Inside the Ninja House

Today, ninja houses in Japan count among the most attractive tourist destinations of the country. They have been moved from their original places and rebuilt as tourist attraction. Not surprisingly, they look like ninja homes with various hiding places and trap-doors built in, but can we trust their authenticity?

It stands to reason that an infamous shonin, who was well-aware of the various techniques of infiltration and assassination employed by his own ninja, should put his knowledge to practical use, and turn his house into a super secure place to fend off potential attempts at his life. Their genuine fear for their life encouraged many powerful samurai lords to introduce well-authenticated features into their own homes and residences.

The most often employed features of building design were ones that allowed the secret and constant monitoring of visitors by the lord's guards, making it possible to overpower an assailant in seconds. 

A removable floortile, near the sitting shonin's side when he held an audience, could easily hide a katana or wakisashi ready to be picked up by him.

Sliding panels, a common feature in Japanese homes, could be re-architectured to pivot around a central axis, allowing a man to disappear in an eye-blink.

Staircases could be built to fold away, causing confusion in the assailant.

An unexpected trap-door in a dark hallway could drop an attacker into a hidden pit on a row of poisoned spikes.

A vanishing staircase that could be immediately retracted by standing on the protruding end after climbing it could also trick any pursuer.

If you've heard about the otherwise well-known Nijo jinya in Kyoto, then you are familiar with the most exciting and most authentic example of an anti-ninja home. This house built near to Nijo castle was the home of Ogawa Nagatsuka, a former samurai and later a rice merchant. His anti-ninja devices were set up as very sensible fire precautions.