A Ninja is A Patient Man. 忍者

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In the past, when I saw someone wearing a T-shirt with a large 忍 in the middle of it, I used to think that he is a man who values patience due to my ignorance. But he is more likely to be a martial art fan for 忍 rěn is short for 忍者 rěnzhě or ninja. 忍 is “endure” and 者 zhě is “person who...” but though 忍者 literally means “one who endures”, it is not the intended meaning in Japanese.

Ninja is the reading of two kanji 忍者 but written as shinobi-no-mono (忍の者), which is the native Japanese word for people who practice ninjutsu 忍术 rěnshù .

In feudal Japan, ninja are often employed as spy 间谍 jiàndié and assassin 刺客 cìkè. 刺客 is an interesting word composing of 刺 cì “stab” and 客 kè “guest, visitor or traveler”. Thus, an assassin could be a guest who stabs you in the dark if you are not careful!

It is not easy to be a ninja. Not only do you have to master Ninja Juhakkie the 18 skills of Ninja 忍身十八形 rěnshēnshíbāxíng but also Bugei Juhappan the 18 martial arts of the samurai 武芸十八般 wǔyúnshíbābān. I think it ironical that the first skill listed under the skills of Ninja is Seishinteki Kyoyo (精神的教养 jīngshén de jiàoyǎng spiritual refinement) while that of the samurai is Jujutsu / Kenpo (柔术 / 拳法 róushù / quánfǎ unarmed techniques), don’t you?

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