The Origins of the Hidden Ninja Village in Japan

Naruto There is no idea of ​​a hidden village where ninjas live and train. These have been around pop culture for decades. But comics and anime are definitely promoted for the new generation of ideas. This seems to be a very simple concept. Where do you practice secret warriors practicing secret techniques besides secret locations hidden in other parts of the world? However, the history of the hidden ninja village is much more complicated than that, if you really want to know it, you can start with a trip to Sasuke Inari Shrine in Kamakura.

Sasuke Inari Shrine, Kawamura

kamakura: Where is the birthplace of ninjas?

Sasuke Inari Shrine is a secluded place located on one of the many hills of Kamakura. Away from the thick shade of the canopy of trees in the busy center of the city (a quiet residential area), it retains the feeling of a secret hiding place to this day. About 900 years ago, it must have felt like a different, magical world. Therefore, when Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147 – 1199) claims that the god appears in his dream in an old man (in other versions, a white fox), from a hidden village in Kamakura and tells him to conquer his The enemy, the general reaction was: “Yes, it makes sense.” So he did so, eliminating the TEDA clan during the Jeep War and becoming Japan’s first military ruler.

In honor of his victory, Yoritomo built the temple from his dream near the location of the hidden village. Today, it is famous for its 49 red Torii gates, its method as well as its many white foxes and beautiful green moss covers the shrine ground. One historian suggested that the village of Yoritomo dreams is real and the one who ends up becoming a ninja, but this does not match any known historical facts. However, it has a fascinating core of truth that deserves further exploration.

odaigahaira Mountain, Mie County

Noble exiles live

The actual ninja Originating from the remote, hard to reach mountainous areas of modern MIE and Shiga prefectures, this definitely helps to create the image of a “hidden ninja village” in Japanese culture. But the basic myth of a secret community with mysterious traditions and warrior bloodlines is even older than this, and can actually be traced back to Minamoto no Yoritomo. Only two male members survived after he defeated the Terra River. But everyone likes a story about the weak, and soon people start to hear rumors that there are more Heike who survived the massacre and live secretly throughout Japan.

Japanese scientist Carmen Blacker More than 100 examples of so-called stories were found Heike-Dani (“Heike Valleys”), they are isolated mountain or island communities, said to have been wandered by nobles. They all clearly spoke a polite Japanese version, the same ritual as the nobles in Kyoto, forbidden from contact with the outside world, and in the symbols of red and white, they encountered taboos in the symbols of Minamoto. Gem War. Black did not give these accounts any historic trust, which interprets them as the folk ways in which people in rural areas give themselves a higher legacy. As time goes by, mysterious stories Heike-Dani Until Kawamura began to be pushed as a spy in Japan – the birthplace of Asdins, attracted by the increasingly strange stories of ninjas. But we can go back further to reach the roots of the myth of “hidden villages”.

Hidden villages are built on pure land

The story of the story Heike-Dani yes kakurezato (“Hidden Village”) Mythical Family, which predated the Gempei War, originated from centuries and originated from pure land Buddhism. The ultimate goal of the school is to rebirth in a happy, enlightened realm where suffering is not present: pure land. The story of Yoritomo’s dream/vision may be influenced by these doctrines. Since pure land Buddhism wants to reach ordinary people like farmers who are struggling with different planes of existence, etc., the monks try to interpret pure land as pure land as a physically hidden location .

These pristine hidden villages may date back to the NARA period (710 – 794), a utopia where all are filled with luxurious houses, where food is always abundant and the weather is always perfect. But the exact details of these pure lands are not important. In fact, the ability of monks to tailor their abilities to new audiences is what helps their schools of thought spread nationwide. However, Buddhist priests also thought of people’s thoughts that there is a hidden world around them. Over time, their imaginations allowed them to have the surviving noble nobles and ninja warriors.

So while Sasuke Inari Shrine does not point to the secret birthplace of the ninja, it is a strange little way, partly part of their history, not to mention a beautiful, often overlooked place that more people should visit . Why not visit it during your next visit to Kawamura?

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