NINJA MANIPULATION

The Five Emotions and Desires

Don Roley

Summer 2020

Notes from the publisher and author

This book is for information purposes only. Much of what is written in here will certainly result in injury of death if attempted. The author takes no responsibility for the use or mis- use of the information presented.

Japanese names have been done in the Japanese custom of family name first. Published by Freedom to Excel LLC

First published 2020

Copyright © 2020 by Donald Roley- All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means with prior written permission from Donald Roley.

Portions of this work have previously appeared in Densho #5, The Newsletter of the Colorado Springs Bujinkan Dojo and “Secrets of Koga-ryu Ninjutsu” by Fujita Seiko, translated by Don Roley.

Please visit the translator’s site at www.coloradospringsninjutsu.com for more books and articles.

Introduction

“Of all the many tasks the ninja must learn, first among them is getting close to people”

The Key Role of the Ninja

As much as the image of the ninja has them running around in black outfits, sneaking over walls and fighting samurai, the greater part of their mission was dealing with people while they were undercover. They recruited willing and unwitting agents to gather information for them, they subverted officials to betray their lords and they influenced many to work against common enemies.

In fact, in the 100 poems of Yoshimori, one of the most famous lines is that of all the jobs the ninja must to, getting close to people is the most important. “Of all the many tasks the ninja must learn, first among them is getting close to people.”

This means that the ninja had to have a grasp of psychology and the ability to manipulate people.

This work is largely based on the book “Ninpo Kaiden” by Okuse Heishichiro. Some of his sources seem obvious, but I honestly do not know where he got some of his information from. Of course I provide my own outlook, commentary and examples.

One of the things the ninja were said to have used to help manipulate people is the five emotions and five desires.

The Five Emotions

The five emotions are joy, anger, sympathy, leisure and fear. These are not exact associations as they would be in English.

Humans are a mixture of logic and emotion. We use both to make our decisions. However, while we might think that we make our choices based on reason, far more often it is emotion that makes the choice for us and we use our intellect to come up with logical sounding reasons for what we do. Competent salespeople know this, so they use images and ads that strike at our emotions far more often than pure logical arguments. A car ad has beautiful women perched on the vehicle. You rarely see a car ad talking about the gas mileage or low maintenance. Subtle bits are put in to make it seem like drinking a certain beer or buying a certain product will lead to being seen more manly, or getting more respect, or something that hits us on the emotional level.

One of the most important skills to develop is the ability to look at things from a third person perspective. No matter how appealing, or maddening, something is, a detached outlook can save one from choosing poorly. The job of the ninja is to deny that chance and use the upset that some emotions cause to the thinking process.

喜車にかける術 Kisha Ni Kakeru Jutsu

The Japanese name for the first art is Kisha ni Kakeru-jutsu, or the way of using someone by the use of joy/pleasure/enjoyment. Sometimes it is shortened to Kisha or Kisha no jutsu. Joy, or pleasure, is one of the most commonly used tactics in all societies and all times. Making someone’s life a bit more pleasant goes a long way toward getting them to do something for you. Pleasure can take many, many forms. It could be taking pride in something, seeing something accomplished, praise or any number of things. It is a very positive way of influencing others.

Tightly associated with the idea of influencing is the idea of self image. People have a self image that they sometimes consider as important as their lives. By playing to that self image, people can be more easily influenced. A person might not be willing to give up smoking, or at least lack enough drive. But if their self image is that of a good father, then by pointing out that they have a responsibility to be around for their kids instead of dying of cancer and they need to be a role model for their kids, you are much more likely to get them to gather the strength to give up the addiction.

Of course, most of us have many aspects to our self image. Some are stronger than others and more central to what we really are. Some people go to worship, but really do not have religion as part of their central core of self worth. Those that have a self image that revolves completely around their religion are far more likely to be influenced by it. By comparison, those that have an image of a golfer probably can’t be manipulated as well by trying to use it. Status in the community is usually a large part of this as well. Those that are known for their religion, or charity, or anything else and is thought of by everyone they know as, “The person that does X” has a lot more invested in maintaining that image than someone who keeps his passion a secret.

This is a concern with the recent epidemic of people converting to islam, or re-finding their faith in it, and going on to commit terrorist acts. There are many muslims in the west that worship, but that part of them is second to something else that makes up their self image. In their eyes, they may be school teachers who happen to be muslims instead of muslims that happen to be teachers. The difference is important.

But when someone starts to see the world more and more through the lens of being muslim, their outlook changes. When people that happen to be muslim, but not deeply, or new converts to the faith start identifying themselves first as muslim, they become a lot more easily seduced by extremists. Those that have been deep in the religion for years and are familiar with the doctrine are not so easily seduced because they know the subject. Investigations are finding that those with little knowledge of the Koran and doctrine of islam are being converted online and in places of worship by those that can quote selected passages from the holy book to make their case of what a ‘good’ muslim has to do. Since recent converts can’t easily refute these arguments with quotes and such of their own, they fall under the sway of extremists much more easily.

This of course takes time. People rarely wake up one morning and go from being a teacher that happens to be muslim to a radical extremist. The process usually follows a path of someone getting more involved with muslim groups. As they gain friends and status in the group, it becomes more and more a part of them. There is a pyramid of recruitment to radical organizations, and the bottom level might be a cookout at the place of worship. Those giving the event aren’t actively thinking of recruiting extremists and probably are outraged at the idea. But those seeking to bring someone into the fold take part in these types of things and look for those who has a life that now seems to revolve around their religious identity. If needed, they encourage newcomers to dive deeper and deeper into the social life surrounding the mosque and help them to become more and more muslim in what they think and how they view the world. They then swoop in and in steps lure the victim into a life of seeing things though their own version of islam, instead of what the victim originally was attracted by.

Joy and pleasure are some of the most effective ways of setting up this world outlook. Few people indeed would start to consider themselves anything if there wasn’t some sort of benefit to them. In the case of radical islam, the thought of going to heaven by living a good life is only the most obvious and the one they would most likely admit to. More important is probably the sense of community they find, the pleasure they get from hanging out with people that accept them as part of the group. The pot luck dinner may seem a small thing, but for a society where we turn more and more to on line communications instead of face to face meetings, it can be a huge lure to get people in the door. The most vulnerable are those that are having a struggle with their lives and are looking for a way out of their isolation. The Boston bombers are classic examples of troubled, isolated youths seeking some sort of structure in their lives that were seduced and used.

Aum Shinri Kyo, the cult that gassed the subway system in Japan, got great use of this. The people they recruited were largely highly educated individuals, but lacking much of a social life. Isolated, they nearly fell over themselves when a chance to be part of a group that respected and loved them came along. This is a classic example of the use of Kisha.

When using this tactic, sometimes care must be taken to bring the person back into that mindset. A christian might not act very charitable when he is pulled over for a ticket. But if the officer makes a comment about the bumper sticker talking about Jesus, then that part of his identity is brought back to the front and he realizes that he is being viewed as a christian again. There are great numbers of cases of religious people of all faiths that seem to act very contrary to what they claim to be. Sometimes the exterior view has to be reinforced to get the person to comply.

