
"Notable American Martial Artists", Black Belt Magazine, May 2007, pp. 72–73. Tokyo–Rutland, Vt.–Singapore: Tuttle, 2014. The Illustrated Ninja Handbook: Hidden Techniques of Ninjutsu. "Techniques that made ninjas feared in 15th-century Japan still set the standard for covert ops". ( September 2017) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Consider utilising appropriate texts as inline sources or creating a separate bibliography article. Please ensure that only a reasonable number of balanced, topical, reliable, and notable further reading suggestions are given removing less relevant or redundant publications with the same point of view where appropriate. This further reading section may contain inappropriate or excessive suggestions that may not follow Wikipedia's guidelines. At some point, the skills of espionage became known collectively as ninjutsu, and the people who specialized in these tasks were called shinobi no mono. Skills relating to espionage and assassination were highly useful to warring factions in feudal Japan. Ninjutsu involved training in freerunning, disguise, escape, concealment, archery, and medicine. Ninjutsu included methods of gathering information and techniques of non-detection, avoidance, and misdirection. The ninja used their art to ensure their survival in a time of violent political turmoil. Ninjutsu was developed as a collection of fundamental survivalist techniques in the warring state of feudal Japan. He later came in contact with the warrior-monk Kain Doshi, who taught him a new way of viewing life and the means of survival ( ninjutsu). An example of these is the Togakure-ryū, which claims to have been developed after a defeated samurai warrior called Daisuke Togakure escaped to the region of Iga. Many different schools ( ryū) have taught their unique versions of ninjutsu. They would use this to avoid direct confrontation if possible, which enabled them to escape large groups of opposition.

Shinobi are mainly noted for their use of stealth and deception. Despite being able to assassinate in stealth, the primary role was as spies and scouts. Throughout history, the shinobi were assassins, scouts, and spies who were hired mostly by territorial lords known as daimyō.

Ninjutsu was developed by the samurai of the Nanboku-cho period, and further refined by groups of samurai mainly from Kōka and the Iga Province of Japan in later periods.

According to footnotes in this manuscript, the Genpei War lasted from 1180 to 1185, and the Kenmu Restoration occurred between 13. This manuscript goes on to say that during the Kenmu era, Kusunoki Masashige frequently used ninjutsu. According to Shōninki, the first open usage of ninjutsu during a military campaign was in the Genpei War, when Minamoto no Kuro Yoshitsune chose warriors to serve as shinobi during a battle. Spying in Japan dates as far back as Prince Shōtoku (572–622).
