我們從來沒聽說過的十件忍者秘密武器

In pop culture, ninjas tend to be portrayed assword-wielding, shuriken-throwing, black-cladwarriors. In actuality, ninjas favored knives overswords as they were easier to conceal. They didthrow shurikens, but the stars were used as adistraction more often than they were used asweapons. And despite popular belief, ninjas woredark blue—not black. Of course, the gap between thehistorical accuracy of ninjas and their modernportrayal can all be written off as artistic license.However, even on the rare occasions when they areaccurately portrayed, there are a number of ninja tools and weapons that never seem to getairtime.

在大眾理念中，忍者傾向于被塑造為帶著佩劍、投出飛鏢、一襲黑衣的勇士。事實上，忍者們更喜歡容易隱蔽的匕首而不是劍。他們確實會投擲飛鏢，但星形鏢更多是為了分散敵人注意力而不是作為武器發(fā)射。并且盡管大眾們相信他們穿著黑色裝束，而實際他們更喜歡深藍色。當然，歷史上真正的忍者們與現(xiàn)代文章中塑造出的形象具有一定差距。然而，即便有很少的機會能夠真正描繪出忍者們的形象，仍有很多忍者使用的工具和武器似乎從未在電影或電視中展示過。

1、Cat's Eyes

貓眼

Just like modern special forces and intelligences agents, timing was very important to ninjas.Although they didn't have the stopwatches that we have today, they had something just asgood—and definitely more creative.

就像現(xiàn)代的特種部隊和特工一樣，對于忍者把握時間非常重要。雖然他們沒有現(xiàn)在的秒表，但他們擁有精妙并更具創(chuàng)造性的工具。

Ninja's were trained in nekome-jutsu, which was the ability to tell time just by looking at a cat'seye very closely. Cats have very sensitive eyes, and their pupils adjust to the changing lightthroughout the day. In early morning, a cat's pupils are round and fully open to allow in asmuch light as possible. Between around 8:00 AM and noon, their pupils become more oval-shaped to block out the excess light as the Sun rises higher. A cat's pupils are narrowest atnoon when the Sun is at its peak. With this knowledge, ninjas were able to accurately guess towithin the hour what time it was. Whether they carried the cats around on their wrists,however, remains a mystery.

忍者們在nekome-jutsu接受訓練，學習通過密切觀察貓的眼睛判斷時間的能力。貓的視覺非常敏感，并且他們的瞳孔大小在一天之中隨著光線變化進行調(diào)整。清晨早些時候，貓的瞳孔成圓形，并且完全睜開以盡可能的收集光線。上午8點到中午之間，瞳孔變成橢圓，以阻擋隨著太陽升起釋放的過多強光。到了中午，日照達到頂峰時，貓的瞳孔則會變得最小。熟悉了這些知識，忍者們判斷時間的準確度能夠在一小時之內(nèi)。然而，他們是否會將貓帶在左右仍是未解之謎。

2、Mizu-gomo

水云

In the old days, whether in Asia or Europe, the best way to protect a fortress was a moat.Since most of a ninja's targets tended to be upper class, this was an obstacle they facedregularly. Most movies handle this by showing the silent warriors leaping across the moat in asingle flip or running across the water. In reality, ninjas used a tool called a mizu-gumo, whichtranslates to "water spider."The device was made of four curved planks of either wood orinflatable animal hide that were strung together with a fifth plank in the middle. To this day,historians are not completely sure how mizu-gumo were used. The obvious guess is that thefifth plank was worn on the foot and, with another one on the other foot, allowed the ninja towalk on water. Unfortunately, as Biblical as that sounds, such methods have been disproved.Another theory is that it was used as a raft, which is more plausible. Most likely, the mizu-gumo was used more for wading through swampy marshes than to stay afloat on top of thewater

過去,無論是在亞洲還是歐洲,最好的保護城堡的方法是修建護城河。因為大多數(shù)忍者的目標往往是上層階級,護城河是他們面臨的障礙。電影中，通常是這些安靜的武士們一個空翻就過了護城河或者直接踏水而過。在現(xiàn)實中,忍者通常使用工具是水云,也就是“水蜘蛛“。這種裝置由五個彎曲的支架構(gòu)成，支架由木頭或者是可充氣的獸皮制成，其中四個支架被位于中間的第五個支架綁在一起。直到今天,歷史學家并不完全確定水云如何使用的。人們的猜測是忍者將第五個支架戴在腳上,這樣忍者便可以在水上行走。但是這種理論被證明是不可行的。另一個理論是,這是運用了筏的原理，這種理論更加的可信。最有可能的是，這種設備是用來幫助忍者渡過沼澤地，而非渡過水面。

