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  • - [Micaela] In the last video, we visited

  • Odawara City in Kanagawa prefecture

  • to step into the world of Japanese ninja.

  • First, at Odawara Castle, we learned

  • that ninjas were not actually

  • violent assassins but clever spies

  • enlisted to spy on clans during the Sengoku period,

  • a time when Japan was broken up into small territories

  • at war with each other, and if that wasn't

  • surprising enough, I made a startling discovery

  • about the ninja's appearance as well.

  • Actual ninjas were actually more known

  • to blend into society by dressing really normally

  • so that they wouldn't stand out.

  • I wouldn't be a very good ninja

  • if everyone around me could look at me

  • and tell that I'm a ninja.

  • Okay, so if ninjas didn't dress in all black

  • running around, throwing stars

  • and assassinating their enemies, what did they do?

  • I headed to Nagano prefecture to find some answers.

  • So today, we're at the Ueda Castle remains,

  • in Nagano prefecture, and we're going to learn

  • about the history that this area has

  • with the mythical ninjas.

  • The Ueda Castle ruins are a monumental part

  • of Japanese history, especially during

  • the Sengoku period when it belonged

  • to the famous Sanada clan.

  • Despite its small size, it is considered

  • on of the strongest castles in Japan

  • during the Sengoku period, thanks to its clever

  • architecture and confusing layout.

  • It survived two major sieges,

  • first defeating an attack of 7,000 enemy soldiers

  • with only 2,000 soldiers of their own.

  • Both of these stories are inspiring tales

  • of the underdog beating the odds,

  • and it is said that this could not have been possible

  • without intense strategizing including

  • the use of Japanese spies, ninjas,

  • to gather information and foresee oncoming enemy attacks.

  • So it's possible that this is evidence

  • that they had an escape route here in the castle,

  • and they think that this is what the ninjas used

  • to get in and out without being noticed.

  • After visiting the castle, we decided to take a walk

  • down Yanagimachi Street, another remnant

  • of Japan's historical past.

  • These days, this picturesque area

  • has even been used as a set for movies.

  • The thing I love most about walking

  • down these streets is that it smells like wood.

  • Like it kind of has this wooden, old smell,

  • but it's like a nice smell, like a fragrant wood smell.

  • Sana, how nice to meet you.

  • Nice to meet you, Sana, how old are you?

  • Wow, seven?

  • So by now I think you're familiar with

  • every prefecture in Japan having its own specialty food,

  • and one of the foods that is special

  • in Nagano prefecture is soba.

  • There's tons of soba shops around here,

  • we've seen a few already today

  • and we decided that it would be the perfect place

  • to drop in and have lunch at.

  • At this soba restaurant, Onishi,

  • they're famous for using several different types of soba,

  • including sprouted grains, adding more nutritional value

  • to their meals than regular soba.

  • So because ninjas were such a secret species,

  • it has been really really hard

  • for historians to separate fact from fiction,

  • a lot of the information they can gather

  • from ninjas are from fictional old stories

  • and they kind of piece together information

  • that lines up with other information

  • from other authors or historians

  • during that time to figure out what actually happened.

  • So there's a lot of hearsay and there's a lot of unsurety,

  • mystery surrounding what ninjas actually did.

  • Ah.

  • Ah!

  • At the Ikenami Shotaro Sanada Taiheiki Kan,

  • an exhibition hall dedicated to a series of books

  • based on the Sengoku period, they even have

  • an entire section of the exhibition

  • dedicated to findings about the ninja.

  • We're about to enter a ninja cave.

  • It's actually very cool in here, very dark and cool.

  • Oh.

  • There's like animal noises.

  • In order to collect data on their targets,

  • they would disguise themselves as pharmacists,

  • peddlers, entertainers, farmers, anything

  • to get them to blend into their target society undetected.

  • Their missions would often take days,

  • and they would sometimes stake out hiding spots

  • in the homes of their targets,

  • this required patience and tons of self control

  • as one false move or sound could blow their cover entirely.

  • A ninja's training would revolve around

  • being swift, quiet, inconspicuous,

  • and most importantly, not leaving a trace

  • of their presence behind.

  • Hai.

  • So now we're heading up the winding road

  • into the mountains to a place that has

  • been historically linked to a ninja training ground

  • for the Sanada clan, which was the clan

  • that founded the castle where we just visited.

  • It's all connected.

  • It's all connected, and it's all starting

  • to make sense, which is really exciting.

  • Kakuma Keikoku, or the Kakuma Valley is said to be

  • the training ground of Sarutobi Sasuke

  • and his fellow Sanada ninjas.

  • At the entrance of the valley lies a single ryokan,

  • built around a natural iron-based hot spring,

  • it is said that this too was once used

  • by the Sanada ninja clan.

  • Oh my goodness.

  • (laughs) I did not bring the right boots for this.

  • I didn't realize we would be climbing up

  • icy death stairs but it is what it is.

  • There better be some real ninjas up there.

  • If I go up there and there's not a single ninja,

  • I'm gonna feel ripped off.

  • I did it.

  • We did it.

  • Although I doubt they had stairs

  • back in the Sengoku period, if this is really the place

  • where ninjas would train,

  • I can kind of understand how running up and down

  • these hills would increase their endurance.

  • There are said to be many caves in the Kakuma area,

  • but the one that houses the cave goddess,

  • Iwaya Kannon, is the biggest in the valley.

  • In the past, these areas were used

  • as mini-residences for those living in the mountains

  • but now it is home to spirits instead.

  • So we've heard stories, we've seen the costumes,

  • we've learned about fact and fiction,

  • but to actually come all the way up

  • into the mountains and walk that steep flight of stairs

  • and see this giant rock with a giant shrine inside it,

  • and actually be here and experience this

  • with my own two eyes and ears and runny nose,

  • it does start to feel like maybe

  • ninjas did exist after all, that they were really

  • as cool as we make them out to be,

  • even if they didn't look exactly the way

  • that we make them out to be.

  • To be honest, when I started this project,

  • I didn't know much about ninjas at all,

  • and I feel like now I'm really starting to get

  • actually genuinely interested as I learn more.

  • I'm really excited, the more I learn,

  • the more interested I am, and I can't wait

  • to find out more in Saga.

  • Oh the things I do,

  • the things the cameraman makes me do,

  • dress up like a ninja,

  • fight children,

  • play in the snow.

  • Next time, we're ditching the snow

  • and heading back to Kyushu

  • to Saga's ninja village to try to figure out

  • why Japan still celebrates the media-portrayed

  • image of a ninja even if it isn't factually correct.

  • Sound interesting?

  • Then make sure you stick around for part three.

  • It took a very long time,

  • but I made it down.

  • I can't actually believe I went up there, seriously.

  • These are not snow boots.

  • These are heels, I'm wearing heel boots.

  • Not waterproof, and I went up the stairs.

  • I could be a ninja after all.

- [Micaela] In the last video, we visited

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忍者訓練場! 日本忍者的真相 這裡是培養忍者的地方! (Ninja Training Ground!? The Truth About Japanese Ninja ここが忍者が修行していた場所!)

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    林宜悉 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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