Editing Ninja (section)

==In popular culture==
{{Main|Ninjas in popular culture}}
[[File:Ogata_Shuma_vs_Python_from_Suikoden_of_Japanese_Heroes_by_Utagawa_Kuniyoshi.png|thumb|upright|[[Jiraiya]] battles a giant python with the help of his summoned [[Japanese common toad|toad]]. Woodblock print on paper. [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi|Kuniyoshi]], {{Circa|1843}}.]]

The image of the ninja entered popular culture in the [[Edo period]], when [[Japanese folklore|folktales]] and plays about ninja were conceived. Stories about the ninja are usually based on historical figures. For instance, many similar tales exist about a ''daimyō'' challenging a ninja to prove his worth, usually by stealing his pillow or weapon while he slept.<ref name="Turnbull 2003 14">{{Harvnb|Turnbull|2003|p=14}}</ref> Novels were written about the ninja, such as ''[[Jiraiya|Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari]]'', which was also made into a [[kabuki]] play. Fictional figures such as [[Sarutobi Sasuke]] would eventually make their way into comics and television, where they have come to enjoy a [[culture hero]] status outside their original mediums.

Ninja appear in many forms of Japanese and Western popular media, including books (''[[The Kouga Ninja Scrolls|Kōga Ninpōchō]]''), [[List of ninja films|movies]] (''[[Enter the Ninja]]'', ''[[Revenge of the Ninja]]'', ''[[Ninja Assassin]]''), television (''[[Akakage]]'', ''[[The Master (American TV series)|The Master]]'', ''[[Sasuke (TV series)|Ninja Warrior]]''), [[List of ninja video games|video games]] (''[[Shinobi (series)|Shinobi]]'', ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'', ''[[Tenchu]]'', ''[[Sekiro]]'', ''[[Assassin's Creed Shadows|Assassin's Creed]]''), [[anime]] (''[[Naruto]]'', ''[[Ninja Scroll]]'', ''[[Gatchaman]]''), [[manga]] (''[[Basilisk (manga)|Basilisk]]'', ''[[Ninja Hattori-kun]]'', ''[[Azumi]]''), Western animation (''[[Ninjago (TV series)|Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu]]'') and American comic books (''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]''). From ancient Japan to the modern world media, popular depictions range from the realistic to the fantastically exaggerated, both fundamentally and aesthetically.