Daily Times

A Japanese University has awarded its first-ever degree in ninja studies after Genichi Mitsuhashi spent two years examining historical documents on the true nature of the stealth fighters while perfecting his martial arts skills.

According to details, the 45-year-old man completed the master’s course at Mie University in central Japan, the region considered the home of the ninja.

Mitsuhashi told an international news agency that he took the practical aspect of being a ninja to heart. “I read that ninjas worked as farmers in the morning and trained in martial arts in the afternoon,” he said.

Mitsuhashi, who has also learned kung fu and a Japanese martial art known as Shorinji Kempo, teaches ninja skills at his own dojo and runs a local inn while pursuing his Ph.D.

Mie University set up the world’s first research center devoted to the ninja in 2017 and opened a graduate course a year later.

It is located in Iga — 350 km (220 miles) southwest of Tokyo — a mountain-shrouded city once home to many ninja.

Yuji Yamada, a professor of Japanese history at the university in charge of the ninja center, was surprised at Mitsuhashi’s devotion to the task.

“We provide historical classes and courses on ninja skills. But I didn’t expect him to engage to this extent” like a real living ninja, Yamada said.

To enroll, students have to take an exam on Japanese history and a reading test on historical ninja documents.