Ninja Weapons... Technical & Historical Uses

[PizzaPower1985]

The more savvy among you MAY already know this... But I thought it'd be fun to look at the turtle's chosen weapons.



Some of the earliest depictions of the one called Leonardo do not feature the turtle wielding katana swords. They are "fake" nonexistent short swords known as ninjato (also called ninjaken, or shinobigatana) that have no basis in history. It was not a Shinobi weapon and comes out of popular imagination and was popularized in the 20th century Hong Kong movies. Swords like the ninjato did exist in Feudal Japan and onwards but they were closer to butterfly swords and daggers.




The ninja traditionally did not use swords but most often carried knives and daggers, and primarily used anything that was available for combat or anything that could be concealed for stealth. Police of the Edo period used sais or jitte (jutte) daggers. Samurai later adopted them as short arms or side arms.



Nunchakus were less common as well but did appear historically. They originated as the traditional weapon used in Okinawan army training and were thought to be invented by Japanese farmers as a primitive thresher. They were not popular weapons as they were ineffective against blades.



The bo or boe-staff (aka bong (LoL), pang, bang or kun) is ancient and would probably be the most realistic object for a ninja. It originated with a fighting form called bojitsu or boiejutsu. The bo traveled from China as a tool used by Chinese monks and made its way to Okinawa where it became a weapon.




The katana was of course a Samurai sword. Samurai were the opposite of ninjas. They were the medieval knights of the Orient. Somtimes the blade was squared off at the end, sometimes it had a pointed curve.

Leo's swords are sometimes depicted as katanas and this would probably be more accurate for him, as Leo is obsessed with the ways of bushido. However, wearing them on his back would be extremely heavy AND over time might ruin the blades as katanas have to be stored a certain way to prevent warpage and blade damage.

[Leo656]

On one hand, topics like this always are informative and entertaining since I probably know less than the average bear about it. And it's cool that a lot of people were inspired to learn so much about the topic thanks to TMNT, at least in part.

On the other, they always tickle me because I know that the fans who take part in the discussion generally did about 1000% more research than Eastman or Laird did when they created the thing.

[PizzaPower1985]

Originally Posted by Leo656

On one hand, topics like this always are informative and entertaining since I probably know less than the average bear about it. And it's cool that a lot of people were inspired to learn so much about the topic thanks to TMNT, at least in part.

On the other, they always tickle me because I know that the fans who take part in the discussion generally did about 1000% more research than Eastman or Laird did when they created the thing.

Yeah. Those guys just did what every comic book artist does... Ape from pop culture, watch Hong Kong flicks and read and borrow from other comics. Pretty much delivered what was expected of American ninja fiction.

And I just found out... Bruce Lee has an entire subgenre of film named after him. Bruceploitation! Hundreds of martial arts action films where the main character is made to look, act and sound just like Bruce Lee.

[IndigoErth]

Always found it interesting that some weapons probably originate from farm tools, though it make perfect sense if that's what you had in your hands all day.

The people who insist Leo uses ninjato, not katana, bug me though. Some of them maybe straight, but if a show, etc calls them katana, then it just comes down to art style. Esp in hand drawn cartoons, it's just less time consuming to make them straight frame after frame. Maybe it's just me, but no way in hell could I keep that curve consistent. lol

[Leo656]

Eh, when I write Leo, I just say "katana" because it's easier. But I draw them straight, because again, Easier.

I guess at the end I'm just a lazy ass who don't give a sh*t. I mean, I do, just not enough to inconvenience myself in any way.

[oknazevad]

Only thing I absolutely must state is that sai are not daggers. They're rarely sharpened to a point, and wielding them is more clubbing, parrying, and disarming than stabbing. They're truncheons.

And they might or might not have originated as farming tools. The turtles' weapons (except Leo's swords) are really weapons from Okinawan kobudō. "Kobudō" is a catch-all Japanese term for martial arts that predate the Meiji Restoration (indeed it literally translates as "old martial way"). In the Okinawan case, it refers mostly to the old weapons of the island, which was once a very small, independent agricultural and maritime economy. Subsequently the old weapons were the sort that a poor peasant could adapt from common items. In addition to the straight staff (bō) the boat oar was a weapon. So was the sickle (kama), a side-handled baton (tonfa), and the simple spear and shield (the latter of which was often made from a sea turtle shell!). None of which, outside the straight staff which can be found in almost all cultures, were likely common on mainland Japan for historical ninja to use, as Okinawa wasn't annexed by Japan yet during the height of the ninja era. Funnily enough, the chances are more likely that historical ninja would use simply made swords than any of the others, though the modern "ninjato" is not the form they would use. They would have actually used... katana. Inexpensive versions, not the top quality family heirlooms of samurai, but katana none the less. Shuriken, bow and arrow, and kursarigama, were also used, the latter also doubling as a climbing implement.

[miru]

I like how these are actually in contrast to the 1980s millitary weapons of Rocksteady, and I do like exploring all the technical and non-combat uses of them.

[Hamato Yoshi]

"They were not popular weapons as they were ineffective against blades"

Except for Bruce Lee "chucking" away in Chinese Connection

(and Chuck Norris.....nothing can stop him , you know. Except Bruce Lee did once