Warrior Quest International

Q: What is the history of the Female Ninja?

Throughout the Ninja’s long history, female Ninja have been employed. In most cases these were very unique strong-willed women who proved themselves worthy by donning the Ninja garb and fighting for their families and beliefs. However, these women were a rare breed and were not common. That all changed in the late 1500’s when the warlord Moritoki Mochizuki was killed in the battle of Kawanakajima in 1561. His widow, Lady Chiyome Mochizuki, was left in the care of the Daimyo Shingen Takeda, who was the uncle of her late husband. Under Takeda’s leadership, she accepted the task of creating and overseeing an underground network of female Ninja. Takeda’s plan was to have fully trained female operatives who could act as subversive agents used to gather information and deliver coded messages to his allies.

BIRTH OF THE SISTERHOOD

Lady Chiyome set up her operation in the village of Nazu in the Shinshu region and began her search for potential candidates for training. Her greatest resource was young women who were recently orphaned, the victims of the civil war that engulfed the entire country. She also drew from a pool of girls who were lost or abandoned. These young women were indebted to her for saving them from a horrible life on the streets, and Lady Chiyome never let them forget that fact. The girls were taught all the skills of a Miko (shine attendant) who served at the Shinto shrines all across the land. This allowed them to travel virtually anywhere without suspicion. Along with this religious knowledge, the girls were also taught to become highly efficient information gatherers, seductresses, messengers and when necessary...assassins. As far as physical training, the Kunoichi arts were more focused on one-on-one combat over large scale battlefield tactics. The Kunoichi’s unarmed fighting skills were very similar to her male-counterparts, except they were adapted to fit her size and strength. However, this is where the similarities ended. Instead of armor, the Kunoichi was protected by an illusion of weakness. Instead of a long sword, the Kunoichi was armed with an arsenal of lethal weapons that were easily hidden from sight or did not appear to be weapons at all. Instead of hiding in shadows, the Kunoichi was able to move freely within villages, towns, castles and temples.

THE NETWORK ESTABLISHED

Over time, these female Ninja set up an extensive network that served Takeda well. He was always well informed of all activities, putting him one step ahead of his opponents at all times. In many cases, his Kunoichi would spread rumors to cause confusion and dissension, or on rare occasions, they would assassinate by use of poison or surprise attack.

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