One of my favorite swords of all time is the Hanwei Ninjato – a short bladed, two handed, supremely pragmatic sword that I reviewed several years ago here..
Since then I spent a lot of time researching Ninjato – both by reading many books on the subject such as the Shoniki, “True Path of the Ninja” by Antony Cummins and Yoshie Minami, “Ninja Attack!” by Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt, and also taking several visits to the Iga Ninja Museum in present day Mie Prefeture, Japan. .
And while I still feel it is somewhat more Hollywood than fact, seeing this particular sword being displayed in the museum made me wonder if Hollywood was not all that far from the truth..
While it is a replica, there is no denying its similarity to the Hollywood Ninja Sword
Now bear in mind that this is a modern replica, not a historical original. I have looked far and wide for an actual antique Ninjato and every time the search has been fruitless.. But this does not necessarily mean that they never existed – just that they were not very highly prized and were just another tool in the Shinobis rather extensive toolbox.. (for the record, I think they actually used whatever sword they needed for the job at hand, sometimes it was a sword hidden in a stick, sometimes it was a standard katana, sometimes it was the Bujinkan style katana, and when they were not disguised and on a night mission – they probably DID use a sword like the one shown above)..
At the end of the day, this style of sword WORKS – and in tribute to the style – Hanwei have made 4 of the very best fully functional replicas currently available on the market.. The original Practical Ninja-to I reviewed above – and then two others the Iga and the Kouga Ninja-to..
These swords are highly acclaimed for their speed and functionality, and have not been available for years but right now we have a handful of both available and are offering at an extremely fair prices..
But you will need to be quick – quick as a Ninja to be honest.. Because they are selling out fast and will not be available for long..
