Ninja arts are for gaining time and escaping!?
Japanese people tend to find beauty in the end, but the mission of the ninja was to (1) stay alive, (2) bring back information, and (3) return home. For this purpose, escape was a higher priority than fighting and settling things in black and white.
Ninjas flee in a cloud of smoke or using gunpowder to startle the opponents, and then they would take that opportunity to run and hide.
“I will neither run nor hide! “and contrary to the expression that is often used in period dramas, why do ninjas run away to such an extent?
It was because they knew that there were battles that could be avoided thanks to the information they brought back, and that they could save lives by fighting efficiently.
In that era, a ninja who can act in such a realistic and decisive manner to fulfill his mission must be a unique being with an interesting mental structure! I am thrilled.
It may be equally necessary today to have the strength of mind not to fight in vain for immediate emotions or for one’s own honor, but to hold back and leave the scene.
