Shinobi Zukin
Shroud of the Stealer-in

The Shinobi Zukin, or “Shroud of the Stealer-in”, is a part of the overall uniform worn by the Ninja Warriors of Feudal Japan. The fundamental purpose of the shroud is to conceal the Ninja’s identity...but, like many things in the Ninja’s arsenal of tricks...it also has many secret uses.

SHROUD DESIGN The Shinobi Zukin is made up of two pieces of cloth. The first has two long ties and it tapers to a point. The second piece is a two foot square. Care must be taken to ensure the cloth is soft enough to hear through and sheer enough to breathe through.

DONNING THE SHROUD

To don the shroud, The cloth with the long ties is placed across the forehead and wrapped around the brow to tie off at the base of the skull. This forms a head wrap that covers the top of the head and the ears. The square cloth is then folded in half to form a triangle. It is placed across the nose and wrapped around the head and tied off. The lower end of the cloth is then tucked into the jacket to conceal the neck. If applied properly, the eye opening should be rectangular, ensuring that the Ninja’s peripheral vision is unhindered.

PREPARING FOR COMBAT

Beyond it’s ability to protect the identity of the Ninja, the Shinobi Zukin can be just as effective as weapon. But before the Ninja can fight with the shroud...he must first learn how to properly prepare it for combat. These skills involve special methods of folding, knot tying and wrapping.

The first method is called Sankaku Zukin, or “Triangle-fold”. This technique is very simple in that the square cloth is folded from one corner to another to form a triangle. This fold is used in instances requiring a fast make-shift weapon. The Ninja simply removes the lower part of their mask and the fold is immediately in play.

The next fold is the Senbai Zukin, or “Thousand-fold”. This technique begins in the Sankaku Zukin position. The mask is continually folded upward from it’s bottom tip until it is one long, thin tube. The number of times that the shinobi zukin is folded will determine how tight the wrap is. The more folds applied, the more condensed the weapon will be in it’s completed position.

The next fold is not really a fold. It is called the Hinekuri Zukin, or “Loose twirl”. This is when the Ninja holds the mask in the Sankaku Zukin position at both tips and quickly twirls the mask, allowing it’s bottom end to wrap around the center of the mask . This method is valuable when speed is of the essence to prepare the mask for combat.