ecstatic. They look to be between four and seven years of age, so the elder boy probably was "breeched," or allowed to wear long pants not long after this picture was taken. Assuming his mama was willing to relinquish her hold on his apparel. But may she was okay with it, since she still had the younger sibling to fuss over for a few years yet.

We all know who this tot is, even though we can't see his companion. Young Christopher served as his father's model for his books. He was dressed in gingham smocks until he had passed his 8th birthday. This was, however, unusual. When he went off to his boarding school, the other boys teased him for it.

This wasn't the first time a writer used their child as a model for a story. Francis Hodgson Burnett s young son, Vivian, was the model for Little Lord Fauntleroy. The fashion craze this generated was based off of the illustrations that were done from photos of young Vivian.

This isn't Vivian, but an illustration of the outfit that had to have been the bane of the existence of at least two generations of young boys.

Though it may seem silly to our modern eyes, and for some clothing historians, it is hard to tell the boys and girls apart, there were some, at first, practical reasons for dressing young boys in this manner. And I'm sure a vast majority of the boys turned out just fine.

September 11, 2001

Twin Towers




BY CRISTINA

MTV’s first music video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles played on August 1, 1981. I was born twenty four days later, making me truly a child of the so called ‘MTV generation.’ When I was younger, I often lamented the lack of truly significant causes and events for my generation that had marked the previous two. For my grandparents, it was World War II, the horrors of the Holocaust, the advent of television, and the start of the Cold War. My parents’ generation was shaped by the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, and the assassination of four very significant people.


As I think back, very few people in my generation may recall the following events, but I remember them distinctly. I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall, and feeling as excited as the young people with their sledgehammers, dancing on top of the Wall’s ugly, graffiti covered surface. I remember the first Iraq War, and being afraid of what I was seeing on the TV. I was nine at the time, and the TV was on twenty-four hours a day, locked on CNN. I recall the first World Trade Center bombing, the fall of Communism and thus the end of the Cold War, I remember Tiananmen Square.


But the impact on my life because of these events was small. The biggest event, though it still only affected me indirectly, was September 11, 2001. It was a bright, sunny Tuesday—a perfect early fall morning— and I was on my way to work, when the radio made the first announcement that started eighteen months of worldwide confusion fear, anger, grief, and loss of life:

“This just in—a small aircraft has just struck the World Trade Center in New York City . . .”


It has been seven years. Let us never forget.


Our True Story
We are wounded, but not slain.
We shall lay and bleed awhile,
Then rise to fight again.


The flower bars are from here