All of the most famous historical figures known today as ninja were also samurai, specializing in guerilla tactics and espionage aside from the usual skills samurai were known for. More recent research indicates that ninja as even well-learnt historians thought of them may not have existed at all. Ninjas were mainly deployed for espionage, sabotage, and sometimes assassination. A popular myth states that ninjas came from lower classes (at least compared to the samurai) and they were often hired to do the dirty deeds honorable samurai would not do, but in reality ninjas were usually samurai, or in rare cases, mercenaries hired by samurai. Superior knowledge of survival skills, a lot of actual stealth, poisons, assassination techniques and unorthodox tactics (added to the fact that the ninjas actively encouraged the spread of rumors of their magical abilities) were the most important though. Their "invisibility" was part psychological in cause - by dressing as a peasant, they were ignored and dismissed, or never even noticed at all, by the upper classes, a useful thing despite the oft fierce travel restrictions on the lower classes. While ninjas did indeed exist, their reputation for invisibility and infiltration more likely stemmed from their willingness to dress as members of a lower social class when no one else in Japan would consider doing such a thing.
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