Samurai vs Ninja

The Dragon Spirits

   This post is mostly about the relationship between the Samurai and Ninja, the two famous types of warriors in the history. In it we will also compare the path/ways or methods of the two, usually called Bushido and Shinobido, using references from the the books of Shoninki -one of the three great treasures on the knowledge of Shinobi by Natori Masazumi (Sok, and Hagakure -the book of Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. This post doesn't really discuss who is superior between Samurai and Ninja because that's a matter of situation.
   First let's give a short introduction of the two figures. Samurai, known more commonly in earlier Japan as Bushi or simply Bu, were the military officer class of warriors, known for their nobility, honor and bravery. They were strongly committed to their path of Samurai -Bushido which defined the basic principles of the way of samurai life. The spirit of a Bushi was like that of a pine tree -high, erect and strong, when it came to character. We can say that the spirit of a Samurai was like an Oni (demon) when it came to intention. They would get cut down rather than bend down before the will of an enemy, however they were readily available to submit their will before that of the person they were serving for. They were committed to their way of honor so much that they would commit seppuku (a ritual suicide) in case of a great loss rather than take the path of escape or imprisonment. Even if they were imprisoned during war or due to crime, the general path for them was to commit seppuku in order to release their soul from the strangles of worldly life.
Throughout the book of Hagakure,
there can be found many events of retainers committing seppuku, as a consequence for their crimes/faults or ordered by their lords to do so. They didn't fear death (The whole book of Hagakure puts an emphasis on this i.e a Bushi should be like a living corpse) and it was a matter of honor for a Bushi to die at the hands of a strong acknowledged enemy and even more so to defeat him, especially if in service of their lord. The Book 1 of Hagakure says: "The Way of the warrior (bushido) is to be found in dying. If one is faced with two options of life or death, simply settle for death. It is not an especially difficult choice; just go forth and meet it confidently. To declare that dying without aiming for the right purpose is nothing more than a “dog’s death” (inu-jini, used for a meaningless death) is the timid and shallow way of Kamigata warriors. Whenever faced with the choice of life and death, there is no need to try and achieve one’s aims. Human beings have a preference for life. As such, it is a natural tendency to apply logic to justify one’s proclivity to stay alive. If you miss the mark and you live to tell the tale, then you are a coward. This is a perilous way of thinking. If you make a mistake and die in the process, you may be thought of as mad (kichigai), but it will not bring shame. This is the mind-set of one who firmly lives by the Martial Way (Budo). Rehearse your death every morning and night. Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse (jōjū shinimi) will you be able to find freedom in the martial Way, and fulfill your duties without fault throughout your life". It would be a matter of shame for a Samurai to bring disgrace or distrust to his lord or master. In Book 1 of Hagakure Yamamoto Tsunemoto states: "A man in service (hōkōnin) needs only to place his lord at the center of his heart. Nothing is more desirable than this. ..."Those were some good qualities discussed about the Samurai warrior however there were drawbacks. Just like not every one follows law and not always, there were Samurai not to follow the path as strictly and history is full with such stories where one powerful samurai defected or killed his own master for the sake of personal or other purposes. The Hagakure Book 1 states: "Although it stands to reason that a warrior must abide by the tenets of the martial Way (Budo, alternatively used here for Bushido), it seems that many are guilty of dereliction in this respect. ...". Most samurai were full of arrogance and some would get corrupt. Sometimes, they would drink too much, boast a lot and be extravagant. The Hagakure Book 2 states: "Upon inquiring, “What is off limits for a man in service (hōkōnin)?” I was told: “Drinking too much, boasting, and extravagance. ..." They would kill each other just to make a name for themselves or their school when it came to dual although they did respect the power and equal opportunity of their opponent by fighting one on one in duals, unless they faced a real strong someone. The whole life of Miyamoto Musashi lingered around this purpose -to become one invincible under the heavens.   Coming to the Shinobi, it's discussed in detail in the post Introduction: Ninja and Ninjutsu. Here giving a short introduction about the path of Shinobi because understanding the path is understanding the reality of a Shinobi no other ways can tell. The path of Shinobi is different from the others in that it doesn't conform to any specific rules but there are other ways which you can follow. It is difficult to explain the feeling of it in words and especially in English, here but in general I can say that it's a very flexible path unlike Bushido. It is like insubstantial at some times while substantial at other times. It is a continuous path of uncertainty and thus needs the heart under the blade. As in Shoninki, master Natori Sanjuro Masatake states: "How sad it is that even if you have mastered a hundred thousands of skills and know them like the back of your hand, this path of Shinobi will leave you uncertain, you will be in need to attain even more knowledge than you have. If you approach it too casually, you will be making a serious mistake, as nothing is more horrifying than this path."
   It is an uncertain path but it does require a will to walk it (a certain mind and purpose). He who carries that will and follows this path of Shinobi is called a True Shinobi. The spirit of a Shinobi must be like that hidden within a young bamboo -flexible both towards people and situation. The Shinobi were thought of as the descendants of Tengu, because of their spiritual strength.