3、Saoto Hikigane

助聽筒

 

 

As spies, it was vital that ninjas had good hearing. Sometimes they were just hired to learninformation. Other times, they listened to the guards making their rounds to learn theirschedules. Bottom line: Eavesdropping was a large part of the ninja job description. To aid inthat endeavor, ninjas used a listening tool called a saoto hikigane.It's been nicknamed the “eartrumpet” because that's exactly what it looks like. Saoto hikigane were cone-shaped and weremade of metal or sometimes wood. The size of the tool varied, with some being moreconcealable than others. The ninja would place the wide end to a wall so that the sound comingthrough was magnified and funneled into his or her ear. It worked the same way cupping ourhand to our ear or placing a cup to a wall does.

作為間諜，忍者們至關重要的是要擁有好的聽力。有時他們只是受雇于收集情報。另外的時候，他們需要聽到守衛(wèi)們的聲音以確定守衛(wèi)的計劃安排。最根本的是竊聽占忍者們工作的很大部分。忍者們利用一種名為助聽筒的工具來提供幫助。這種工具的綽號為“喇叭耳”，因為其的確像喇叭。助聽筒做成圓錐形狀，采用金屬材料制作，有時也用木材。助聽筒的大小各異，有些比其他的更便于隱藏。忍者將大口的一側(cè)壓到墻壁上，以便于放大墻壁另一側(cè)的聲音，使忍者能夠聽清。這與我們把手握成杯狀或?qū)⒁恢徊璞诺綁Ρ谏蠋椭犅曇粋€道理。

4、Donohi

小火爐

 

 

Ninjas were expert fighters, but even they couldn't fight chilly temperatures without a little help.Ninjas often used body warmers named donohi to survive long stakeouts in cold weather. Thebody warmers were commonly made of bamboo, iron, or copper. They contained flammablematerials such as gunpowder, alcohol, and cloth. A fire-starting tool called a tsuketake wasusually attached to the donohi to set the fuel ablaze. Once lit, the fuel could burn for hours,even days.Since so much of a ninja's job involved using their hands, the last thing they wantedwas for their fingers to go numb from the cold or for them to get frostbitten. Donohi were veryuseful in protecting them from such dangers. Also, as a fast and portable source of fire, itcould be used for anything from setting an enemy's home on fire to cooking food. It was acigarette lighter: ninja style.

忍者是格斗專家，但即使是這樣，在缺乏支援條件下他們也不可能在極低的氣溫下戰(zhàn)斗。忍者通常會使用一種名為小火爐的暖身器，以增強長時間處于寒冷氣候中的生存能力。暖身器通常用竹子、鐵或銅制作。里面有一些可燃材料，例如：火藥、酒精或棉布。通常還要附帶有名為火石的生火工具，便于忍者們點燃燃料。一旦點燃，這些燃料能夠燒上幾個小時，甚至幾天。由于很多忍者的工作需要動手完成，他們最不希望的便是嚴寒中手指被凍得麻木或是生了凍瘡。小火爐令他們避免了這些威脅。同時，作為便攜式火源，小火爐還能被用于各個方面，從防火燒敵人的房子到加熱食物。圖中便是一個忍者風格的點火器。

5、Kanzashi

簪子

It is well documented that ninjas could turn just about anything into a weapon. Of course,having something long and sharp hidden in their hair didn't hurt, either. Enter the kanzashi. Infeudal Japan, women often wore long, ornamental hairpins called kanzashi. The pins were notdangerous in and of themselves, but in the hands of a ninja, they could be used to attack vitalpoints and nerve clusters. They could also be sharpened and used as knife-like weapons, eitherfor defense or for an attack. Dipped in poison, the hairpins became an assassinationtool.Kanzashi were ideal weapons for kunoichi (female ninjas), who favored small weapons thatcould be concealed in plain sight. Due to the popularity of the hairpins among women,kunoichi could carry them without anyone giving them a second look. This is proof that even aninja's fashion accessories are dangerous.

