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The ninja’s guiding philosophy was to choose the dark, quiet, and subtle method over the bold, active, and forceful. In this way, the natural order of events was disturbed as little as possible. Suggestion took the place of force, deception replaced confrontation, and the adversary was guided into unknowingly doing the ninja’s bidding instead of being crushed in humiliating defeat. This psychological slant characterized ninjutsu, and allowed the ninja to accomplish the most while expending minimum energy and exposing himself to the least amount of danger.

Its practitioners considered ninjutsu to be a comprehensive art for the attainment of their goals, “the art of winning.” This approach required a graphic visualization of the goal and unswerving commitment to reaching it, all under the guidance of perfect moral judgment. The ninja were commoners, far below the exalted status of the samurai warrior class, and thereby free of the samurai’s rigid code of honor and prescribed way of handling situations. The samurai had to balance the dual considerations of achieving his goal and maintaining the honor and prestige of the family name, whereas the ninja was able to concentrate his energy exclusively on the goal at hand, having no honor or name to protect. Because of this total commitment, the service of the ninja commanded a high price.