ASIA / PACIFIC
March 6, 2017
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3
Manga, Mario, and now ninja:
Japan’s hopes for wooing tourism
TEMPTING TOURISTS. Members of Iga ninja
group Ashura demonstrate a ninja-inspired martial
art during a press conference held by the Japan Ninja
Council at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan
in Tokyo. The Japan Ninja Council, a government-
backed organization of scholars, tourism groups, and
businesses, said it’s starting a Ninja Academy to train
people in the art of ninja and building a new museum
in Tokyo devoted to ninja, which is set to open in
2018. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
By Yuri Kageyama
AP Business Writer
OKYO — Japan is turning to those
hooded samurai-era acrobatic
spies known as ninja to woo
tourism.
The Japan Ninja Council, a government-
backed organization of scholars, tourism
groups, and businesses, said it’s starting a
Ninja Academy to train people in the art of
ninja and building a new museum in Tokyo
devoted to ninja, which is set to open in
2018.
“The art of ninja is made up of various
elements, such as combat, survival
techniques, and astronomy,” Jinichi
Kawakami, known as “the last ninja” and a
master of the Koga ninja school, told
reporters at the Foreign Correspondents’
Club of Japan. “We hope this will appeal to
people all over the world.”
The council, set up in 2015, has created
an official logo for certified products and
movies to nurture what it called the “ninja
business” and it hopes to educate “ninja
ambassadors” to promote the culture
globally.
The first certified product is origami, or
folding paper, for messages shaped like a
shuriken, the star-shaped daggers ninja
throw as weapons.
Hiroshi Mizohata, council vice presi-
dent, who heads the Osaka Convention &
Tourism Bureau, shrugged off questions
about commercializing the tradition.
Dressed in a black ninja outfit, he
T
stressed that ninja fun is good for business
and potentially a big part of the
government’s “Cool Japan” campaign,
which includes animation, video games,
food, and movies, especially leading up to
the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The council put on a ninja-inspired
martial-arts demonstration, in which a
muscular actor used rope to ward off,
choke, and disarm an attacker, and a
woman dressed in a mini-ninja outfit did
flips to recorded rock music.
It also showed a guidebook in English
highlighting several ninja-related places
in Japan, such as castles where ninja had
been employed, a gorge used for training
by Sarutobi Sasuke, a legendary ninja, and
a ninja-village theme park.
Tourism has been booming in Japan,
with 24 million visitors from abroad last
year, and those numbers are expected to
grow.
Historically, ninja were hired by
samurai as spies on enemies — hence their
appearance in movies, eavesdropping from
attics with summersaulting escapes from
rooftops. Iga and Koga clan ninja were
reputed to be the best. They have inspired
countless novels, movies, and cartoons,
including the Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles.
According to the council, ninja can stare
at a burning candle without blinking,
frequently massage their ears to stay
nimble, and never gain weight above 130
pounds. Their diligence and perseverance,
as well as their humble acceptance of
anonymity, are integral parts of Japanese
culture and should become a pillar export,
the council argues.
Kawakami acknowledged that real
ninja training is hard to pass down today,
and said that’s why he is called the last
real ninja. But ninja have much to offer
spiritually, such as the meditative focus
they muster when clasping their hands in
concentration in their trademark pose.
“It is also about respect to our
ancestors,” Kawakami said.
2016 Most Honored
Elder Award Recipient
Marisa Newnam
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Marisa Newnam was born November 25, 1944 in Manila, the Philippines to Dr.
Florencio and Pacifica Price Barrios. She earned an Associates in Arts degree from
Maryknoll College, then pursued a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the
University of Santo Tomas, graduating in 1966. After graduation, Marisa served in
the United States Air Force as a
lieutenant in the Nurse Corps. She
was assigned to Brookley Air Force
Base in Mobile, Alabama, where she
met her future husband, the dashing
Lt. Albert Newnam. In 1968 they
were assigned to Clark Air Force
Base in the Philippines where
Marisa resigned her commission
when she became pregnant with
their first child. The family later
returned to the U.S. and Marisa
pursued her career as a nurse.
Before her retirement in 2000,
Marisa worked at several facilities,
including
Houston
Hospital
Southwest, the Klamath Falls
Family Practice Clinic, and Kaiser Permanente in Salem. She and her husband
have three children, Philip, Christina, and MaryAnn, and five grandchildren,
Stryder, Emory, Malia, Anchor, and Ari. She currently volunteers extensively with
the Salem Multicultural Institute, where she is a board member and cultural
advisor, and is a great contributor to its World Beat Festival. In addition, she
serves as an individual trustee for the Council of Filipino American Associations, is
a member of the Filipino American National Historical Society, and a board
member for the Marion Cultural Development Corporation. In her spare time,
Marisa enjoys reading, travelling, dancing, teaching Philippine folk dances, and
participating in cultural outreach.
The Asian Reporter Foundation is accepting nominations
for its 2017 “Most Honored Elder” awards.
The recognition banquet will be held Thursday, April 20, 2017 at northeast
Portland’s TAO Event Center. Nomination forms and guidelines
for eligibility are available for download at <www.ARFoundation.net>.
The nomination deadline is
Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 5:00pm.
The Asian Reporter Foundation’s 19th
Annual Scholarship & Awards Banquet features:
Most Honored Elder Awards
Cultural entertainment
Exemplary Community Volunteer Awards
Ethnic dinner
College Scholarship Awards
Silent auction
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