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Information about Kunoichi

Kunoichi (くノ一) is the term for a female ninja[1] or practitioner of Ninpo.[2]

History

Kunoichi (pronounced [kunoitʃi]) is the female counterpart of male Ninja. During the time of the Tong wars, there was a proliferation of secret societies and “sword hunts” against Japanese ninja. Some of the traditional clans splintered, leaving ronin who were masterless samurai, many of whom had originated with the “Five Families of the Silent Way”.

The ronin, widows and orphans of the sword hunts drifted into the world of yakuza (gamblers and gangsters) or became nomadic. Many more women than men survived and began searching for a leader or a cause. Surviving women were occasionally offered the honor of wedding the new master of the house.

The daughter of one assassinated lord, shortly after the wedding to her new husband, invited all the friends and relatives of her new spouse to a feast and poisoned them. This left her with a reputation for ruthless efficiency, many friends loyal to her family, and a full-scale drug operation. She became the new head of the clan. Her real name has been lost to time, but she was known as the “Dragon Lady” (Kunoichi) and that is the name given to women of the Black Dragon Fighting Society.[3]

Derivation of the word Kunoichi

The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for woman (女, onna); said in the order they are written: ku (く) - no (ノ) - ichi (一). Early literary quotes include Enshū Senkuzuke Narabi Nihyaku In (遠舟千句附并百韵|) (1680) as well as Maekuzukeshū (前句付集|) (1716), which specifically associates the word with the kanji 女 supporting the etymology. This may be a modern fake etymology by Yamada Futarou. The "くノ一" writing requires the use of one character from each Japanese "alphabet".[4] First hiragana, then katakana, then kanji. While hiragana and kanji can exist in the same word, katakana generally cannot appear in conjunction with the others. There are exceptions to this, e.g. "ゴミ箱", "消しゴム".

Another proposed etymology would derive the term from 九 能 ("nō" : talent) with Japanese numbers "ku" for "nine", and "ichi" for "one", meaning "nine talents in one person", though no creditable source lists these "nine talents".

Kunoichi ways

Unlike in fiction (see next section), real-life kunoichi were trained differently than male ninja. Their training focused more on disguise, poisons, and using their gender to an advantage. While they were trained in close combat, they were only to make use of this knowledge when they were caught. They would usually disguise themselves as geisha, prostitutes, entertainers, fortunetellers, and the like to get very close to the enemy. Generally, they would seduce the soon-to-be victim and when they get close enough, they would poison them.

Kunoichi would hide weapons in their disguise, like poisoned needles in their hair and dirks up their sleeves. They also often would turn a previously harmless item into a weapon. For example, they would learn how to break bones with their wooden shoes, put a hidden blade on their fan, or they would use an umbrella as a momentary shield.

Their favored weapon was the neko-te. Neko-te are iron fingernails that would be fastened to the hand by leather straps. They were usually dipped in poison, and the favorite place to slice were the eyes.

Kunoichi in popular culture

Kunoichi have appeared frequently in popular culture, often as a literally female equivalent counterpart to male ninja.

Comic books and cartoons

Film and TV series

Anime and manga

Enlarge picture
Ayame, from the Tenchu video game series

Computer and video games

Enlarge picture
Taki, from the Soul Calibur video game series

Others

References

1. ^ Hayes, Stephen K. (1991). Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Art. Tuttle Publishing, Page 16. ISBN 0804816565. 
2. ^ Morris, Glenn (1996). Shadow Strategies of an American Ninja Master. Frog, page 70. ISBN 1883319293. 
3. ^ Kim, Ashida (2000). Ninjitsu for Women: Ninja Secrets of Defensive Fighting. Citadel Press, Introduction. ISBN 0806521457. 
4. ^ 語源由来辞典
  • Hatsumi, Masaaki (1981). "Kunoichi (Female Ninja)", in Daniel M. Furuya: Ninjutsu: History and Tradition. Hollywood: Unique Publications. ISBN 0-86568-027-2. “"The psychic and intuitive powers of female ninja were also relied upon when determining plans for future action based on the most likely developments in the enemy's strategy. 

See also

External links

ninja (忍者 ninja)
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ninja (忍者 ninja)
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Tong war was any of several feuds carried on in U.S. cities (e.g., San Francisco and Los Angeles) between gangs of Chinese immigrants or their descendants. These gang wars spanned a 70-year period beginning in the 1850s and continuing until the 1920s.
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A clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by perceived descent from a common ancestor. Even if actual lineage patterns are unknown, clan members nonetheless recognize a founding member or apical ancestor.
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rōnin (浪人 rōnin
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Yakuza (ヤクザ or やくざ
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NOMAD was founded in 2002 as an independent formation and registered as association in 2006. It targets to produce and experiment new patterns in the digital art sphere by using various lenses of other disciplines.
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poisons are substances that can cause damage, illness, or death to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism.
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The CJK strokes (also known as the CJK(V) or CJKV strokes) are the strokes needed to write the Chinese characters used in East Asia. The corresponding CJKV characters being the characters that come from Chinese Hanzi, and which are now used in China, Japan, K
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Origins
Traditional Chinese
Variant characters
Simplified Chinese
Simplified Chinese (2nd-round)
Traditional/Simplified (debate)
Kanji
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
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Hiragana

Sister systems katakana, hentaigana
Unicode range U+3040-U+309F
ISO 15924 Hira

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Katakana
カタカ?

Sister systems Hiragana, Hentaigana
Unicode range U+30A0–U+30FF
ISO 15924 Kana

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Conjunction can refer to:
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Talent may refer to:
  • Talent, a personal gift/skill
  • A show-business personality or group of them
  • Talent agent, a person who finds jobs for actors, musicians, models, and other people in various entertainment businesses

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Chizu is a character from the comic Usagi Yojimbo; she is an anthropomorphic cat and is kashira (chief) of the neko ninja clan. Chizu is considered a possible love interest for Usagi, but she is an obvious longshot to Tomoe Ame, in part because the neko ninja are servants to Lord
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Usagi Yojimbo book 11: Seasons
Author Stan Sakai
Country USA
Language English
Genre(s) Historical
Action-adventure
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Publisher Dark Horse Comics
Thoughts and Images
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The Foot Clan is a fictional Ninjutsu clan in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe, and the Turtles' main antagonists. It is usually led by The Shredder.

The Foot Clan was originally inspired by the criminal ninja clan The Hand in the Daredevil comics.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or simply Ninja Turtles and abbreviated TMNT) are a fictional team of four anthropomorphic turtle mutants, who are trained by their sensei, Master Splinter, to become skilled ninja warriors.
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Asian may refer to:
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Miho is a mute female assassin of Japanese descent in Frank Miller's Sin City series.

Background

Miho is the defender of Old Town, and the one woman the girls of Old Town call upon to get rid of troublesome people, like cops, criminals, and abusive johns.
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Frank Miller

Born January 27 1957 (1957--) (age 50)
Olney, Maryland

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