Comments by "Seven Proxies" (@sevenproxies4255) on "Ninja VS Samurai - Let's Get This Straight" video.

  1. Mike Golden: Except for the fact that plenty of japanese fiction and art also use this image of black clad kabuki stagehands as a representation of ninja. So no, "us westerners" didn't ruin any image. The japanese did it long before we did.
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  2. Jim Dot Beep: Yes, they had a lot of superstition and ritual surrounding their swords. But that didn't stop them from using other weapons. The daisho (a katana and wakizashi carried together in your hakama or obi) was a symbol of the samurai class. It was worn basically to tell people "i'm a samurai, so you better not fuck with me". In other words: heavily tied to their identity and status in society. (like a king wearing a crown or gentlemen of the aristocracy wearing black top hats during the 1800's) BUT there is no historical evidence that samurai avoided using other weapons, nor that they felt some cultural, impractical need to only kill using their sword. Especially not during battlefield conditions when they more frequently used spears, bows and arrows. The katana, when carried on the battlefield was more like a "sidearm" and not a primary weapon. If the samurai got disarmed in battle for whatever reason, then sure he'd pull out his sword, but it was more due to an act of desperation (holy shit! I lost my spear! Better grab the next best thing and defend myself!) than intent to kill with the sword.
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  3. Agent 47 from the Hitman-games is therefore a more realistic ninja, seeing as how Mr. 47 frequently use disguises in order to infiltrate strongholds and guarded compounds to reach his targets compared to other fictional representations of ninja.
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