Of course, Kisha doesn’t have to be for anything as extreme as recruiting people for terrorist acts, nor does it have to use the joy of being part of a group. A simple compliment can go a long way. One that reinforces the self image you want to manipulate is an effective way of deepening the outlook. Compliments must not be frivolous or obviously untrue. To work best, they must be ones that can’t be dismissed by the humble. In the example of the father giving up tobacco, commenting first on how much time he puts in with his kids to help them with things like homework and expressing admiration starts the ball rolling. Compliments that make a person feel good while building up an image to be manipulated are surprisingly effective when used correctly.

Entertaining guests from other companies is a standard part of doing business in Japan. Having someone enjoy a night out allows the negotiations to start on a good foot. There is no real negatives to taking people out and having a good time together before a relationship is negotiated.

While most might think that women are more susceptible to Kisha in general, and compliments in particular, nothing could be further from the truth. Women tend to comment more on things like clothing when they get together than men do. Thus, they are a bit more used to being complimented. And of course, when men try to pick up women (rarely is the reverse true) compliments are the most common method to try to sway them. This is not to say that compliments do not work on women, but a well crafted compliment seems to work worlds better on men than women. In general, doing something to make a man feel good in some way (Kisha) seems to work much better no matter the form it takes. In this respect, it seems men are the weaker sex.

怒車にかける術 Dosha Ni Kakeru Jutsu

Dosha ni Kakeru-jutsu is next. “Do” roughly means anger, or hate. Obviously, those that act from anger are more prone to mistakes than those that make their choices with a cool head.

One of the best known examples of this in action to the Japanese is Miyamoto Musashi’s final duel with Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryu island.

On the day of the duel, Musashi showed up late. A lot has been said about this in Japanese media. Some accounts sympathetic to Musashi paint it as a case of him sleeping late by accident. However, it seems more likely that is was part of his strategy. As he was being rowed out to the island, Musashi carved an oar into a large wooden sword.

As the hours passed, Kojiro became more and more agitated. When Musashi finally arrived, Kojiro drew his sword. This sword of his was an especially long one nicknamed, “The Drying Pole.” It was so named because laundry in Japan is hung on a pole and left to dry. Because of its length, the scabbard easily got in the way, so Kojiro threw it to the side and into the ocean by accident. “You are late, you rude cad!” he bellowed at Musashi.

To add even more insult, and thus make Kojiro angrier, Musashi retorted, “You have already lost.”

“What?” sputtered Kojiro.

“To throw away a scabbard like that means that you do not expect to survive to be able to retrieve it. My victory is assured.”

With that, the duel started with Kojiro coming in hotly. The cooler and calmer Musashi is said to have easily dispatched his foe by means of the oar which was slightly longer than Kojiro’s famous sword.

While this account might be fanciful, it does illustrate how unbalancing your opponent by means of making him angry can work.

But anger can be used in so many other ways. Instead of directing the anger onto you, it is often best to direct it at someone else.

In Shakespeare’s Othello, the villain's name is Iago. A cunning manipulator, his exact reasons for hating Othello aren’t clear. At one point, he says that it is because there is a rumor that Othello had an affair with his wife, but in other scenes he seems to contradict himself. In any case, he is determined to bring down Othello due to his anger. This man, driven by anger, fans the flames of anger in others to get them to do his bidding by subtle means. First he drives a former suitor for Othello’s wife into rage and causes him to act against him and his friends. Finally, he tells stories and makes plots that makes Othello think that his wife is having an affair with one of his friends. Driven by rage, just as Iago planned, he kills both the friend and his wife. This ruins him and leaves him open to punishment by the government. Things do not go as planned for Iago, and he is found out. He joins Othello in death, undone by a slight flaw in an otherwise perfect use of anger as a tool against an enemy. The key here is that until mere minutes before he died, Othello’s anger was never directed at his true foe Iago. Instead Iago told stories and set up appearances that made Othello so angry that he discarded common sense, thus insuring his downfall. Had Iago directed the anger onto himself, he would never have been able to plant the suggestions in Othello’s mind.

This planting the seeds of anger in another is especially effective in situations that the ninja worked in, or even just company politics. While telling tales about what someone else said about the target, you both make him angry at the other while appearing to be an ally. Imagine someone helping their boss against a rival in the company. The provocateur tells tales of what the rival is saying behind the boss’s back and helps stroke anger. The boss works on bringing down the rival, maybe succeeding. But more likely, even if he does win he will be damaged and the former helper is then better able to step up into his position. Again, unlike the Musashi example, the agent of destruction maintains a benevolent face to his victim while riling him to anger and destruction.

Uncontrolled anger makes one stupid and leads to rash choices. Telling someone that another is telling lies about them behind their back probably will lead to them telling a few secrets about the target in retaliation.

As strange as it may sound, anger can also be used for positive purposes. In order to make lasting change, sometimes anger at the status quo has to be raised. When the people are complacent, they do not work for a better world. When anger is raised over some injustice, people are far more likely to act to change the way things are. Simple discussions and calm planning rarely cause the masses to act as well as a speech that drives them to anger. Martin Luther used anger over the way the Catholic church was selling forgiveness to break its power and found a new church. Martin Luther King Jr used anger over the way blacks were treated to help bring about action to respect their rights.

But there is a dark side to this as well. Revolution after revolution has been won by the skillful use of driving the mob into a frenzy, with the instigators standing back as the angry get slaughtered. Then the leaders of the revolution take over. And much of the anger now generated is based on false narratives.

Taking a look at democracies, the use of anger by many politicians is obvious. Actually, all forms of government use this in one way or another. With communists, hatred against the rich is cultivated. In Nazi Germany, jews were said to be the cause of all the troubles facing the people. This same tactic has been used against Chinese merchants in Indonesia, Pakistani businessmen in Uganda and Koreans in Los Angeles. The narrative is that the bad condition of one group is not due to any fault of their own and those doing better had to have gotten there by some plot against the less well- off group. The use of this strategy all over the world shows its universal appeal. People resent not being as rich or as well off as they think they should be and, when given a way to channel that resentment at another group, they give great power to any figure that promises to right the wrong and smite those that held down their supporters. Whether you are talking about fascism, communism or any movement driven by rage against the status quo, anger at another group yields great amounts of power.

Anger directed at an exterior foe is a long used tactic by governments as well. In “1984”, George Orwell introduced a fictional government that was constantly at war with its enemies. All privations on the populace were blamed on the actions of these enemy nations. The government worked hard to keep the populace’s anger directed at someone else and not at them.

As fanciful as this may sound, it is actually the way many nations in the middle east managed to help cling to power. Some of the governments in that region do things that would cause a maggot to throw up in disgust, and there is a lot of resentment directed at them. With the rise of Israel, there was an exterior foe to channel anger towards instead. People were willing to put up with what their government did to them as long as it was part of the move to protect them all from the hated enemy of the jews.

For centuries, relations between the jews and the people in the middle east were not all that bad. That of course changed with the establishment of Israel. Part of that may have to do with the way that Israel came into being, but the bulk of the hatred was actually manufactured by governments in the region. Jews are now accused of various heinous things such as using the blood of non-jewish children in traditional pastries. A look at middle east media stories (see Memri.org) show that all of the regions media sources make clearly false accusations against Israel, jews and of course the United States. Those news sources are of course largely controlled by the government. For decades it worked to help keep the dictators in power. Now, as these governments are overthrown, we are seeing that anger being given form.

