5 Common Myths About Ninjas Everyone Thinks are True

With ninjas so glamorized by Hollywood and television it can be a struggle to identify fact from fiction when it comes to these mysterious warriors.

Let’s take a moment and dive into some common misconceptions about ninjas:

1 – Shuriken Were Rarely Thrown

Shuriken, also known as throwing stars, are known to be one of the preferred weapons used by ninjas and thought to be commonly thrown.

What people often get wrong is that they think these weapons were thrown with high accuracy. The truth is that shuriken usually had poison on the sharp edges and that the ninja could sneak up or even walk by in broad daylight and lightly scratch or poke the target to allow the poison to take its effect from there.

2 – Ninjas Always Wore Black

In movies ninjas are always shown to have these really cool looking outfits and they all seem to match one another.

The truth is that ninjas would utilize a variety of disguises, using whatever was best for the mission. They might appear as a guard, Samurai, farmer, merchants, or even disguise themselves to look like local shrubbery.

3 – Ninjas had Supernatural Abilities

Due to the fearsome reputation there were many who believe that ninjas possessed otherworldly or magical abilities.

The truth is that ninjas utilized a combination of intense physical training regimen and ingenuitive gear and devices to achieve unthinkable results. Stealth techniques that allowed them to infiltrate places that no one anticipated, grappling hooks to allow them to climb walls and buildings and no one would expect humanly possible, and assassination techniques that confused and terrified their enemies.

4 – Samurai and Ninjas Were Enemies

Well there is some truth to this common misconception, the relationship between Samurai and ninjas was far more complex than most realize.

Many warlords employed teams of ninjas to assist their own Samurai in defeating their enemies or accomplishing their objectives. There were many instances where Ninjas assisted and rescued Samurai against enemy factions of Samurai. There were even Samurai that engaged in ninja related activity.

5 – Ninjas Originated From China

Another common misconception regarding the mysterious ninjas is that they originated from China.

The truth is that ninjas originated from the Iga Province in Japan during the Sengoku era. Oda Nobunaga was the emperor of Japan at the time and waged a campaign against ninjas.

Due to the fact that ninjas were so elusive and deliberately encouraged rumors and misinformation about them, there are many misconceptions regarding these shadowy warriors…even nowadays.