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In order that secrecy surrounding their tradition could be maintained, each tradition established three classes of ninja. At the top level stood the jonin, a high-ranked administrator or boss. He was assisted by the chunin, a small group of middle-ranking ninja whose duties included that of being go-betweens or connecting links between the jonin and the lowest level of ninja, the genin.

It was the genin and his exploits that made the ninja most famous, for they were the men who operated in the field. Though under the strict control of a jonin, it is doubtful whether any genin ever discovered who his boss was. Orders were passed to him through the chunin.

The system was made further complicated by some very clever jonin acting as head of more than one tradition of ninjutsu. In the Koga area alone, over fifty chunin families, each comprised of from 30 to 40 genin, directed all activities of the Koga genin. In Iga, three jonin families controlled all ninja operating under that tradition.

THE NINJA AND THE LORDS