Closely tied to anger is envy. When someone else has been more successful, it is hard to admit to ourselves that they got there by their superior work. To some, maybe even most, it is easier on their ego if they convince themselves that the more successful have gotten there by means of something underhanded. This of course breeds anger. And anger toward the successful can be used much like Iago used Othello. For a spy trying to turn a soldier to their side, it is often best to target someone who is not that competent, but thinks they are and is thus easily convinced of the story that only some sinister plot is keeping him at a humble level.

For the ninja, subverting an official in an enemy’s administration was much easier if they could convince them that they were being wronged by their superiors. Every time someone else got a promotion, or was praised, or anything else, the ninja posing as a friend would commiserate about how the target was being slighted by those that should see his greater abilities. It was not an overnight thing, but little by little the ninja could weaken the loyalty of almost anyone and cause them to listen to appeals to work for others that would appreciate them better.

哀車にかける術 Aisha Ni Kakeru Jutsu

The next strategy is Aisha ni Kakeru-jutsu. Ai is a term for sympathy, pity, pathos and related emotions. It is using the target’s empathy against him.

This has a great impact on people. Instead of talking about how people can be helped by contributions, pictures of starving kids are used in advertisements. Again, people may logically know that it is a good thing to help, but hitting them emotionally has a greater effect.

In the age the ninja were active in, taking hostages was just par for the course. When a warlord conquered another, he would most often take the defeated warriors as his vassals. But as part of the deal, they had to give up someone from their family. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was later to found the last Shogunate of Japan, served as a hostage to the Imagawa family. When Imagawa was killed by Oda Nobunaga, it freed him up to change loyalties to Oda. However, some of his relatives were still being held. So, seeming to work for the Imagawa, he got ninja to kidnap the grandmother of those holding his relative and then arranged a swap. Those times were not gentle ones.

Scam artists use sympathy all the time to defraud others. They pretend to collect for charity, or to have injuries, etc in order to pry cash from their victims. Most of the beggars you see on the streets are actually drug addicts. A popular tactic they use if they are young is to bring along a dog. Sometimes the dog is borrowed. They know that by seeming to care for an animal, more people will donate to them. Sometimes, even kids are used in this manner, again they are often borrowed from others. This isn’t as popular in America, since the police look into child endangerment. But travel to another country and you find many women begging with a child next to them.

A typical example of using sympathy to manipulate and infiltrate a computer system is to pretend to be a harried worker with password problems or something like that. By convincing the target that they work for the same organization and that the manipulator will be in trouble if he doesn’t get something done, he can get the target to do many things for them. Passwords have been gotten by this means, as well as access to certain areas, confidential information and many other things. When asked coldly for something, the requests of course do not work as well. But when it is made to sound that someone will loose their job over the matter, there is sympathy and usually an effort to help the manipulator. When doing penetration testing, this is a very common tactic because when faced with someone on the phone, many people will feel responsible if someone loses their job. Their sympathy causes them to break security more often than not.

This strategy most often works best when working with someone with a self image of being a good person. And few think of themselves as anything but good, no matter what crimes they commit. Sometimes that self image must be built up first. So after some praise for some past work at helping others, bringing out a case where someone is in distress unless help is given proves to work far more often than not. Playing to the image they present to the world also works well. Someone who wants the world to think of them as a good person can rarely dodge a call in public to do something that will help the less fortunate. Politicians have to come up with strategies to avoid this, for it is used against them very often. They will take things out of the limelight as soon as possible. Even if they are not hypocrites and really do want to help, they know that many cases made in public appealing to their sympathy are bogus. But while a good search into the matter might reveal that there was no substance to the appeal, the public will largely be unaware of it and judge the politician harshly for inaction. Those that bring these sorts of things against politicians in public and keep the eyes of the voters on it are using Aisha no jutsu.

Aisha no jutsu is much more effective when used in first world nations that have not had to deal with the hardships most of the rest of the world has to. In America, if you ask people if in a disaster lasting months whether they would shoot starving people coming to take their food, the overwhelming majority would say no. Those in places where people actually do starve to death from time to time almost universally say that they would pull the trigger. For them, the reality is that you have to take care of your group first. Raised in luxury, most westerners have no idea that resources such as human effort has limits.

The greatest ability to avoid falling for ploys of sympathy is by “othering” the other person. You don’t see them as part of your group, or sometimes even fully human. This puts emotional distance between you and the other person and makes you less empathetic. People in large cities seem to develop this as a matter of survival. The stories of how people in smaller communities are far more warm and caring than people in places where you pass by hundreds of people each day is very true. When you deal with hundreds of people each day, even if the percentage of people that would take advantage of your kindness is only a percentage point or two, you will encounter several each week.

To avoid being “othered” and gain an ability to be seen as worthy of sympathy, an outreach is very effective. A small favor from you prevents people from building the emotional distance. Beggars get much better results when then stand by a door, open it for people coming out of a building and then ask for money than if they just ask people as they walk by. For that matter, good beggars try to catch the eye of people going by. Anyone they can gets asked for money.

Doing a small favor for someone sets up a sense of needing to repay the debt. That is commonly acknowledged. But it is far more effective for breaking the ice and making people see you as part of their group and not as just another face. From there, the use of sympathy can be launched. Do not try to pull any sort of call for sympathy when the person is unknown to you and is more likely to categorize you as someone outside their group. For small things, just a simple greeting can be used. Obviously, for larger things more impressive acts of kind- ness and/or letting the person know you ahead of time is needed.

When someone presents a face to the world of being caring, they can be more easily manipulated in public by this art. But it has to be in public. Far too often, people present one face to the world, but live another. It is not a real concern for others that would move these sorts, but rather a fear of losing their image. Do not assume that someone that makes a bit show of caring for others can be influenced by sympathy in private. A certain amount of cynicism when faced with anyone making a big show of having an admired trait is in order.

Another meaning in this is “benevolence.” That means to use the idea of the subject helping others to motivate them. This is a big draw for people who like to think of themselves as good. Tugging at heart strings is a very effective tactic. But the darker side is to take the target’s self interest and convince them that it is for some greater good. People are very good at fooling themselves, and it doesn’t take much to convince them that they are doing good, even when they are a big beneficiary of what happens.

In California, many white people supported the abolition of racial quotas in the colleges, stating the idea that people should be judged by their own merits. Such a position is noble sounding. Support for it largely collapsed when it was found that the only student demographic that would rise under a merit based system would be Asians.

Originally, when Bill Clinton proposed a new health system, people supported it with the idea that it would help many folks to afford being healthy. Republicans managed to torpedo the effort by showing voters that most of them would pay a lot more under the new system than the old. The people who had supported the initiative while saying they were doing it to help the poor, walked away when they found they would be the ones footing the bill to help others.

In both these cases, people were quick to proclaim their support for some noble cause that they thought would also help them. And in both cases, as soon as it was made clear that they would have to pay a price for the new proposals, they walked away. It is enough to turn one very cynical, but it is a reality and a way to manipulate others.

