Saturday, February 5, 2011

Shinobi Sunday: Kuji

臨兵闘者皆陣列在前

[Rin, Pyo, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen]

Kuji, or the Nine Syllables, are a part of a lot of ninja pop-culture.  Anime, live action movies, video games, they all tend to use this a lot.  The syllables themselves are usually recited together with hand motions, called the kuji-in, or nine syllables seal, or with alternating horizontal and vertical slashing motions, the kuji-kiri or nine syllables cut.  Ninja use them as a way to prepare themselves for some difficult task, both as a way to focus/calm, and a way to increase power/luck.

Well, luckily, Wikipedia has a good rundown of them.  Also, if you want to try to make the kuji-in yourself and impress your friends with your mad ninja skillz, check this out (read from top right down).

2 comments:

  1. Even as I approach thirty, I find that ninjas are still, in fact, totally sweet.

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  2. Ninja is a way of life. A great one that should be considered by many, and known by fewer
    9inj4

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