    Now that we know who is a Samurai and who is a Shinobi, let's discuss a few misconceptions found in people today, based on popular representations of the subjects and common belief, about the relationship of the Samurai to Shinobi. Then we will try to correct them for the reader, based on historical evidence from the respectable sources.

   Some of the misconceptions which are popular:

1. Samurai were elite tyrant class of warriors who worked for daimyó (feudal lords) to snatch lands of poor while the ninjas were of lower peasant class or Ashigaru (foot soldiers), who fought against their tyranny and would assassinate the Samurai generals, for freedom and self protection.

2. Samurai were fierce, fearless and heavily armored warriors while ninjas were formed of poor, coward, weak people who could not fight directly in combat with samurai so they developed such ways (of covert assassinations and martial arts) to fight them. The simple weapons of ninja could not pierce through the strong armour of Samurai so they developed the Ninjató to stab them when off guard.

3. Samurai held strong positions in the house of feudal lords and they were costly to be hired while ninjas were cheap and less reluctant to do the dirty work for feudal lords and elite samurai, since they wouldn't follow the path of Bushido and would do anything for money.

4. The ninjas were the worst enemies of the Samurai, a nightmare for them. The ninjas hated samurai so they would kicking and flipping kill the damn samurai while the Samurai hated ninjas, searching for them and attacking their villages constantly.

5. The Samurai were very loyal to their lord(s), at no cost would they betray them while the ninjas were mercenaries, killing anyone for money.

