Editing Ninja (section)

==Famous people==
[[File:Kumawakamaru by kuniyoshi - 24 paragons of filial piety.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Hino Kunimitsu|Kumawakamaru]] escapes his pursuers by swinging across the moat on a [[bamboo]].<ref name="McCullough 2004 49">{{Harvnb|McCullough|2004|p=49}}</ref> Woodblock print on paper. [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi|Kuniyoshi]], 1842–1843.]]

Many famous people in Japanese history have been associated or identified as ninja, but their status as ninja is difficult to prove and may be the product of later imagination. Rumors surrounding famous warriors, such as [[Kusunoki Masashige]] or [[Minamoto no Yoshitsune]] sometimes describe them as ninja, but there is little evidence for these claims.

Some well known examples include:

* Kumawaka (the 16th century): a suppa (ninja) who served [[Obu Toramasa]] (1504– 1565), a vassal of [[Takeda Shingen]].<ref>[http://www.syuriken.com/ninja_content/ninja-zinbutsu-kag.htm 熊若] 忍者名鑑</ref>
* [[Hattori Hanzō]] (1542–1596): a samurai serving under [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]]. His ancestry in Iga province, along with ''ninjutsu'' manuals published by his descendants have led some sources to define him as a ninja.<ref name="Adams 1970 34">{{Harvnb|Adams|1970|p=34}}</ref> This depiction is also common in popular culture.
* [[Ishikawa Goemon]] (1558–1594): Goemon reputedly tried to drip poison from a thread into [[Oda Nobunaga]]'s mouth through a hiding spot in the ceiling,<ref name="Adams 1970 160">{{Harvnb|Adams|1970|p=160}}</ref> but many fanciful tales exist about Goemon, and this story cannot be confirmed.
* [[Fūma Kotarō]] (d. 1603): a ninja rumored to have killed Hattori Hanzō, with whom he was supposedly rivals. The fictional weapon ''[[Fūma Kotarō#In folklore and popular culture|Fūma shuriken]]'' is named after him.
* Momochi Sandayū (16th century): a leader of the Iga ninja clans, who supposedly perished during Oda Nobunaga's attack on Iga province. There is some belief that he escaped death and lived as a farmer in [[Kii Province]].<ref name="Adams 1970 42">{{Harvnb|Adams|1970|p=42}}</ref> Momochi is also a branch of the Hattori clan.
* [[Fujibayashi Nagato-no-kami]] (16th century): considered to be one of three "greatest" Iga ''jōnin'', the other two being Hattori Hanzō and Momochi Sandayū. Fujibayashi's descendants wrote and edited the ''Bansenshukai''.
* [[Katō Danzō]] (1503–1569): a famed 16th-century ninja master during the Sengoku period who was also known as "Flying Katō".
* [[Wada Koremasa]] (1536–1571): a powerful Kōka samurai ninja who in 1568 allied with the [[Ashikaga shogunate]] and [[Oda Nobunaga]], at which point he relocated to [[Settsu Province]].
* Shimotsuge no Kizaru (16th century): an influential Iga ninja who in 1560 successfully led an attack on [[Kashihara, Nara|Tōichi Castle]].
* Takino Jurobei (16th century): The commander of some of the final resistance against Oda Nobunaga in his invasion of Iga. Momochi Sandayu, Fujibayashi Nagato no Kami, and Hattori Hanzō served as his officers.