FUKUI--Ninja assassins working under the cover of darkness and dispatching victims without being detected are rooted in fact, but as for working in complete anonymity and lobbing smoke bombs to mask their getaway--that could be simply fanciful, new research suggests.

While there is no doubt that ninja practiced a unique tradecraft, it turns out that lists were kept of the feudal-era agents, much like a modern-day telephone directory, rubbishing the idea that their identities were a closely guarded secret.

And as for them jumping from roof to roof as they went about their secret missions, who knows?

Records found in the Hokuriku region in the northwestern part of the main island of Honshu feature not only the names of ninja and their addresses but also details of the weapons they used. Other interesting details mention when their salaries were slashed or they were dismissed after their feudal lord fell on hard times.

The trove of information suggests that ninja were anything but covert, as their identities are specified in the materials kept at the Fukui Prefectural Archives here.

Eishun Nagano, 50, the chief librarian at the archives, showed off a series of documents and materials displayed in a case in the main reading room.

They are part of the so-called Matsudaira Bunko historical collection of the Fukui domain and its feudal lords from the Matsudaira clan. The documents were created mainly from the Edo Period (1603-1867) through the Meiji Era (1868-1912).

The yellowing 10,000 or so pages reveal, for example, the domain’s political affairs and a town map around the lord’s castle, according to Nagano.

RECRUITED, DISMISSED

Spotting numerous descriptions of ninja, Nagano immersed himself in a full-fledged study of ninja activities in 2017.

One passage about the domain’s organizational structure refers to 10 sneaky agents, which is consistent with an account in another document that makes mention of 10 “agile” personnel recruited in and around Edo, present-day Tokyo.

The list of the domain’s staff members covers 10 assistants as well as the 10 ninja, suggesting 20 covert agents, including apprentices, were on duty.

A record of the personnel arrangement also mentions the names of active and retired ninja. The dates of their employment as well as their social status were jotted down.

The old texts recount large-scale dismissals of agents that coincided with the domain’s decline. The list of the number of assistants whittled down from 10 to two toward the end of the Edo Period, while the figure for master ninja remained at 10.

The change in fortunes evidently resulted from an event known as Jokyo no Hanchi, where the domain’s area was radically scaled back in 1686 following political turmoil.

CONDITIONS, WEAPONS

The documents also yield other fascinating tidbits, such as the fact ninja were often paid in rice, not money, for their services. Top undercover agents could expect to receive 1,890 kilograms of rice annually, which translates into 5 kg of rice per day.

Nagano said ninja were treated as low-ranking samurai and, therefore, ineligible for high reward.

Payments in kind for ninja in the Fukui domain were even lower than the levels for those hired by other domains.

Their remuneration was reduced by 20 to 30 percent following the Jokyo no Hanchi event, reflecting the domain’s dire financial straits.

Ninja in the Fukui domain were all given residences. A 1685 painting of the town around the castle depicts a row house for ninja at the city’s edge. And picture dating to 1852 portrays a plot for ninja homes.

Beside the residential district is a 27-meter-long training site for archery practice. Stealthy agents used smaller bows that were easier to wield indoors and in other environments where space was restricted.

A record of weapons states that ninja relied on small bows; tiny guns; ropes fitted with hooks at one end to be slung on the roofs of buildings and walls; and torches that were not easily doused in rain. Given that no sections in it touches upon “shuriken” stars, the noted ninja weapon may not have been part of the Fukui domain’s arsenal.

Ninja were heavily armed in times of war. They wore black helmets with half-moon-shaped ornaments; lower face protectors; red breastplates; and protective mittens. Their appearance as portrayed in the historical record is in sharp contrast to the commonly accepted image of ninja jumping around in light black costumes.

SHRINKING ROLE

Ninja were responsible primarily for five categories of duty: espionage, accompanying their liege lord, refining traditional ninja skills, weaponry management and fighting in warfare.

As part of their espionage activities, agents were sent to Kyoto to learn about the latest goings-on in the waning years of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The records also refer to orders to dispatch ninja to villages where peasant rebellions were reported.

In preparation for war, ninja and associated personnel headed for Edo to protect it, coinciding with the 1853 arrival of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry and his gunboat diplomacy that led to the opening up of Japan to foreign trade, according to the documents.

Ninja came to play a smaller role toward the end of the Edo Period.

“The political tide quickly changed dramatically in the closing days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, so the personal networks of well-educated retainers with broad connections likely proved more helpful in intelligence-gathering at that time than covert ninja programs,” Nagano said.

Organizational reform implemented in 1866 spelled an end to the history of ninja in the Fukui domain after more than 200 years.

Historical materials linked to ninja in the Fukui domain and Ihara Banemon (1611-1686), a military strategist who oversaw its ninja activities, are on display at the Fukui Prefectural Archives through Oct. 26.