有很多記錄都顯示忍者能夠利用任何東西作為武器。當然，將有些長的并且尖銳的東西插在頭發(fā)中，即插個簪子也并不會使自己受傷。封建時候的日本，婦女們總會佩戴長的裝飾用的名為簪子的發(fā)針。發(fā)針從頭發(fā)上插進插出并不會傷到自己。但在忍者手中，簪子便能用來攻擊敵人的致命點和神經(jīng)積聚部位。簪子還能夠被磨尖并且成為刀子一樣的武器，或是防衛(wèi)或是進攻。沾上毒藥，簪子還成為暗殺工具。簪子尤其是女忍者的理想武器，他們喜歡小巧的裝備能夠在平常裝束中隱藏。由于發(fā)針在婦女中使用較為普遍，簪子的恐怖足以令任何人不會再第二次見到它。這就驗證了即使忍者的裝扮用品也非常危險。

6、Pencil Cases

筆匣

It's said that the pen is mightier than the sword. Usually, that isn't meant to be taken literally—but in the hands of a ninja, a pen could be outright fatal. Ninjas tried not to go anywherewithout a yatate. This was a small cylinder that was sometimes made from bamboo, althoughthey were usually made out of metal. At one end was a small container to hold ink, while therest of the cylinder was hollow to hold a small calligraphy brush.Its use as a weapon aside,it is important to again remember that ninjas were spies. Yatate were vital to their ability towrite down their observations of their targets and record information as they gathered it. In anattack, however, ninjas were able to conceal spikes, needles, and even poison in the yatateinstead of a writing brush. Like the kanzashi, no one had reason to be suspicious of pencilcases that most people carried anyway.

古語說筆比劍更危險。通常這只是字面上的意思，但在忍者手中，筆可能完全具有致命性。忍者走到哪里都帶著一種筆。這是一個的小圓柱形狀物品，通常用金屬制作，有時也用到竹子。筆一端有一個小空腔承裝墨水，其余部分是空心的，裝著一個小的筆刷。不要忘了忍者還是間諜，筆除了用作武器， 對于間諜也是很重要的。至關重要的是這種筆能夠記錄下來目標們的一舉一動。然而，在實施攻擊時，忍者能夠?qū)㈤L釘、針甚至是毒藥代替筆刷藏在匣中。像簪子一樣，沒有人會懷疑人們攜帶的筆匣會成為致命武器。

7、Neko-te

貓爪

 

 

Ninjas were tough as nails, so it comes as no surprise that even their fingernails would beweaponized. Metal fingernails called neko-te were a favorite among female ninjas. The nails wereattached to the fingers in numerous ways. Sometimes, they were molded in a way similar to athimble. Other times, they were attached by a band around the fingertips like a ring. The nailsthemselves were usually made of iron, but in a pinch ninjas would use thin pieces of bamboo.Even old hairpins and jewelry could be fashioned into razor-sharp nails.The weapon's namewas inspired by the claw-like appearance of a cap being worn on each finger. “Neko” means“cat” in Japanese, and “te” translates to “hand.” It is important to note that this weapon wasused exclusively by female ninjas. Kunoichi training stressed the use of lightweight and easilyconcealable weapons.

忍者們都要像釘子一樣堅韌，所以甚至是指甲釘用來當武器也并不稱奇。女忍者們喜歡一種名為貓爪的金屬指甲釘。這種指甲釘安裝在手指上有很多方法。有時可以用模具像指箍一樣固定在手指上。有時可以用一根帶子像指環(huán)一樣纏繞在手指頭上。指甲釘本身通常用鐵打造，但必要時忍者們也會用細竹簽制作。甚至尖銳的指甲釘還可以包裝成古老的時尚發(fā)針和首飾。這件武器的名字受到貓爪的啟發(fā)，佩戴在每個手指上。“Neko”在日語中代表“貓”的意思，而“te”則是指“爪子”。必須要注意的是，這種武器專屬于女忍者。女忍者們的訓練強調(diào)使用輕質(zhì)和便于隱藏的武器。

8、Crickets

蟋蟀

Ninjas were masters of stealth and were trained to be able to approach enemies silently.However, there were times when a completely silent approach was impossible even for ninjas.Walking silently through a forest of dead leaves or crunchy snow was no easy feat. Even juststepping on a twig could reveal one's position and ruin an entire mission. For such occasions,ninjas often carried a small box or jar of crickets. The chirping of the insects disguised anystray sound the ninjas made.Ninjas had a special mixture of chemicals to make sure thecrickets chirped when they needed them to. It also made sure they didn't chirp when the ninjaneeded silence. Given how common the sound of crickets chirping is, enemies had no reasonfor suspicion. As a matter of fact, the opposite was usually the case—insects and birds oftenstop chirping when a human or other predator is near. Even if they moved silently, ninjascarried crickets to keep the silence of nearby animals from announcing their presence.

