is a series of

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning " period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait o ...

novels written by

Tomoyoshi Murayama was a Japanese artist, play writer, novelist and drama producer active during the Shōwa period in Japan. Early life Murayama was born in the Kanda Suehiro district of Tokyo. His father, who was a medic in the Imperial Japanese Navy, died wh ...

originally serialized in the Sunday edition of the newspaper '' Akahata'' from November 1960 to May 1962. Shinobi no mono is the long form of the phrase meaning ninja, see the

Ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp ...

article for details.

Novels

Set during Japan's

Sengoku period The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...

, the novels depicted

Goemon Ishikawa was a legendary Japanese outlaw hero who stole gold and other valuables to give to the poor. He and his son were boiled alive in public after their failed assassination attempt on the Sengoku period warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His legend li ...

, a famous outlaw hero who was boiled alive at the end of the 16th century by order of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, as a

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp ...

who fought against

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

warlords.

Films

Between 1962 and 1966, a series of eight ''Shinobi no Mono'' films (aka ''Ninja, a Band of Assassins'', aka ''Ninja Spy'') starring

Raizo Ichikawa Raizo or Raizō is a Japanese-origin masculine given name. It is uncommon as a surname. People with the name or its variants include: * Raizo Ichikawa, Japanese film and kabuki actor * Raizo Matsuno was a Japanese politician. Matsuno w ...

were produced and released by the

Daiei Motion Picture Company Daiei Film Co. Ltd. (Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ''Daiei Eiga Kabushiki gaisha, Kabushiki Kaisha'') was a Japanese film studio. Founded in 1942 as Dai Nippon Film Co., Ltd., it was one of the major studios during the postwar Golden Age of Japanese c ...

. The first three films are based on the novel, while the five subsequent films are based on four original screenplays by Hajime Takaiwa (also the screenwriter on the first three films) and one original screenplay by Kinya Naoi. ^* Following the death of series lead Raizo Ichikawa in 1969, Daiei attempted to revive/continue the series with a 9th film entitled 忍びの衆 ''Shinobi no Shū'' (''Ninja Spies'') starring

Hiroki Matsukata , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor. He was the son of ''jidaigeki'' actor Jūshirō Konoe and actress Yaeko Mizukawa and has a younger brother, Yūki Meguro, who is also an actor. With ex-wife actress Akiko Nishina he had two ...

, who also replaced Ichikawa in their other popular series Nemuri Kyoshiro.

Television series

The novels were also adapted into a 52-episode television series starring Ryuji Shinagawa and co-produced by the

Toei Company () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by ...

and television network NET (now known as

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Com ...

) and broadcast from July 24, 1964 to July 30, 1965. Only the first episode remains in existence.

References

{{reflist

External links

''Shinobi no Mono''''Zoku Shinobi no Mono''''Shin Shinobi no Mono''''Shinobi no Mono: Kirigakure Saizo''''Shinobi no Mono: Iga-yashiki''''Shinobi no Mono: Shin Kirigakure Saizo
' an
''Shinsho: Shinobi no Mono''
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Shinobi no mono - Oni no Hana ProductionsShinobi no Mono - Vintage Ninja
1962 films 1962 novels 1964 Japanese television series debuts 1965 Japanese television series endings Japanese black-and-white films Films based on Japanese novels Japanese film series 20th-century Japanese novels 1960s Japanese-language films Jidaigeki television series Jidaigeki films Ninja films Sengoku period in fiction Television shows based on Japanese novels Novels first published in serial form Works originally published in Japanese newspapers 1960s Japanese films