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The roots of ninjutsu have been traced to the Chinese military classic Sun Tzu, written by the famed strategist Sun Tzu who lived around 400 B.C. The work was introduced into Japan in the 6th-century-A.D., where it was carefully studied by the Imperial Court and various clan leaders vying for power.

Buddhism was introduced in Japan at about the same time, resulting in a conflict between those who wanted to make Buddhism the state religion and the defenders of Shintoism, the native religion.

The predecessors of Japan's ninja were so-called rebels favoring the adoption of Buddhism who fled into the mountains near Kyoto as early as the 7th-century-A.D. to escape religious persecution and death at the hands of Imperial forces.

These rebel groups came to be known as yamabushi or “mountain ascetics,” who sought enlightenment through pragmatic mysticism. To protect themselves, they combined the study and practice of martial arts and military strategy with psychological warfare and occult powers.