Editing Ninja (section)

===Espionage===
Espionage was the chief role of the ninja. With the aid of disguises, the ninja gathered information on enemy terrain and building specifications, as well as obtaining passwords and communiques. The aforementioned supplement to the ''Nochi Kagami'' briefly describes the ninja's role in espionage:

{{blockquote|Concerning ninja, they were said to be from Iga and Kōga, and went freely into enemy castles in secret. They observed hidden things, and were taken as being friends.}}

Later in history, the Kōga ninja would become regarded as agents of the [[Tokugawa clan|Tokugawa]] ''[[Shogun#Shogunate|bakufu]]'', at a time when the ''bakufu'' used the ninja in an intelligence network to monitor regional ''daimyōs'' as well as the [[Imperial Court in Kyoto|Imperial court]].<ref name="ratti 1991 327" />