THE SHADOW CLANS JAPANS IGA AND KOGA NINJAS

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today we're going to be looking at a shadow clan
in the world of espionage, known as the Japans Ega
and Koga ninjas. Long before the legend of the ninja
became pop culture, two real clans operated in the shadows
of feudal Japan, the Ega and the Koga. These clans,
based in the mountainous regions of Ega modern day my
Prefector and Koga now Coca and Shiga Prefector, developed distinct

(00:23):
schools of ninjitsu, stealth tactics, espionage, and guerrilla warfare, making
them some of the most feared and respective covert operatives
in Japanese history. The Ega and Coga were not criminal
gangs or rogue assassins. There were intelligence operatives who sold
their services to samurai warlords in an era where an
open warfare was common. These ninja clans provided strategic advantages

(00:44):
through sabotage, reconnaissance, infiltration, and psychological warfare. They trained from childhood,
mastering survival skills or both medicine, disguise and unorthodox weaponry.
The Igaru and the Cogaru. These are schools and styled
in philosophy. You have both prioritized adaptability and deception Unlike

(01:05):
the rigid honor code of the samurai, Ninja's were pragmatists,
winning through wit rather than brute force. Their methods often
involved non lethal situations, such as stealing critical documents or
impersonating enemy soldiers. Their legacy rose to national prominence during
the ten Show Ega War in fifteen eighty one, when
Oda and Nobanaga, one of Japan's unifiers, led a brutal

(01:26):
campaign against the Ega Province. Though outnumbered, the Ega Ninja
used guerrilla tactic as an intimate knowledge of the terrain
to mount of fierce resistance eventually overwhelmed. Survivors scattered across Japan,
many becoming instructors or covert agents for Rivaldimo feudal lords
Diimo over centuries. Fact blended with folklore and stories of

(01:46):
vanishing into smoke or walking on water, made the Ega
and Coca seem mythical, a psychological trait. In reality, they
were disciplined, strategic operatives who excelled at information warfare long
before modern intelligence existed, created that psychological warfare as well.
Their memory is preserved in museums, festivals, and martial art dojoes,

(02:08):
but the true depth of their tactics and teachings remain
partly obscure. Again, they were trained from childhood, but they
were known to infiltrate a castle, and they would spend
a few days blending in with laborers and monks, noting
guard rotations, exit roots, lightning, lighting changes, and sound echoes.
The meticulous intelligence gathering allowed for surgical position when executing missions,

(02:30):
whether it involve theft, sabotage, or covert messaging, so it's
really similar to humans. Human intelligence and even cybersecurity were
understanding a system's normal behavior allows the detection of hidden threats.
The Koga clan emphasized flexibility and community based intelligence, so
villages were trained to gather information passively listening in markets,
watching travel routs, and feeding intelligence to the clan. This

(02:53):
form of distributed surveillance closely resembles to see something, say
something modeled today. Both clans practiced psychological manipulation, including the
use of disguise, misdirection, and propaganda. For instance, a ninja
from the Koga might pose as a merchant or a priest,
subtly influencing local perceptions or seeding disinformation. An ancient form

(03:14):
of psios