Ninja Tools

Because the ninja would actively seek to avoid fighting, equipment other than weapons became important tools. As with weaponry, it was crucial for these tools to be adaptable and serve multiple purposes, so that they could also be used as weapons if necessary. Most ninja equipment could be classified into three categories (not including the fire tools), defined by function: noboriki, or climbing tools; kaiki, or opening tools; and suiki,or water tools. Many of these items are discussed in the Bansen Shukai, an illustrated manual of ninjutsu from the seventeenth cintury.