Essays From The Master

The honor of a Ninja

Every Komuso Ryu member learns the mantra employed by the ryu the second verse is “I have no family; I make the moon and the stars my family.” This verse was very troubling to one student who has a child, a student for whom family is an important part of there personal reality. The verse is also linked to the second mudra or hand posture used in meditation called Pyo meaning “direction of energy”. The ninja as a subculture in Japan of old were very family oriented, secrets passed down from father to son, knowledge of the art becoming a part of what it is to be part of said family to the point that in legend some techniques are said to be linked to bloodlines. Part of the reason the ninja were family centered as a subculture was that they were farmers when not at work as “ninja” living apart from the society of the mainstream which is another reason the ninja were a threat to the Samurai and the social order that the Samurai stood for.

The ninja were a self sustaining people who lived and worked outside of the social order that did not need the Bushi class save as a means of income. In other words the Samurai families needed the ninja but the ninja did not need the ninja. Knights such as the Samurai were are long out of use but assassins such as the ninja were are still in use to this very day. Case and point Ninja schools persist but no outright Samurai schools. Assassination is one of the oldest professions equal only to the trade of sex. The skills of an assassin can be applied to hunting as well as can be done with the sanction of government or used to detect and circumvent assassins when used as a troubleshooter.

When a Komuso ninja in meditation asserts that they have no family and thus make the moon and stars there family the Komuso is turning his energy away from the life He has with his family, his mundane life and this is done with good reason. By asserting to himself that he has no family the ninja creates a space in himself where his family does not exist and thus on a mission the ninja can not be threatened with harm to his family. The ninja also does this to protect his family. By asserting that his family is the moon and stars when questioned under stress the ninja only brings to mind images of the night sky. The ninja when “on the job” can not risk having a family, the ninja sets them aside in order to do his up most for them. Can this concept be misconstrued? Yes, it can as any idea can be. Just because something can be misused does not mean that it should be cast aside out of hand.

Questions about the second verse of the mantra are often linked with discussions about the concept of the ninja and honor. As I was taught I teach my students the ninja has personal honor but not the “face” that drove the Samurai. Face is about appearance and ego that is reactive to the world opening those with “face” to manipulation. Personal honor is about personal standards and behavior that only the individual who values them is held to and by them alone. By asserting the ninja has no family the ninja is doing what must be done for them, rather than forsaking his family the ninja is honoring them. Honor for the ninja is not about being hailed as a hero or being seen as right or “good” but rather about being true to one’s self and doing right for the mission at hand. Heroes and villains are chosen by history the ninja is not concerned with past or future but with the moment, the eternal present.