Historically, there is no physical evidence for the existence of this "katana like sword legendarily used by ninja",[6] though it is believed that they are based on the design of the wakizashi or chokutō type swords.[1] Dr. Stephen Turnbull, a historian specializing in the military history of Japan indicates of historical ninja: "The most important ninja weapon was his sword. This was the standard Japanese fighting sword or katana...for convenience the ninja would choose a blade that was shorter and straighter than usual".[7]
The ninjatō is typically depicted as being a short sword, often portrayed as having a straight blade (similar to that of a shikomizue[11]) with a square guard.[1]
Due to the lack of historical evidence regarding the existence of the ninjatō, techniques for usage in a martial context are largely speculative.
Because of the lack of any physical evidence or antique swords from the Sengoku period to the Edo period (16th to 19th century) matching the description of the ninjatō,[1] the history of the weapon can only be reliably chronicled from the 20th century onwards.
1964
- The Iga-ryū Ninja Museum in Japan, which houses replicas of the sword, is established.[8] That same year, the swords appeared in Shinobi no Mono Kirigakure Saizō (忍びの者 霧隠才蔵) and Shinobi no Mono Zoku Kirigakure Saizō (忍びの者 続・霧隠才蔵), the 4th and 5th entries in the Japanese jidaigeki movie series Shinobi no Mono, released in theaters in Japan.
- 1973
- Ads selling newly manufactured and imported ninja swords appear in the American magazine Black Belt.[9]
- 1981
- Books containing references to the sword written by Masaaki Hatsumi, the founder of the Bujinkan,[3] and Stephen K. Hayes,[4] an American who studied under Hatsumi in 1975,[10] are published.
- 1983
- The first Hollywood film to feature the ninjatō, Revenge of the Ninja, is released in theaters.
- 1984
- The first American television production to feature these swords, The Master, is broadcast on NBC.
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