Ninja were a group of people specially trained to carry out various clandestine activities. The origins of the ninja are obscure, since their activities were necessarily secretive, although it is possible to trace them a long way back through history. Aside from the theory that the group's roots lie in Japan, there exists speculation that they might have originated in India or China. During the Asuka period, it has been said that Japan's Prince Shotoku made use of a man named Ootomo no Hosohito as a 'shinobi' (written using the kanji 志能備, which roughly translates as 'will/talent/equipped'). Ninja served powerful and influential people, and in order to carry out secret spy work for their master they made use of specialist tools (i.e. ninja weaponry) and various secret ninja techniques (ninjutsu).
