Photo/Illutration Yume Kobayashi strikes a ninja pose in Iga, Mie Prefecture, on Aug. 4. (Takashi Konishi)

IGA, Mie Prefecture—Childhood gymnastics and a stint in Australia are helping Yume Kobayashi pursue her dream of becoming an international ninja star.

Kobayashi, 19, is currently a sophomore studying at Meiji University’s School of Information and Communication.

Although she lives in the western Tokyo city of Kunitachi, Kobayashi visits the Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in the Ueno-Marunouchi district of Iga, Mie Prefecture, to perform as a “kunoichi” female ninja in the performer group Ashura.

She said she wants to relocate to Iga after graduation and eventually perform a ninja show outside Japan.

Kobayashi made her debut in spring with the Iga-style ninja group.

On Aug. 4, when the maximum temperature exceeded 37 degrees, she appeared in the third show of the day that started at 3 p.m.

She showed off her array of tricks, simultaneously spinning two sickles with both hands, lassoing an enemy with a “kumihimo” braided cord, a traditional craft from Iga, and doing backflips.

Her sharp movements drew excited cheers from more than 70 spectators.

“I practiced in my room in Tokyo without turning on the air conditioner,” she said. “I make sure to sleep at least nine hours” as an anti-heatstroke measure.

She started gymnastics when she was a fourth-grader and attended an “action school” during her junior and senior high school years.

Kobayashi studied in Australia for a short period in her third year at senior high school. She also posted daily videos of herself doing backflips on social media.

An Ashura member saw the posts and sent her a message: “Would you like to come and see our show during your summer vacation?”

Kobayashi was unfamiliar with Ashura and Iga. But she was amazed when she saw their show last year, saying she had never seen such a wonderful performance.

She had only been vaguely thinking about doing a ninja show overseas, but she thought she could make her dream come true as a member of Ashura.

She was trained by Hanzo Ukita, 65, head of the eight-member group, and became an official member in March this year.

The other members have high hopes for Kobayashi as one of the two kunoichi in the group after her predecessor retired last year.

According to Ukita, it takes 10 years for a rookie to become a full-fledged performer.

“She has acquired basic skills in Tokyo, so I don’t need to teach her them,” he said. “You must speak a foreign language if you want to go global, but she can speak English.”

Kobayashi appears in the ninja show during her long holidays.

She stays at the troupe’s dormitory in Yokkaichi, also in Mie Prefecture, and will commute to Iga until mid-September.

“I’m playing for keeps every day. I feel my skills have drastically improved as I can acquire new abilities, like using sickles and kumihimo,” she said, adding that the troupe will be performing in Taiwan and Thailand.

“Eventually, I want to promote Japanese culture through ninja, which is a form of entertainment, as a starting point,” Kobayashi said.

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