![]() ![]() They had something known as shichi-hode (seven disguises), where they would appear in various forms, such as peasants, travelers, salesman of medical goods, and so on.” They basically wore clothes like everybody else. “Think about it: if there were, people would recognize them far too easily. “There is no such thing as a ninja costume,” says Kitazawa. But while the outfits at Koka Village actually do fit the Hollywood mold-and are all the more fun for it-ninja clothing was in fact much more varied. What better way to understand their true appearance, mask and all, than by getting dressed up ourselves? At least that’s what we thought. When we reach Koka we meet Akira Kitazawa, a ninja expert in the process of translating thousands of pages of historical documents into modern-day Japanese in order to give people a better understanding of who this secretive group really were.įirstly, he takes us to the changing room. Hidden away deep in the forest, this was said to be an ideal spot to learn about the arts of espionage, sabotage and infiltration. But going further back, the area hosted one of Japan's most prominent schools of ninjutsu-usually translated as "the way of stealth," though nin (忍) literally means forbearance and jutsu (術) means technique. Koka was the location for part of 3 Ninjas, a slightly dodgy 1992 kids’ movie you may remember slightly more vaguely than that Japan-set Bond flick. ![]()
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