I came across this Japanese YouTube video about the real history behind ninja, and I wanted to share it here. It's not my channel. It's in Japanese, but it has English subtitles. Here's a quick summary of what it covers:

- Ninja weren't mainly assassins. Their real job was gathering information, sabotage, and spreading misinformation.

- Iga and Koga were neighbors across the mountains, and the video argues they weren't sworn enemies. Iga ninja worked more like freelancers for hire, while Koga was more tied to the local Rokkaku clan.

- After Honnoji in 1582, Tokugawa Ieyasu escaped through the Iga mountains with local help, and later employed Iga men in Edo. The Hanzomon gate is said to be named after Hattori Hanzo's residence.

- The word "ninja" itself only became the common term in the 20th century. Earlier, they went by many regional names.

One caveat: the video tells a story about an Iga and a Koga agent meeting on a mountain road in 1599 and chatting instead of fighting. It's a great scene, but I couldn't find where it comes from, so I'd treat it as illustrative rather than documented.

Has anyone here read good sources on how Iga and Koga actually got along?

https://youtu.be/rwNI_mhh3NA?si=RWDxrhppL7u4GM4y

(Summary in my own words; English wording is AI-assisted.)