since you did one for samurai I\'m adding one for ninja hope thats ok lol
Swords
The ninja sword (ninja-to) was different than that of the samurai. The long sword that the samurai carried was made of high-carbon steel, and took months to have made. They were hand made specially for each samurai, taking great care to make a very high quality sword. It was so sharp that it could easily cut a man in two, even through their armor. The length of the samurai swords averaged around 26 1/2 to 37 inches.
The ninja sword was considerably shorter, only 24 inches, and the quality of the swords was much poorer. The reason for the poorer quality was the way they used the sword as opposed to the way the samurai used theirs. Samurai would swing their sword, severing limbs and slashing at the opponent. Ninja, on the other hand, used the sword more in a stabbing motion. To use the blade of the ninja sword effectively you would have to use a sawing motion when the blade came in contact with the opponents flesh.
Another reason for the poor quality of the swords is that since ninja were mostly mountain people and outlaws, they could not afford to hire expert sword smiths like the samurai could. Also their own sword smiths did not have access to the right resources to be able to make curved edge swords with well constructed blades. If a Ninja could overcome a samurai he would take his swords, simply because they are better.
Although the ninja sword was smaller and poorer quality, it still had its advantages. The scabbard for instance was made longer than the sword, about 3 to 4 inches longer. At the end of the scabbard there was a hidden compartment that was used to hide small weapons such as spikes, daggers or small amounts of poisons. Another use the sword had was that it could act as a small step by jamming the blade into the ground, the ninja could use the hand-guard as a step to get that extra height needed to scale a wall. Because the blade was not very sharp, the ninja could also use it as a hammer by holding onto the blade (carefully) and hitting with the handle. Also it was common to have the tip of the scabbard come off so it could be used as a snorkel.
Another reason for using the Ninja sword was so that the ninja would be ale to weild it within small corridors on various missions.
Ashiko
The Ashiko were spiked claws that were worn on the feet. This helped the Ninja climb faster and more efficiently on their missions. As well as a great climbing aid, it could also be used in combat to deliver deadly kicks.
Fukiya
The fukiya, or blowgun, was a staple in the Ninja\'s arsenal since it was so versatile.
The fukiya was used to shoot darts (sometimes poisoned) at an enemy from a distance and, since it made almost no noise, the Ninja\'s hiding place wasn\'t threatened by using this weapon. Aside from launching darts, the blowgun could be used as a snorkel while the Ninja was underwater. Since the fukiya was made of bamboo, it blended in with the reeds in the water, therefore enabling the Ninja to stay submerged for hours, if necessary.
Metsubishi could also be delivered through the fukiya by shooting small paper containers filled with pepper and metal shavings at an enemy\'s face.
Shuriken
The Shuriken is the trade mark ninja weapon made famous by the movies and stories about the ninja. The Shuriken was simply a flat piece of metal with sharpened points that were thrown at the enemy.
The Shuriken was not originally designed as a killing weapon. It was mostly used to distract or deter so the ninja could escape. While in the midst of a get-away, the Shuriken could be thrown at the samurai chasing the ninja, possibly making the samurai think twice about continuing the chase.
Although the Shuriken was not intended to kill, it was easily made lethal by dipping the edges in poison. This was effective, but sometimes it backfired when the ninja would accidentally cut himself while digging around for it, thus poisoning himself.
Shuriken were also designed to hit the opponent then bounce away out of sight. This way a ninja could fool an unsuspecting guard or sentry into believing he had been cut by an invisible swordsmen.
