History of The Ninja

A ninja (堍者) or shinobi (堍び) was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, assassination and guerrilla warfare.[1] Their covert methods of waging irregular warfare were deemed dishonorable and beneath the samurai, who observed strict rules about honor and combat.[2] The shinobi proper, a specially trained group of spies and mercenaries, appeared in the 15th century during the Sengoku period,[3] but antecedents may have existed as early as the 12th century.[4][5]