thief appears to be separate from the art of the spy and is less frequently discussed. The art of thieving is clearly considered a skill, yet it is associated with brigands and bandits (not spies) as it was in Japan – remembering that in Japan the art of the shinobi and the Nusubito thief were close, if not identical on occasion.
A leader of Ch’uin Chinasent out a request for anyone who was skilled in the art of theft: ‘One man in Ch’u who excelled in thieving came to see him and said to his attendants “I heard that my lord is seeking men skilled in the Way, I am a thief who would like to offer my skill as one of your followers.”’ The leader from Ch’u sent this thief to the enemy army of Ch’i , who were camped close by. The first night the thief stole the general’s war curtain, 56 which was taken to the Ch’u side the next morning. On the second night, the thief took the general’s pillow. On the third night the thief stole the general’s hair pin. As a result of this the general of the army of Ch’i broke camp and left, saying that if he stayed a third night, then it would be his head that was stolen. The general’s ministers ask why he shows the thief such respect, hinting at a difference in understanding of the relative standing of the arts of thieving and spying.
According to Sawyer in his extensive work on the Chinese classics, some ancient Chinese considered a man who could sneak into a complex unnoticed, a ‘Dog-thief’. This is a small but invaluable piece of evidence. The Japanese Gokuhi Gunpo Hidensho manual discusses ‘Dogs’ in terms of defence against intruders and states:
How to know if a ‘Dog’ has infiltrated:
On the external side of a fence, dig a ditch three feet deep and three and a half meters wide, then place a layer of sand at the base, which measures around eight centimetres in depth. Do this so you can see the footprints of any ‘Dog’ which infiltrates [your position]. Remember, ‘Dogs’ are clever and they will hide their footprints, therefore you should neatly rake the sand into patterns 57 and observe [the sand] carefully.
The same manual also states: ‘In ancient China, the people there used to check ahead for ambushes by sending their Dogs to detect them.’ 58
Thus in ancient China and Sengoku-period Japan, people who infiltrated your position were known as ‘Dogs’ and generally fulfilled the role of shinobi as one who creeps in. This puts the ‘Dog-thief’ in both counties and with identical skills. From the Bansenshukai we get confirmation that ‘Dogs’ are in fact high level performers of silent infiltration or In-nin : ‘At the time of the attack, send Meakashi scouts or “Dogs” to see how numerous the enemy are or if they are asleep or not.’
A section of the Bansenshukai dedicated to burglary talks of big ‘Dogs’, and of small ‘Dogs’, and ‘how to open the doors’.
Question: Granted, now it is understood that watchmen should be selected with special care, but can we use those who are restless and impatient for other jobs instead of watchmen?
Answer: It goes without saying that proper selection is the same for Meakashi scouts, Oinu big ‘Dogs’ and Koinu small ‘Dogs’, Fire Performers, Fire Assistants and other such jobs, but only watchmen are mentioned specially, because as watchmen remain outside and people of this world think that it is an easy job and do not select people carefully but use even cowards without due care and attention, this often ends in a catastrophe. Therefore, I have given emphasis to watchmen here.
The difference between big and small ‘Dog’ is not fully understood and could mean leader and support thief. Whilst thieves are universal, through linguistic similarities and actual usage we can see that Japanese ninja thieving arts were influenced by and descended from the earlier Chinese ‘Dog-thieves’.
This image is taken from a ninja scroll in the private collection of Dr Nakashima
A leader of Ch’uin Chinasent out a request for anyone who was skilled in the art of theft: ‘One man in Ch’u who excelled in thieving came to see him and said to his attendants “I heard that my lord is seeking men skilled in the Way, I am a thief who would like to offer my skill as one of your followers.”’ The leader from Ch’u sent this thief to the enemy army of Ch’i , who were camped close by. The first night the thief stole the general’s war curtain, 56 which was taken to the Ch’u side the next morning. On the second night, the thief took the general’s pillow. On the third night the thief stole the general’s hair pin. As a result of this the general of the army of Ch’i broke camp and left, saying that if he stayed a third night, then it would be his head that was stolen. The general’s ministers ask why he shows the thief such respect, hinting at a difference in understanding of the relative standing of the arts of thieving and spying.
According to Sawyer in his extensive work on the Chinese classics, some ancient Chinese considered a man who could sneak into a complex unnoticed, a ‘Dog-thief’. This is a small but invaluable piece of evidence. The Japanese Gokuhi Gunpo Hidensho manual discusses ‘Dogs’ in terms of defence against intruders and states:
How to know if a ‘Dog’ has infiltrated:
On the external side of a fence, dig a ditch three feet deep and three and a half meters wide, then place a layer of sand at the base, which measures around eight centimetres in depth. Do this so you can see the footprints of any ‘Dog’ which infiltrates [your position]. Remember, ‘Dogs’ are clever and they will hide their footprints, therefore you should neatly rake the sand into patterns 57 and observe [the sand] carefully.
The same manual also states: ‘In ancient China, the people there used to check ahead for ambushes by sending their Dogs to detect them.’ 58
Thus in ancient China and Sengoku-period Japan, people who infiltrated your position were known as ‘Dogs’ and generally fulfilled the role of shinobi as one who creeps in. This puts the ‘Dog-thief’ in both counties and with identical skills. From the Bansenshukai we get confirmation that ‘Dogs’ are in fact high level performers of silent infiltration or In-nin : ‘At the time of the attack, send Meakashi scouts or “Dogs” to see how numerous the enemy are or if they are asleep or not.’
A section of the Bansenshukai dedicated to burglary talks of big ‘Dogs’, and of small ‘Dogs’, and ‘how to open the doors’.
Question: Granted, now it is understood that watchmen should be selected with special care, but can we use those who are restless and impatient for other jobs instead of watchmen?
Answer: It goes without saying that proper selection is the same for Meakashi scouts, Oinu big ‘Dogs’ and Koinu small ‘Dogs’, Fire Performers, Fire Assistants and other such jobs, but only watchmen are mentioned specially, because as watchmen remain outside and people of this world think that it is an easy job and do not select people carefully but use even cowards without due care and attention, this often ends in a catastrophe. Therefore, I have given emphasis to watchmen here.
The difference between big and small ‘Dog’ is not fully understood and could mean leader and support thief. Whilst thieves are universal, through linguistic similarities and actual usage we can see that Japanese ninja thieving arts were influenced by and descended from the earlier Chinese ‘Dog-thieves’.
This image is taken from a ninja scroll in the private collection of Dr Nakashima
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