One of the best ways to get someone to do something or support a cause/politician/etc is to take their own greedy self interest and wrap it up to look like their efforts to gain it are noble and for the benefit of society. This is cynical, but a reality. Politicians use it all the time, gaining votes from people that think that taking from a hated group and giving to them is noble. People can be convinced to buy shoes and such if a portion of the sales go to help people in other countries. This can be done to drive people to do the most heinous of crimes against others, and history is full of examples of cases where people did noble sounding things for the most selfish of reasons.

The opposite is true. People will abandon the most noble sounding crusades if you can make it clear that they will pay some sort of higher price. The job of the person opposing the move must be to expose and spread the costs to the people supporting it. They will not care if someone else pays a higher cost, in fact they are hoping for it. But showing people that their noble deeds will cause a bigger burden is the most effective way to get them to withdraw their support.

Aisha is about using love, compassion and benevolence to influence others. But never be attached to the idea that it has to be about the person doing good for others. All that is needed is that they have a flimsy excuse that they are doing good for the world.

楽車にかける術 Rakusha Ni Kakeru Jutsu

Next is Rakusha ni Kakeru-jutsu. Raku is a word meaning pleasure, but it differs from joy with the nuance of the easy life. Something that is difficult, but rewarding, may be considered joyful, but rarely would the term raku be used for it. So this art essentially means manipulating others by appealing to their desire to wallow in luxury, take it easy, enjoy the good life, etc.

While people may think this has something to do with fine wines, a nice house, etc, the socialization aspect is probably much more important. Man is a social animal. Those that are put in solitary confinement in prison for long periods of time get mental problems. We are descended from packs of apes. We still think in terms of the pack, worrying about our place in it and whether we are alpha or beta males. We were not meant to be hermits. So while the obvious version of Rakusha is sitting by the pool with a tall drink doing nothing, there really has to be a few people with you to make the vision complete. If they are of the opposite sex and in their prime, so much the better.

The fine life is great. But even if that sort of luxury is not possible, getting someone to socialize in a pleasant situation can go a long way.

It is interesting to stop by a science fiction convection. Everyone is having a good time. Sure there are politics and people that dislike each other. But the feeling of family is incredible. People are quick to accept you into the crowd. Many people are of course socially awkward, but few care except for the most extreme cases. People that were shunned by many outside the world of fandom now have a home. And they are very, very loyal to it. Some might say they were cultish. Of course it depends on the person, but there are a lot of people that live their entire lives around the occasional anime convention or renaissance faire.

Of course, no one would be drawn to these groups if there wasn’t some fun for them in the first place. The fun and enjoyment is the lure that brings them in, the sense of community, of doing something with others, is what causes them to stick around. This isn’t just found in the extremes of SF fandom, but can be seen in activities such as martial arts and even military units with high esprit de corps.

Once someone is able to gain entrance to such a group they think almost as family, they are scared of losing it. The threat of being ostracized is a great way to manipulate people who can no longer think of themselves without the group. In order to remain in the good graces of the family they chose, they will sometimes do some pretty extreme stuff. Cults get people to denounce their own family members if they cross the church, the cult in Japan launched attempts at mass murder and the number of mass suicides by cults would take a good amount of space. People want to belong, and there is a huge amount of leverage that can be used as part of that.

Again, getting back to cults, this sense of belonging is a huge draw for them. But underlying the feelings of acceptance they feel is the fear of being rejected at some point. If the leader of the cult can get control over family members and the friends of someone, they have almost complete control of the person. This is one of the reasons people do not leave cults until it gets very, very bad. Their entire social world revolves around the cult at its members. To leave would be to give all that up and start from scratch.

While socialization might be the most overlooked aspect of Rakusha, the acquiring of a soft life in itself is very strong. Get rich quick schemes and such are manifestations of people’s desire to not do a lot of work but still be able to live a good life.

Contrasting this desire for the easy is the desire of many to have a sense of purpose. While many are content to do just enough to get their paycheck and then go home and watch sports or play video games, there are those that join units like the SEALs where they seem to take pride in the hardships they go through. Of course, that example might be part of a desire to be part of a group, as well as being the best one can. But the lesson is that when you deal with someone who is clearly driven by a mission in life, Rakusha is one of the worst tactics you can try to use. It may have some effect, but probably nothing all that great.

However, the core idea of this strategy is somehow making life easier and more luxurious. A better office than the one the target uses now might be a good way to head hunt them from a rival company. A better position, or less stressful hours are others. Some people are driven to excel and be seen to be the best, others just want an easy life. Finding out what drives people is an important skill for those seeking to manipulate others.

恐車にかける術 Kyosha Ni Kakeru Jutsu

The last of the emotional tactics is also perhaps the most powerful- fear. In Japanese, the term for this tactic is Kyosha ni Kakeru Justsu.

Fear is one of the first and most primitive of emotions. While it has brought down entire empires, humans cannot live without fear. It was only fear of the dangers that stalked our early ancestors that let them survive long enough to pass along their genes. While some might say that fear is a destructive emotion, used in the correct manner it can help keep us safe. Any emotion can be harmful, even love. But fear, because of its innate power, has the best chance of being misused.

Fear really covers the gamut from concern to panic. All parts of the spectrum can be used, but driving someone to panic makes them less likely to make good choices. To those that can drive someone to panic, and set a way that it seems that they can get out of their trouble, there is a high chance of success.

The threat can come from you, or it can be portrayed as being from another source. As always, the ninja sets himself up as an ally against the fear if it comes from another source.

Fear can motivate in positive directions. Scaring a person about the ravages of cancer can help them to make the choice to stop smoking. Salespeople that use fear convince themselves that they always use fear in positive ways. They actually believe that scaring someone about something that has a very small chance of occurring is ethical. They are not bad people, for the most part. They actually have a need to think that they are doing the right thing.

Con men have the same desire to think of themselves as good people, but their limits are different. They will use fear of arrest in the now- common scam of calling people up and pretending to be from the IRS. They will take people’s fear of dying and sell them bogus medical treatments.

Much of the power of fear comes from the unknown. When something bad is going to happen, there is fear. But when that event is known, fear can be channeled positively to deal with it. When a hurricane approaches, it is a scary thing. But people can do something about it by either strengthening their house or fleeing. When there is only a vague notion of what will happen, not only do imaginations run amuck, but people panic due to their lack of anything to counter what is coming. The fear that is unclear can’t have plans made to counter it, and that gives it more power.

In Batman, the Dark Night Rises, The Joker has a line he says to Harvey Dent. “You know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying.” There is much truth to that. On Wall Street there is a saying, “The market can take good news, and it can take bad news. What it can’t take is uncertainty.”

Tell a man that he is to die, and he may panic. Or he may live out the rest of his life doing the things he put off. But when a man facing cancer does not know if it is terminal or not, that is when desperation is easiest to strike.

Much of the skill in using fear is keeping that sense of uncertainty. The worst thing is to give someone a method under their control to alleviate the problem. Any solutions must come from the manipulator.

