ninjutsun.
/nɪnˈdʒʊtsuː/, /nɪnˈdʒʌtsuː/, U.S. /nɪnˈdʒʊtˌsu/, /nɪnˈdʒətˌsu/, /nɪnˈdʒutˌsu/ The Japanese art of stealth, camouflage, sabotage, and assassination, developed in feudal times for military espionage, but subsequently used in the training of warriors and others. Cf. ninja n.Now popular worldwide as a martial art offering training in combat as well as in techniques of stealth, disguise, etc.
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society > armed hostility > war > war as profession or skill > [noun] > art or system of combat
ninjutsu1950
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > martial arts > [noun] > ninjutsu
ninjutsu1970
1950 M. K. Opler in Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 63 391 These stories..concerned certain ninjitsu experts, capable of transmuting their bodies into any form or shape, [etc.].
1961 T. Kojima tr. R. Akutagawa Japanese Short Stories 97 It is generally believed that he was a master of ‘ninjutsu’, the art of making oneself invisible.
1964 I. Fleming You only live Twice x. 126 My agents are trained in one of the arts most dreaded in Japan—ninjutsu, which is, literally, the art of stealth or invisibility.
1970 A. Westbrook & O. Ratti Aikido & Dynamic Sphere 367 Ninjutsu, the technique of ninja, the Japanese ‘commando’ and super-spy.
1974 Age (Melbourne) 7 May 8/7 Ninjitsu, the fine art of espionage, was believed to have originated in China more than 2000 years ago. It took root in Japan many hundreds of years later.
1988 Daily Tel. 22 Nov. 3/2 He ran a club teaching Ninjutsu, which uses replicas of weapons wielded by the Ninja assassins hired by Japanese feudal war lords to eliminate their rivals.
2001 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Electronic ed.) 9 Apr. Ninjutsu encompasses all modes of fighting, such as striking, grappling, using weapons.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1950