Who was a ninja? Who is a Ninja? (continue)

At this point I would like to move directly to the modern period (a discussion of the early modern period would be added later). Attempting to define who is a ninja in the modern period (post 1868) is an elusive matter. This is due to fundamental differences in the characteristics of the modern period vis a vis early modern or premodern periods. Most notably are the change from military to civil rule, a shift from pre-industrial to industrial society, and from a relative international isolation to a country open to foreign (most significantly Western) influence. The change to civil rule was accompanied by the abolishment of the class system, bringing to an end seven hundred years of military rule. It is against this background that we should try to trace the development of the ninja.

Similar to martial schools and military offices that were either part of or supported by the shogunate and daimyo, Ninja were left without their traditional employers. Furthermore, they were left without their established role as provincial inspectors and soldiers of the Edo bakufu. However, unlike martial schools such as the one systematized by the Yagyu house, who focused on organized preservation and transmission of their military techniques, the Ninja were mostly employed as soldiers rather than teachers. Consequently, the downfall of the bakufu in 1868 left samurai and Ninja to handle modernity and unemployment on their own. Martial traditions that were well known and supported by the bakufu or leading warriors, were able to make the transition to the modern period and adapt to the new reality with relative ease. However, the Ninja who never established formal martial schools that were open to the general samurai population, had to adjust to the newly imposed conditions of modernity by developing new skills (e.g., farmers, performers) and finding new occupations.

In its historical sense, Ninja, similar to samurai, ceased to exist as a social and military group. However, since Ninja were never an officially recognized social group, they could have potentially maintain their identity as such. Nevertheless, their existence was too much dependent on the overall social and military conditions within which they existed, and to insist that Ninja families and individual warriors continued to operate after the Meiji Restoration would be futile. Just as arguing that soldiers in Japan's modern army are in fact samurai is a baseless argument, so is the argument that Ninja became modern spies. One can not separate the Ninja from their historical context without distorting history. With that in mind, how shall we define those who learn and practice martial traditions that are associated with the premodern Ninja?

It is compelling to recognize as Ninja those, including ourselves, who learn, practice, teach and preserve these martial traditions. But if the historical Ninja no longer exist, we are left with the same dilemma of self-identity. The solution to that dilemma lies in recognizing that we need to look at the essence of these martial traditions, not at their historical context. That is, these martial traditions originating from an historical Ninja transmit fighting skills used by the premodern Ninja, but they also transmit a world-view, philosophy and fighting spirit that are not bound by historical periods. Therefore, it is more accurate to view the the historical Ninja as having been replaced by modern warriors who preserve premodern fighting traditions. Whether this qualifies one as a Ninja is left for one's discretion, but in any event, it is a matter of self-perception not of historical continuation.