In his book, “Playing to the Edge,” Michael Hayden details how uncertainty was used by the interrogators in the CIA. They would not start with physical discomfort, but instead try to win over the captured terrorists to get them to talk. It was surprisingly effective as long as the terrorists knew that something bad was possibly waiting in the wings, but didn’t know what form it would take. There were procedures in place that laid out just how far the interrogators could go, but that was a closely held secret. Those facing interrogation had no idea just what the US would do to them, and that caused many of them to only face a little discomfort before giving up everything. One high value detainee said that Allah would forgive him for speaking because it was known that he could not resist in the end, so he gave up everything from the start of the interrogations.

However, after Hayden left office, the Obama administration published the procedures as part of a public relations move to assure the public that the most cruel tortures were not being used. Terrorists all over the world soon found out the limit that the interrogators were constrained by and now everyone grabbed by them are certain that if they resist all the permitted procedures, they will suffer no more. The result is that it is reported that there is almost no new information coming from captured hard core terrorists that have been made aware of the limits. As one person in the field told it off the record in 2014, the current terrorist capture effort can best be called, “catch and release” after the way some sports fishermen catch fish for fun, but let them loose right afterwards. Fear of torture and not knowing when it will end is a lot more effective in some ways that the interrogation itself.

Politicians have used fear of some threat since history has been recorded. With no enemies to confront them, people will find enemies among themselves. In order to avoid this sort of internal conflict, exterior enemies have been created by crafty politicians.

Indeed, there is a theory that humans always have to have some sort of fear on the distance horizon. For centuries, fear of hell loomed over the heads of the people. It wasn’t something they needed to worry about immediately, but always in the background. When religion lost most of its power over the people, worries about the Bolsheviks, anarchists, jewish conspiracies and such rose up. Atomic weapons soon displaced these fears and people had the concern of destruction of the entire human race to occupy their mind. With the fall of the Soviet Empire and the chances of nuclear war becoming very dim, we now seem to have latched onto things like climate change.

Perhaps this is a needed part of humanity to keep up working for something like a better world. It may be part of our genetics to always have some sort of fear in the back of our mind. Constant fear of starvation probably kept our ancestors on their toes, building and expanding the means of production and civilization. Any tribe that lived day to day probably got shoved to the side, died off or was absorbed by those that had fear to drive them into planning for the future.

Fear is a part of us. Acknowledging it is a big step in overcoming it. Denying others the chance to acknowledge fear is a big part of manipulating them. Don’t let them think, keep the perceived danger in front of their eyes and push them into making choices you want them to while in that state of fear and denial of fear. When using fear, you often must demand people act on the spot or soon. With time and distance, the power of fear lessens.

The use of fear can be combined with many other of the tactics here. People can fear losing their loved ones, their status, their easy life, etc. It can be the stick in the background as the carrot is being used. It is a most effective strategy when used correctly.

The Five Desires

The five emotions above are perhaps the strongest methods to use of this skill set. Emotions are rough, primitive and have guided us from before we had conscious thoughts. But the five desires are almost as effective, and might be more so in some special circumstance. The five desires are food, sex, status, resources and culture/pursuits.

食でとり入る術 Shoku de Toriiru Jutsu

Food obviously is one of the most basic desires humanity has. For that matter, all creatures have the desire to consume something to keep them going. The Japanese expand the idea of food in this case to anything that people consume. When tobacco was introduced to Japan, it became part of this art, called Shoku de toriiru-jutsu. With the rise of things like narcotics, they should be included as well.

If you think about it, food is kind of an addiction. You need to eat. Of course, there is a real human need to eat, unlike smoking or doing drugs. But if you deal with people that have some other sort of addiction, it is as real to them as food is for everyone else. Addicts frequently cut back on their food to feed their drug habit. That sort of strength can’t be ignored by those that have never experienced it.

Food, alcohol and drugs have different levels of strength depending on the person. The big thing to keep in mind when dealing with all the desires listed here is that the more a person acknowledges his desire and treasure what he wants, the less power it tends to have over them. That sounds counter intuitive, but a simple look at those caught upon things like desires for fame, food, riches, etc shows that those that think about their desires and acknowledge it treasure those desires and rarely succumb to them. Those that don’t think about their desires, or deny them, are more likely to fall into the trap set by them.

Wine snobs and micro beer fans rarely turn into alcoholics. If they do, they will make a change from the high end stuff they used to consume to cheaper stuff they would have formally turned up their noses at. Gourmets are less fat as a percentage of the population. Those that let desires control them do not acknowledge the lure they have, try to ignore it and thus surrender control to them without knowing it.

This is a lesson for the ninja. Instead of denial, acknowledgement and respect for something lessens it power over you. One may still be ensnared, but the chances go way down when you sit down, think about what you want and realize what place it has in your life. One of the most effective ways to lose weight is to turn off all distractions while eating and think of nothing but but the food in front of you. Those that munch thoughtlessly in front of the tv are the ones that balloon up the easiest. When you eat and live in the moment, you enjoy the food so much more of course. But when hunger is sated, the desire fades a bit as long as your are in the moment and not going on autopilot. Thus it is with almost all aspect of desires. Desires are much like flame. They can warm your house when used with care, or burn it down if you don’t pay attention.

This is key to spotting the weak points to exploit in others. Don’t try to use alcohol to influence the man with a healthy wine cellar filled with expensive wines. Target instead the guy who buys large amounts of cheap beer. Those that are fat are more likely to fall for manipulation with food, those that go to fine eateries less so. Find the desire that the target is obviously weak for, but does not let himself think too much about.

Food itself has both gained and lost a lot of power over us from the time the ninja were active. We now live in an age where the poorest of us are the most likely to be fat. Think about that for a second. In the days before the rise of capitalism and the industrial revolution, food was scarce. In some cultures, being fat was considered sexy because it showed they had resources. With the rise of abundant food, people don’t have the fear of starvation standing over them anymore. They are less likely to fight for needed food, and more likely to fall for the excesses brought on by the lack of need.

The poor today are more likely to be fat than the rich. There is a lot to be learned from that. As much as some try to blame the high calorie foods and such for the situation, in reality it comes down to poor impulse control. And that is an important thing to note when sizing up someone for manipulation.

High calorie food and a lack of physical society has led to most Americans being a bit overweight. Our bodies are bred to take in a certain amount of food, so increasing the amount of calories that portion has naturally leads to it being easier to gain weight. But it goes without saying that someone that lets themselves go to pot so badly that they need to move around Walmart on electric carts, to say nothing of those that can’t even leave their bed, is a separate case entirely.

People get a bit far for various reasons. Some seem to accept that they will be a bit thicker and that is just the cost of enjoying life. Some change lifestyles and become less active (especially as they grow older) but are still in the habit of eating a certain amount. And some folks eat because of some trauma that the food helps to mitigate. Finding out if these are the cases is important rather than impulse control.

Impulse control, or the lack of it, is a key to determining how to manipulate others. Those that can resist immediate gratification are far superior to those who can’t, no matter what we would like to think about the universal worth of humanity.

Walter Mischel of Stanford University broke new ground with his experiment proving the worth of impulse control. The circumstances were that he performed an experiment at a school he kids went to. It was with pre-school students, but the set up of the school was that people entering the pre-school would most likely graduate from their high school.

