400 year old prototype of ninja weapon discovered

Experts found many flat stones with sharp edges and clay balls that are likely to be precursors of later ninja weapons.

Some artifacts unearthed at ruins related to warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Siege of Odawara in 1590 may be prototypes for ninja weapons, the Asahi Shimbun reported on January 14.

Flat stones with sharp corners unearthed at the Owada jinya ruins in Saitama. (Photo: Saitama Prefectural Ranzan History Museum)

According to archaeologist Akihiro Iwata, curator at the Ranzan History Museum in Saitama Prefecture, the artifacts include many flat stones and clay balls that may be the precursors of "shuriken" and "makibishi", two weapons of later ninjas. Iwata came to this conclusion after re-studying objects from the end of the Warring States period of Japan (from the late 15th to the late 16th century) discovered at sites in Saitama and Hachioji city, west of Tokyo. .

During the Siege of Odawara, a powerful force led by Hideyoshi invaded the Hojo clan's territory, besieging and attacking Odawara Castle, the Hojo clan's main defensive position. After the defenses at Odawara surrendered, Hideyoshi continued to lay siege to other nearby Hojo strongholds, including Hachioji Castle and Iwatsuki Castle, ending the clan's last resistance.

If the stones and clay balls found at the Hojo castles were indeed weapons, they were most likely used against Hideyoshi's forces.

Clay tablets found at the ruins of Hachioji Castle.

Flat-shaped throwing stones with sharp corners that appear to damage enemy troops were excavated between the 1990s and 2000s at the ruins of Iwatsuki Castle and the Owada jinya headquarters, both located in Saitama. These include a hexagonal stone at the Iwatsuki Castle ruins with a diameter of 4.8 cm and a thickness of 1 cm, and 17 stones at Owada jinya with a diameter of 8-14 cm and a thickness of 1.5 - 3 cm.

Around 1960, experts also discovered four unglazed clay balls in the ruins of Hachioji Castle. Each sphere is about 1-3 cm in diameter and has four spike-like protrusions. The spikes are not as sharp as the ninja's makibishi weapons, but the shape and placement of the spikes suggest they were used for the same purpose.

These weapons are not too dangerous, at least compared to real ninja weapons. That shows they were built hastily in a desperate state. "It's possible that the Hojo clan built these weapons after realizing they were faced with Hideyoshi's overwhelming force," Iwata said.

"Flat stone may have evolved into shuriken in later years. Also, I've never seen clay tablets before," said ninja expert Yuji Yamada, professor in the Department of Humanities at Mie University. know. He described the artifacts as "groundbreaking discoveries".