   These are some of the misconceptions, mostly wrong about the ninjas because very few people know the truth about Shinobi; there are many others which relate directly to the Shinobi so those I will discuss in a separate post/article. Now, answering to the stated misconceptions and going in detail, I would like to give the reader an insight into the truth that lies between the two paths, of Bushido and Shinobi.
   First, attending to the concept that ninjas were of lower peasant class and samurai were elite warrior class, I must tell you that this is indeed true for samurai that they were elite noble class of warriors whether or not they were tyrants (it depended from person to person and mostly to the lord of the domain for which the samurai worked; a wicked or stern lord has wicked or stern soldiers too) though it is only partially true for Shinobi that they were farmers, in the lands of daimyó. Most Shinobi owned their independent lands specifically in the regions of Iga and Koga, some were lower or middle class Samurai, often as and some held good positions as top class samurai, often as retainers most of which held great lands and most liked to work on their fields themselves so as to be connected to nature. Few good examples of Samurai ninja are: the famous Hattori Masanari Hanzo, Momochi Sandayu, Fujibayashi Nagato and Nattori Masatake himself. Many took the life of Yamabushi or mountain priests. There are different types of Shinobi. The different professions of the Shinobi were also dependent on their disguise and most Shinobi kept their status low on purpose. However, about the power that the Shinobi of the Iga and Koga held, it is worth noting that even a daimyó would ask a permission for his convoy to pass or to visit the regions of Iga and Koga. Assassination wasn't the main job of a Shinobi; again this has to do with the type of Shinobi and situation. The lore of freedom or self protection from Samurai are only true -still only partially because Samurai didn't exist at the time- to the early development of Shinobi. Shinobi was a form of ascetic art, mostly practiced by monks, in its earlier stages. Most of these tales of ninjas as peasants and freedom fighters are spread by the first American Shihan of Bujinkan, Stephen K. Hayes in his books, may be to promote ninjutsu to the modern world as the ultimate self protection art.
   Now comes the next matter, Shinobi were neither weak nor coward. It is a matter of strategy that only few can truly understand. About the use of the famed ninja sword, Ninjató or Shinobiken, that has to be discussed in a separate article.
   Since samurai were also shinobi, this ends the play that ninjas were enemies of the samurai. This was only in the case when a shinobi is hired by an enemy to eliminate or demoralize the target samurai. Other than shinobi held friendships within not only samurai but all classes of people. One example of this is that master Natori Sanjuro Masatake had brought his writing of Shoninki to a Sanurai named Katsuda Kakyūsai, who were a Samurai and didn't have knowledge of Shinobi arts, who expresses his feelings as: "Lately, Fujinoissuishi Masatake has recorded this secret document on the art of ninpei by his own hand. The esoteric way of this writing is extremely scrupulous and subtle. If you attentively trust in and perform these ninjutsu skills, there wouldn’t be a single warrior you couldn’t deceive, no matter how prudent and discreet he was. Doubtlessly you would be able to take hold of the enemy by your tactics and have complete control over them. You can do this by having them “eat out of the palm of your hand” at will. It seems almost magical, this art of night stealth that enables you to make yourself invisible in the black of night.
 One day, after he finished the manual, he brought it to me discreetly and asked me to write a preface for it. As I am not on the same path as he is and thus, lacking in good judgment to be able to fulfil this request, I tried to turn it down, but he didn’t allow me to refuse. Therefore, I am obliged hereby to provide these words and to preface this document, though it seems redundant because of my lack of understanding." The threat was mostly from the enemy's hired shinobi (shinobi may not be the enemies but enemies may hire the shinobi) and so specials measures were taken to defend against them. This threat was equal for shinobi themselves, as they can be taken too by rival shinobi or hired shinobi. The arts of budo were learned by most shinobi and that's why now comes the confusion of shinobi arts as ninjutsu between modern people. There were many samurai who learned the arts of Shinobi or parts of it. One example is Yagyu Sekishusai, who received teaching in Shinkage-ryu, an off-shoot of Kage-ryu which was a shinobi school and hence so he learned Shuriken no Jutsu and few other strategies of Shinobi arts. Generally Samurai with shinobi knowledge were given preference, especially in war times, in the house of Shogun and/or feudal lord(s) because they could handle not only samurai soldiers but shinobi too very well, both their own and those of their enemies. In such times many samurai would be urged to learn the arts of shinobi and try to look for anyone they could gain some knowledge from about it.
   Speaking of loyalty, a Samurai's loyalties can also change, if their personal purposes overtake them. Not everyone is perfect and not always. It needs an immovable heart and a stable mind to stay determined. In this case, a Shinobi's will was much better than that of the Samurai. As there were noble samurai, there were noble shinobi too who took it as an utmost duty to stay loyal to their masters. Most shinobi were samurai too, so they were loyal to their masters but to a shinobi, their family can be more important to them than their lords and hence can they prefer them more unlike samurai who lives to do anything for their respected lord. This doesn't mean shinobi were not at all loyal, they simply had preferences. When a shinobi would kill some one he was hired for, he would still think of its benefit and circumstances to his own village, clan, family and himself. A shinobi is flexible like a bamboo and this explains everything.  There were indeed some shinobi who lost the path and became mercenaries and hence they would take missions from anyone, irrespective of their clan ties and the type of job he's ordered to, to make a living for themselves. These people must lack the taste for any other art like painting, swordsmanship, poetry or farming, which most shinobi were good at. These are those whose character is most commonly depicted today as that of a ninja, having no other purpose but to 'kicking, flipping and killing around', which is unfortunate.