The name of the test is now known and the marshmallow test, but Mischel likes to point out that while they did use snacks, marshmallows were not given in the tests he first ran. Instead they used Oreo cookies, which allowed one of the scamps in a test to pull apart the cookie, eat the center and try to put the cookie back on the plate. The children in the test were shown a treat and told they could have it at any time, but if they waited until the staff member came back, they would get another as well. The staff member then left and the child was secretly filmed while alone. Some children succumbed to temptation and ate the single snack before the member came back. Some stuck it out by various means of willpower and got the second snack to enjoy with the one that had been right in front of them all that time.

Like most researchers of his type, Mischel did not throw away the data once the experiment was finished. Instead it gathered dust someplace for the next few decades. A chance comment between his daughters about how someone they knew was the perfect sort to give into settling for the single quick snack sent Mischel back to find the original data. The preschool he did the experiment with was part of a school that went all the way through high school. He used the high school alumni data to track down most of the original test subjects and evaluate their lives up to that point.

Percentage wise, those that had resist temptation were found to do much better all across the board of what we call a successful life. They had less trouble with the law, did better in school, had better careers, had better and more stable relationships, were slimmer and less troubled by self-made health problems, etc. Everything that we think of as success was most likely found in those kids that waited for the second treat. (Obviously, in statistics there is going to be exceptions to this in both class of kids.) This study has been replicated (some with marshmallows, hence the name) and its conclusion repeated.

A further study in Kingstown found an interesting reason why many kids might be more likely to fail to resist temptation. Finding that the local black community had a reputation of being rather lazy, live for the day types among those descended from Indian immigrants. Indians were thought to be stuck in the mud workaholics by the black community. Mischel thought he would test the stereotypes with his test. Sure enough, a far greater percentage of black kids were likely to not wait for the second treat than those raised in Indian households. But then he re-crunched the numbers as good researchers do. Instead of looking at the race of the kids, he looked at their home situation. The differences between skin color disappeared when he did so. He found that a black kid raised in a two parent household was far more resistant to the temptation of immediate gratification than an Indian kid raised by one parent. Perhaps more interesting (and alarming) is his finding that while about half of the kids raised by a single father were able to resist temptation, not a single kid raised by a single mother in the study lasted long enough for the second treat.

Obviously, Mischel’s Kingstown study should be repeated and confirmed as good science requires. Equally obvious is that it would be a hard sell to authorize and finance something that could be so damning for certain parts of our society.

People that have low impulse control are more likely to be poor, and are more likely to do crimes. It is as simple as that. It is not that poverty causes crime no matter the popular narrative. It is more that those that have a lack of control and tend toward instant gratification are more likely to be both. A person who is poor due to a lack of discipline will also be more likely to commit a crime. If someone lacks the will power to stay in high school, their chances of giving into doing a crime is much higher. This is not a popular fact among certain parts of society.

For those thinking of using these ninja methods of manipulation, the key take away factor is that when you find someone with one obvious aspect of their life that shows a tendency towards instant gratification, you will likely find they lack that sort of impulse control in other parts of their life. Just as the person that is likely to drop out of high school for some quick cash at a job is more likely to have a string of failed romances, if you follow some of the people so fat they have to use electric carts around the store you will find they complain about how they live paycheck to paycheck, all the while filling their carts with some of the most useless stuff most of us would put off until our finances are better.

As politically incorrect as it may be, those that have gone beyond the stout shape many Americans have reached due to better diet lack willpower, discipline and the ability to resist sudden impulses. It takes only a little imagination to consider how this can be used by the manipulator.

When someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol, you expect them to make bad choices in their life. This is believed to be because of the influences of these substances on the brain. But it is quite likely that those that choose to start smoking meth, despite all the warnings out there, are the same types that would make terrible decisions even if there were no intoxicants of any type on the planet. And to a certain extent, those that abuse food are in much the same boat.

Note, the manipulation must fit with the personality. Talk of the health of people when they retire isn’t as effective to those who can’t manage impulse control. As much as they talk about the future, they can’t manage to really make it a real concept in their minds. Best to keep things in the present with immediate gratification.

Few want to take responsibility for what has happened to them, and those with low impulse control are even less so. When dealing with someone with visible signs of lack of impulse control, such as abusing food, tactics that blame others are more likely to work. Accusing the boss of being jealous of their ability and keeping them down is a very good way to get someone to betray the company in cases like this.

So, while being able to lure someone into doing something by means of food might be slightly less in our age of plenty, the knowledge of the person’s character is probably expanded today.

性でとり入る術 Sei De Toriiru Jutsu

Next is sex. Called Sei ni toriiru-jutsu it hardly needs mentioning. Second only to food as a primal desire, its use has been well documented throughout history. Men have destroyed not only their lives, but that of entire nations, while pursuing it.

And the potential for distraction by using sex is visible all around us. Ironic as it is, an American student of ninjutsu living in Japan was brought down by this. He was part of a security force guarding the fences of an air force base in Japan. Due to a situation involving a couple of Russian prostitutes flirting with him, the section he was in charge of was left unguarded long enough for what appears to be an infiltration by foreign agents. Nothing was ever really made clear, other than he was shipped back to the states as quickly as possible and many were interviewed about him.

Little needs to be said about the matter since there are so many examples of using sex to influence and manipulate others. Even having good looking salespeople can help grow sales. Even in religion, Lady Shikibu of the Japanese imperial court back when they had actual power, wrote in her famous diary that she was far more likely to attend lectures on the teaching of the Buddha if the monk were young and pleasing to the eye.

One way the ninja would lure their targets into conversation was to have someone very pretty pretend to be their sister. The target would more likely allow themselves to be pulled into conversation if the faux- sister hung on his every word. No sex was promised, just a chance to be smiled at by a pretty face. The more things change, the more some fundamental things stay the same.

One of the few things that has changed in the last few decades is the use of it for blackmail. Actually, this wasn’t a large part of the traditional ninja’s arsenal. Japan was a paradise for male chauvinistic pigs. Threatening to reveal an affair of a Japanese man in the 1700s wouldn’t work, Men of means were actually expected to have a mistress or two on the side. Their wives just put up with it. Homosexuality was accepted, so that had little power over the heads of the intended victim. While the promise of a courtesan might help an official seal a deal, there was little potential for blackmail compared with 21st century America.

But that too is changing. Homosexuality no longer is a death sentence or even much of a burden in modern western society. Some politicians have lost their posts due to things related to sex, but most of those cases now revolve around harassment and sending inappropriate images to the opposite sex. Few people doubt that Bill Clinton had numerous affairs with no lowering of the general opinion of him. It is only when credible accounts of him raping women that his handlers got nervous. We really don’t care that it looks like John F. Kennedy had an affair with Marilyn Monroe as long as it didn’t interfere with how he ran the country. Sex just doesn’t have the negative stigma it used to have among the general populace. Unless you are in a position such as a church leader, your status in the community probably won’t take a huge hit. Now if you have a jealous wife that can take half of what you owe if the pictures of you and that girl were released.........

