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SHUNAN, Yamaguchi Prefecture—High school students here have figured out the mechanisms of a medieval eavesdropping device that was among the most important tools for ninja on espionage missions.
The students at Yamaguchi Prefectural Tokuyama Senior High School will present their research results at the pre-college competition of the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the United States in May. They will be members of Japan’s national team.
Ninja are believed to have been active from the Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (1336-1392) through the Edo Period (1603-1867).
The primary mission of ninja, also called “shinobi” (the stealthy), was to gather intelligence for their lords, often using a metal plate called “saoto-kikigane,” which literally means “metalwork for listening to faint sound.”
Made of brass or other materials, the plate typically measured about 4.5 centimeters long, 3 cm wide and 3 millimeters thick.
The gadget is mentioned in “Ninpiden,” a book on “ninjutsu” (art of ninja) from the early Edo Period.