The truth of Ninja -Ninja Encyclopedia-

Bunshin-no-Jutsu (Clone Technics)

Does " Bunshin-no-jutsu " really exist ?

As well as " Genjutsu (幻術) " , the things that makes ninjas seem so mysterious is " Bunshin-no-Jutsu (分身の術) ". Maybe you have seen a scene in the movies or animes where a ninja is making symbolic signs with his fingers then his image is divided into many and the avatars surround his enemy. This phenomenon seems so fantastic that we cannot believe it. This technique is called " Bunshin-no-Jutsu (分身の術) " in Japanese. Well, so is Bunshin-no-Jutsu really fictitious? No, it isn’t as classical records describing about the skill exist. According to the book, ninjas were able to increase the number of images of themselves by a maximum of times by casting a certain spell. Further to this, in Chinese wizardry, there is a legend of a man that could make a copy of himself by taking specific medicine. In addition to this, it is said that in ninjutsu (忍術), there is an art where ninjas make fakes images of themselves by concentrating and let their minds leave their bodies.
What we can conclude from these facts is that " Bunshin-no-Jutsu " certainly exists in ninjutsu even if its representation is sometimes exaggerated. However a concrete method of the Jutsu does not remain in any documents. So how do ninjas actually make their fake images? I’m going to do some digging on this.

 

Bunshin-no-Jutsu (Clone Technics)

 

The image of " Bunshin-no-Jutsu " in " Naruto "

Hypotheses about " Bunshin-no-Jutsu "

First of all, among all the hypotheses about " Bunshin-no-Jutsu ", the one that is the most likely is that a ninja runs round and round his enemy while stopping repeatedly at breakneck speed. As ninjas had amazing coordination, in the eyes of the enemy, the afterimages of the ninja would reflect like multiple images. Secondly, it’s possible to imagine that there were ninjas who had the same appearance as others that could run around the enemies too. The essence of ninjas consisted in their ability to take the imagination of their enemies. With this tactic, ninjas could completely confuse their opponents because they couldn’t distinguish between the real ninja and fake ones. It may have been more effective than attacking them all at once.
But in these cases, preparation from ninjas would have been necessary. Such kinds of ninjutsu are composed of tricks like magic and hypnotism. Ninjas needed to alter the circumstances to confuse their targets easily. They could have invited them to imposing places like graves or shadowy groves. It may not have been so difficult to cheat people in those days with illusions because people then were much more superstitious than people today and in the night it was pitch‐dark all around.
There is one more theory about " Bunshin-no-Jutsu " . It states that, " Bunshin-no-Jutsu " was the only technique that made enemies see multiple fake images didn’t actually exist. Of course in this case too, we cannot find the concrete evidence of this in ninjutsu but this is very intriguing because ninjas were by nature able to take something and represent it as something else to enemies.

The miming of animals

As you know, the essence of ninjas was to become someone or something other than himself so one of the specialities of ninjas was to disguise themselves. It was not limited only to people like merchants or street performers, it also included animals. Ninjas often mimed animals like dogs, cats, and raccoon dogs when they were in trouble.
In the age when ninjas flourished, it was really silent outside in the night. When ninjas were escaping from pursuers and concealing themselves, they couldn’t make any suspicious sounds and movements but even with all their training ninjas were humans. They couldn’t stop breathing or moving continuously. Ninjas would pretend to be wild animals like dogs and cats and walk across the grass barking like a dog! It was really natural back then because dogs were everywhere. In this way, ninjas adjusted their breathing and posture and this fake mimicry was something to capitalize on the weakness of human minds because the chasers were also feeling fear and anxiousness from the darkness, silence, and absence of ninjas whom they were pursuing. They would have hoped to be convinced that the doubtful sound that they heard just then was just a wild dog.
Ninjas also liked to pretend to be fake raccoon dogs climbing up a tree. When looking around, especially in the night, it is comparatively easy to see something horizontally located, but hard to recognize something above. For a ninja up a tree, it would have been simple to dodge their chasers with such a trick because ninjas trained themselves to see something even in the darkness. This ninjutsu was called " Tanuki-Gakure (狸隠れ) " .

 

 

Bunshin-no-Jutsu (Clone Technics)

 

A racoon dog up a tree

" Kawarimi-no-Jutsu "

It can be said that " Kawarimi-no-Jutsu " is a typical ninjutsu whose original meaning was distorted by fiction, like movies, manga, and anime. You have probably watched such a spectacle before where as soon as the enemy threw shurikens (手裏剣) or kunai (苦無) at a ninja, the appearance of the ninja vanished immediately and the shurikens and kunais would stick into a log which was what the ninja had turned into. This ninjutsu was called " Kawarimi-no-Jutsu (変わり身の術) " .
There are seldom classic records that demonstrate " Kawarimi-no-Jutsu ". In accordance with the legend, it is said that " Kawarimi-no-Jutsu " is by nature such a skill. Ninjas prepared a log, which was a duplicate of themselves, when ninjas came across their enemies, ninjas made them attack the log instead of the ninja by means of controlling them by tricks and suggestions. The correct mechanism of this ninjutsu is also very obscure but it is a misunderstanding that a ninja could transform into a log as anime sometimes show. At any rate, it would have demanded considerable skills and labor from ninjas to utilize this ninjutsu. What I can say is that, "Genjutsu " , " Bunshin-no-Jutsu " , and " Kawarimi-no-Jutsu " do not belong to the regular system of ninjutsu, these are unorthodox techniques or only something for emergencies. The image of these has been exaggerated in fiction, like Kodan, manga, anime, and movies for a long time. The existence of illusions and making fakes images of oneself does look pretty cool. The reason for this interest is perhaps that people dream that such an ability may one day be made possible. We may end up adoring ninjas because they had such techniques no less than a hundred years ago.

 

 

Bunshin-no-Jutsu (Clone Technics)

 

" Kawarimi-no-Jutsu " in anime