As with the previous desire of food, those with low impulse control in other areas of their lives will more likely be lured in with sex. Those that can’t seem to turn down temptations of sex despite a spouse are likely to fall for other distractions. Some that eat too much might not desire sex and vice versa, but the potential is greater.

Key to using this is understanding that sex is tied in with our fundamental instinct to produce children. Even those that consciously desire no children are still controlled at some level by the universal desire to pass along our DNA to the next generation. Any organism that didn’t have that instinct simply ceased to exist past the first generation. We are the product of millions of years of beings that worked to make more of themselves and to deny that this is an even deeper desire than the pursuit of the pleasure of sex is folly.

And in this, men and women are different. It is not popular to say that men and women are different in the way they think, their strengths and such. But we are not here to be politically correct. Both sexes have their own strengths, their own weaknesses and their own outlooks on things. Some men will think more like women, but percentage wise, more women will buy romance novels than men.

In nature, there are two different types of survival strategies in terms of producing children and passing along DNA for thousands of years. One is that of animals such as rabbits, and the other is that of many herd animals and predators.

Rabbits are prey for almost anything. They are hunted by just about anything larger than them. It is very difficult for a rabbit to live long enough to be able to mate and produce offspring. So the survival strategy of rabbits and others like it is to produce as many babies as possible and hope that a few live long enough to in turn have their own offsprings, thus ensuring the survival of the DNA through time.

The opposite strategy is to have fewer offspring, but care for them better and support them so they have a chance to make it to produce their own offspring. Some creatures just can’t spit out as many babies as rabbits, so they have to take care of what they have. Herd animals are almost all of this type. It is not just the parents that protect and nurture the young, but the entire herd. Predators also tend to be types that have less offspring, but the parents take them under their wing and raise them to a point where they can reasonably live long enough on their own and have their own kids.

Sea turtles are well known for laying their eggs on land, then swimming away, never to see them again. Most of the newly hatched turtles don’t even make it to the sea before they are picked off by birds. Tigresses are known for taking care of their cubs, fighting to the death to keep them safe. The two strategies are seen in these two examples.

For humans, this is important in realizing that men tend to think more like the sea turtle and females like the tigress. Both are driven by some desire to pass along their DNA. But a female can only reasonably expect to have one child a year, and it wasn’t until fairly recently that you could bet that most of them would survive all the disease and such that used to burden humanity. Faced with only having a few kids possible to help pass along their DNA, they want to lavish as much attention on them and do as much as they can to insure their future. They have a better chance of doing this if the father helps out with the raising of the child and is a good provider and guide.

Men can be sea turtles. It is quite possible that a man can impregnate 365 different women in a year, maybe more. Some men act like that is their total purpose in life, and really at some level it might be.

So men have the justly deserved reputation of playing the field, while females tend to want to have more stable, monogamous relations. The reasons can be seen with the strategies available to each. It is not a perfect match, but it is commonly seen. Not all men have wandering eyes, and there are an increasing number of women that have multiple kids but do not take care of them. But in the majority of cases, men are more likely to want to avoid commitment than females and think with their penis.

What this means for men pursuing women is that a good portion of them want stability and the ability to raise a child to adulthood. This is not conscious, but as a man looking at an attractive female consciously thinks about the babies he can make with her. The man is only looking at the possibility of a night of pleasure on his conscious level. In the same way, the female is judging the man on his worth as a protector of any children they may produce. Again there are exceptions, but this is more the rule than not.

When you see a female with an older, somewhat ugly, but rich man, this is what is going on most of the time. Society tends to think of these sorts of women as gold diggers, only interested in what the rich man’s money can do for them personally. But it is deeper.

Even if it is not riches, there are aspects of being a good father are the things that appeal to a majority of women. Men who honor commitments to others and stand by them, who are stable, who love children, and other factors like this are on some levels more attractive than the opposite for the majority of women.

So to be attractive to women, men have to be good providers for any kids they may have, with all that entails. To attract men, women have to have big knockers.

名でとり入る術 Na de Toriiru Jutsu

The next desire is called Na de Toriiru-jutsu. Na means “name” in Japanese and in this context means things like reputation, fame and honor. It is the public face you present to the world and how you are judged by it.

While not seeming to be as immediate as sex or food, we are social animals. Those that had status in the tribe could mate, those that didn’t had their genes vanish into nothing. We are still largely driven by what we think our status in the tribe is, and this is a big driving force mainly by those seeking status, rather than those who have established status. In primate tribes (including humans) there is usually more friction between the beta males than the alpha and anyone else.

Some might say that pride and honor have nothing to do with reputation or fame. Honor is what you do to be true to yourself. Fame is what others think of you. A man who accepts a false charge and the disgust of society to save someone he loves has no reputation worth mentioning, but plenty of honor. However, honor is often used in the sense of how others view you, so there is a bit of overlap in the use of the word.

This was not an idle concern for the ninja. They were expected to stay in the shadows, with the world to never hear of their accomplishments. Even more, they were often expected to pretend to betray their lord and other cowardly acts in order to complete their real mission. Many of the ancient texts stress that despite the need for deception, lies and other dishonorable acts in the ninja’s mission, the central core of a good ninja must be that they are an upstanding and honorable person. Those that lack a strong central core and care much about what society thinks are not the type to suffer public scorn while remaining true, and are far more likely to betray their lord. And they probably can do this while keeping an honorable- seeming face to the rest of the world.

Previously, I wrote about self image and how it could be used to control others. Na de Iri- tori-no jutsu might seem to be related, but there is little in common. In fact, they can be quite the opposite. Some people have the same self image as what they present to the world. But others know they are one thing, but pretend to others to be something else. These types are far more vulnerable than those who has the same self and public image.

Good people will do a lot to maintain their public image. Fakes work more at it. The potential for manipulation is greater with those that have built up a false image, because they have less substance to back them up.

Many who have a lack in some area compensate by presenting the opposite situation to the public. Those that build up Fortune 500 companies rarely find the need to exaggerate or lie about what they are. They can point to something they have actually done. It is the guy that has nothing much to show for his life that has to make things up to tell others.

This is not to say that the successful don’t have a desire to be known for it. Far from it. Many of the people at the top of businesses are driven individuals and expect, nay demand, to be acknowledged for it. Different parts of society have different cultures. What drives an analyst on Wall Street does not work for a professional chef. Some professions attract those that desire fame and recognition than others. The most notorious case is entertainment.

The need to be the best and be seen as the best can be found in the scandal of CEO compensation that exploded after government interference.

According to the book, Super Freakanomics, congress had been concerned about the high rate of CEO pay. At the time, companies could keep the amount they paid anyone private and largely did. Seeking to shame companies into reducing the salaries of their CEOs, congress drafted a law that required compensation to CEOs to be made public in their annual reports.

The result was that CEO compensation exploded to several times what it used to be.

The essential problem that congress had in looking at the problem was thinking that money was the driving force behind much of the people at the head of huge corporations. It isn’t. Most of those at the top probably could never spend all the money they had accumulated even if they stopped working now. As it is, most of those at the top spend far more time actually working than most of those struggling to make ends meet. Money is not the primary motivator for those at the top of business like that. Instead, it is the desire to be the best and be seen as such.

