phantom motorist

This license plate answers the question, "What would a Ninja never say?"

When 'vanity' plates came to Ohio, i found them interesting. Some were humourous, many were with odd spellings. Why anyone would pay an extra $50 per year to advertise the make of the car, i just don't know. Some had their names, some a scripture citation. And generally, i don't photograph and post private people, because i have some respect for privacy, even to the point of identifying their stuff. But as an historian, and someone with respect for understanding and a degree of exactness, i am drawing attention to this vanity for fantasy and error.

Ninja were late mediæval Japanese mercenaries. In historical record, they were called shinobi. There are two readings of the kanji characters that signify the word. Now, folklore and tales grew. Current fiction has spread the aura. Some of the spirit of the cinematic Obi-Wan Kenobi, i think has been added back to the ninja inspiration. Some of the fiction has extended stealth unto mind defying physics and matter. 

Samurai were military nobility and were supposed to follow a code of behaviour (bushido) and honor, and rules in fighting. The ninja were spies and assassins, therefore being anonymous was being effective. They were to operate without being noticed. If anything, their historical record is sketchy and incomplete. Modern culture has expanded their mystique. The shinobi (even those that had been samurai) were far beneath the dignity of samurai.