"Living independently for your own survival and prosperity is important."
A Japanese man, Genichi Mitsuhashi, just became the first person in the world to hold a master's degree in ninja studies. It took the 45-year-old just two years of studying the achieve the degree at Mie University.
The school set up the world’s first research center devoted to the ninja in 2017 and opened a graduate course a year later. The courses involve learning basic martial arts, history lessons, and how to stealthily climb mountains.
When it came to Mitsuhashi's dedication, there was "no mountain high enough" to keep him from getting his degree. I like to imagine that the timeless classic by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell was his graduation song.
I mean, we've always seen ninjas in movies, and sometimes they're turtles raised by a roundhouse kickin' rat, but to truly become a ninja takes a lot of hard work.
In real life, ninjas are known for their secrecy and high levels of skill, are masters of espionage, sabotage, assassination, and guerrilla warfare dating back to at least the 14th century.
Although, Mitsuhashi says ninjas are also known to be independent farmers — not pizza aficionados.
That's why he decided to move to the mountainous province of Iga, which is 220 miles from the Japanese capital Tokyo, to better understand how they lived. During class, he grew vegetables and worked on his martial arts techniques, in addition to other ninja studies.
"I read that ninjas worked as farmers in the morning and trained in martial arts in the afternoon," Mitsuhashi told the Japan Times. "With this combination, I thought I could learn about the real ninja."
Yuji Yamada, a professor of Japanese history and person who's in charge of the ninja center, was surprised at Mitsuhashi’s hard work and devotion.
"We provide historical classes and courses on ninja skills. But I didn’t expect him to engage to this extent," Yamada said. "About three students enroll every year. I think there’s a demand."
So, does being a stealthy person that's a master of both espionage and farming sound like something you'd like to do? To enroll, students have to take an exam on Japanese history and a reading test on historical ninja documents.
"We get many inquiries from overseas but I have to say one thing: This is a course to learn about the ninja, not to become one," Yamada said.
Additionally, Mitsuhashi, who now wants to pursue a doctoral degree in ninja studies, said that what he learned at Mie University taught him about the present, as well as the past.
"Living independently for your own survival and prosperity is important for modern Japan," he told CNN. "The world for each of us is not global, but local. The era for globalism is over."
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