NINJAS were mysterious covert agents, mercenaries, assassins and have been a point of fascination for many boys and girls.
However, some historians even doubt that they ever really existed and are of the opinion that the ninja is merely just a part of Japan's folklore.
Having said this, one thing is for certain; if ninjas actually existed, it was way back during the Sengoku period of 15th-Century Japan and much like the knights of Europe, they no longer exist. Saying that, there was talk that a daring figure in black that went on a crime spree in Japan from 2009 to 2017.
Is it true that a ninja terrorised Osaka in recent history?
Verdict:
TRUE - sort of
While he was not actually a shinobi of old, there was a man who confounded police for almost a decade.
He executed over 250 break-ins from 2009 to when he was caught in 2017. What's more he did this while dressed all in black, complete with a black balaclava.
The "Ninja of Heisei" - as he became known - managed to evade police for eight years and was only ever captured on CCTV displaying spectacular feats of agility, such as running on walls and climbing vertical faces with ease.
That said, he was finally caught when he broke his cover and revealed his face on camera during one of his heists.
Officers said the ninja would don his black outfit in a vacant room of an old apartment building before carrying out his crimes.
He would then return to change back into his ordinary clothes.
Because of his physical abilities, investigators thought they were dealing with a young man, but as it turned out the man they caught, Mitsuaki Tanigawa, was a 74-year-old pensioner.
Upon his arrest, Tanigawa admitted to the robberies, saying that he did them because he did not want to work and that stealing was much easier.
During his eight-year spree, Tanigawa conducted 254 break-ins and stole an estimated 30 million yen (RM983,305) worth of goods and cash.
When asked, Tanigawa said he was confident in his criminal abilities and said that had he been younger, he never would have been caught.
