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(From a tale of the origin of the Togakure-ryu ninja

Woven into the rich fabric of Japanese cultural, political, and religious history is the story of an incredible art of espionage and individual combat. Its name is ninjutsu 忍術, the art of stealth, the way of invisibility, and its practitioners were the legendary spies and commandos of feudal Japan known as the ninja 忍者. Ninjutsu flourished amid the civil turmoil of the fourteenth through seventeenth centuries. During this period the art was refined into a deadly science, incorporating sophisticated techniques for warfare, intelligence gathering, and spiritual development. When the odds were unfavorable or dishonor threatened, the ninja could be hired to bring victory and restore the harmony of society through espionage or assassination. Often a few black-garbed ninja could do by subtle means what it would have taken hundreds of armored soldiers to accomplish. It was these exploits that gave rise to legends that are still popular in Japan today.