忍者們是潛行大師，并且訓練能夠悄悄的接近敵人。然而，很多時候即使是忍者要想完全安靜的接近敵手也是很難。想悄悄的穿過充滿落葉的樹林或布滿積雪地面都并非易事。甚至只要踩上樹葉也會暴露自己的位置，從而毀了整個任務。在這種情況下，忍者們通常會攜帶一小盒蟋蟀。蟋蟀的叫聲會掩蓋忍者們制造的所有聲音。忍者還使用一種特殊的化學物質(zhì)，確保需要時蟋蟀能夠鳴叫。并且需要安靜時，蟋蟀不會發(fā)出聲音。蟋蟀的叫聲很常見，因此敵人們不會產(chǎn)生懷疑。事實上，通常的情況正相反，當有人或其他捕食者接近時，鳥類和昆蟲總會停止鳴叫。即使忍者們悄悄行動，他們攜帶蟋蟀也要避免干擾左近的動物暴露自己的行蹤。

9、Eggshells

蛋殼

As stealthy as they were, this was not the main reason ninjas were known for invisibility—it wasbecause they used a wide array of blinding powders. Ninja were resourceful, never makinganything that they could find ready-made. Therefore, their favorite containers for blindingpowders were eggshells. Ninjas would use a needle to poke a hole in an eggshell withoutbreaking it, then drain it contents. Once the eggshell was empty, ninjas would fill it with thingssuch as iron filings, salt, powdered peppers, and so on. Anything that could bring tears to anaverage person's eyes was potentially an ingredient. In battle, ninjas would smash the loadedeggs in their opponent's eyes, blinding them.The eyes weren't the ninjas' only targets—theyalso made sure to include substances that were sure to irritate the nose and respiratorysystem. Even if their opponent was only weakened for a moment, it gave the ninja theadvantage and more than enough time to either press forward with an even stronger attack orescape easily.

盡管他們悄悄行動，但這并非眾所周知的忍者會隱形的主要原因，因為他們還會利用各種致盲粉。忍者們足智多謀，從不會使用現(xiàn)成的東西。因此，他們喜歡用蛋殼來承裝致盲粉。忍者們用針在蛋殼上戳個小洞，而不打碎蛋殼，然后將里面的蛋黃蛋清倒出來。倒空以后，忍者再裝進去鐵粉、鹽、花椒粉等。只要是能令一般敵手流淚的東西都是忍者們要用到的。戰(zhàn)斗時，忍者會把蛋殼拍碎，打到敵人的眼睛上，令他們目不視物。眼睛并非唯一目標，忍者們還會使用一些刺激鼻子或呼吸系統(tǒng)的物質(zhì)。只要對手們稍稍停頓一會，這就給了忍者們足夠的時間進一步實施打擊或輕松逃離。

10、Rice

米

That's right—rice. Leave it to ninjas to turn dinner into a top-secret tool. As spies andassassins for hire, the most important part of a ninja's job was secretly passing alonginformation. Their best method for doing this was goshiki-mai, which means five-colored rice.The rice was painted red, blue, yellow, black, or purple and used to send codes. Ninjas woulddrop the rice by the side of the road or any other inconspicuous place. Their enemies and otherregular people wouldn't notice the rice, but ninjas from the same clan would be on the lookoutfor such things. Based on the combination of colors they dropped or the number of grains,the ninjas could make over 100 different codes.Not only was goshiki-mai a genius spy tool, itwas safe from birds, too. The paint kept the birds from mistaking the grains from seeds andeating them.

對了，就是米，令忍者們將食物變成一種最重要的秘密工具。作為間諜或刺客，忍者們最終腰帶工作是秘密的傳遞情報。他們最好的辦法是利用五色米。米被染成紅色、藍色、黃色、黑色和紫色，用來發(fā)送信號。忍者們會將米撒在路旁或其他不引人注意的地方。敵人和其他普通人不會注意到，但忍者的同伴們會留意這些。根據(jù)顏色的組合或米的多少，忍者們可以創(chuàng)造出100多種不同的暗號。五色米不僅是真正的間諜工具，而且還能防備鳥類。染色不會令鳥類將米與其他谷種混淆，把米吃掉。