Iga, Home of the Ninja

Overview

While the ninja moved unseen throughout Japan, Iga, in present-day Mie Prefecture, has been called the birthplace of the ninja arts. Join Chris Glenn and Professor Yuji Yamada as they explore Iga and trace the Iga people's journey from armed farmers who absorbed Shugendo teachings to their emergence as ninja. In the latter half, they visit sites related to the Tensho Iga War—an event that won the Iga ninja nationwide acclaim—and explore the shadow tactics used by the ninja to strike terror into the numerically superior Oda army.