Prior to the law, CEOs largely fought for recognition of their skills by what they did. Magazines from that time have them on the cover with headlines about the man who led his company to conquer the Asian market, the man who doubled his company’s profit or some sort of accomplishment like that.

But with the new law, the assumption was that those who were paid more were naturally more competent and deserving of fame. The cover of magazines soon started talking about the highest earner in some field. No longer did you see cover stories about the man who built up the largest company in Silicon Valley, now you say stories about the highest paid CEO there.

The result was that all these men started to push back for more recognition in the way the media was now judging them by. Average salaries have gone up nearly ten times since the law was passed and the gap between the guy at the top and the guy on the bottom rung has never been greater. While other ways of achieving recognition for what they did existed and the salaries of every CEO was pretty much under wraps, there was little concern about money among them. But once that was the standard of who would be judged the most worthy, it became a driving concern for them.

As can be seen, this was not about money. Money was just the measure by which everyone judged them by. That judgement by others is the driving force behind many, many men of ability. Some seek it out, others just don’t like to be outshone by someone they consider inferior.

Another area where reputation drives people is in certain parts of the military. A few decades ago, the US Army had a huge success with their recruitment by using the phrase, “Be all you can be.” This strikes straight to the heart of Maslow’s pyramid of actualization. After all the minor needs are met (proper rest, food, etc) humans are largely drawn to be the best they can. This slogan drove many to join to prove to themselves what they could do, but of course letting others know was not abhorrent to them.

Karl Von Klauswitz was a Prussian general and the author of a widely respected book called “On War.” In it, he says that the primary motivation for most soldiers is glory. The translators of a recent version commented rather pompously that maybe Klauswitz was driven by a need for glory, but that could not be said for most soldiers. Neither of these two translators ever seem to have served in the military. Certainly some soldiers now join for the education benefits, or to learn a skill. But the closer you get to the combat arms of the military, the more likely you are to find people that care a lot of how they are viewed by the world.

Recall the opening scene for “Saving Private Ryan”, where the unit is part of the landing on Normandy during D-Day. Everything is completely horrifying. Men are gunned down left and right and more people are shot than escape harm. Who would volunteer for such a mission and what motivates them? The answer is that the unit was part of the rangers, perhaps the most elite group of US soldiers at the time, and they got to wear special patches for the world to see in return for the hardships they went through. Most people would not think that such a cost was worth the prize, but most people don’t become rangers.

The lesson from the CEOs and the rangers is that while many of the really competent can do so without any fame for themselves, most seem to want what they do to be acknowledged at the very least. In this world, many that deserve fame don’t get it, while many entertainers without talent get far more than their fair share. A simple acknowledgement of what they are best at can go a long way. Any move to help the rest of the world realize what they have done usually can reap great rewards in gratitude.

Some are addicted to fame. Any chance you give them for public exposure can be quite powerful. Harvey Weinstein did indeed seem to have forced himself on some females. But if far more cases all he had to do was make it known that his victim’s future in Hollywood would be over unless she made him happy. This wasn’t just about a job. The desire to be seen and admired by possibly millions of people was too great a lure for many of his victims.

A particularly disturbing aspect of this are the parents that live through their children’s fame. This can be exploited by giving them chances to excel at what they do. For some reason, tennis mothers seeking to make their kids into the next Olympic star are particularly noted for this sort of thing, but it seems to exist in any field where people can distinguish themselves. The parents that will look the other way as their children are sexually abused for a chance to be a star is far more of a problem than most are willing to acknowledge. The children don’t even want the fame, it is the parents that want it for them, no matter the cost. If parents are willing to do that to their children, think of how they will be willing to do lesser things for the chance of making their kids famous in some way.

Then there are the frauds and fakes. They come in all forms, in all aspects of life. They are one thing, and try to present themselves as something else. They are the pious clergyman denouncing homosexuality from the pulpit and picking up young men via the internet. They are the guys who didn’t make it through boot camp who dress up in uniforms with fake medals to impress others. They are the martial artists who speak and write as wise old sensei, but are back stabbing, incompetent creeps in reality.

Sometimes, the fiction is temporary. Some have actually been caught dressing up in army uniforms just to get a military discount at some store. Men have lied about their accomplishments to get a job, or someone into bed, since before there was a written word. It is when people start to live their lives completely around the lie that things get interesting. The face they present to everyone is a lie, but it is a life of sorts. And the loss of that face in the light of truth is as scary to them as dying is to most people.

The controversial philosopher Ayn Rand had a word for such people- second raters. It comes from the fact that these sorts rate their own opinions of themselves less than the opinions of others. They know they are not ex- green beret commandos. But as long as the world thinks they are, that is what is important. This is key to understanding the type. Mankind has a great capacity to justify what they desire. Thieves convince themselves that their victims won’t miss what is stolen, or that they must have gotten what they had by some less than honest means. That clears them from responsibility. Rapists either think the females secretly want sex, or that they are vicious cock teases and deserve the humiliation. Even child rapists have some pretty vile ways of explaining away what they do to their victims, which you really don’t want to even think about.

But there are some things you can’t explain away. The person who was never in the military and claims to be a Vietnam vet with the medal of honor medal knows the truth. He can’t escape it. There are justifications, but they are about why it is alright to lie to others, not about the lie itself.

Much of the time, these fictions they build up show their weak points and the image they present are the exact opposite of what they really are. The man who makes a big show of being a wise holy man is usually a back stabbing, manipulative bastard. How many high profile religious sorts are caught in sex scandals? The quietly religious person is far less likely to commit such sins in my experience. I have encountered numerous frauds who claim to be ex- elite military, CIA, etc and to a man they are cowardly and without the discipline real warriors need.

It must be taken into account for this label of second rater to be valid, the reason for the lie must be to gain the approval of others. The homosexual that portrays himself as straight is trying to avoid humiliation, or even death in some countries. A person saying he was in the military instead of prison to get a job is lying, but it is not something that he does for fame. Indeed, he will probably try to avoid calling attention to his fake military service for fear of being tripped up by something he does not know and losing the job.

But while there is a bit of a need in all of us to get recognition for what we do, those who lie to get that admiration are prisoners to that desire as strongly as a meth addict needs his fix. It is not about temporary good feelings, it is a way of life. And that is a very strong lever for manipulating them.

This brings together a few prior desires and emotions discussed. The fraud has an image to maintain, and losing that is a source of great fear. To avoid being exposed, many frauds will go to great lengths to cover over what they are. That fear can be used.

Self image has been discussed. But that draw can be used in this case with an exterior aspect. While a father can be convinced to his core that he has to give up smoking to be a good father to his kids, a person posing as a benevolent man can be made to give great amounts of charity as long as the spot light is on him. A truly giving person may not need to be seen as benevolent, but the man who fakes it is far more open to manipulation. He may find some excuse to avoid it, such as not bringing his wallet or trying to get it out of the public eye. But he is far more vulnerable than the person who truly is what he says and thus has less of a need for others to believe it.

Let us look at some political figures. Had you ever told Margret Thatcher that, being a female, she was less strong willed than a man she would have laughed in your face. Say the same thing to some of the female politicians out there and they will explode. You don’t have to look far to find someone much weaker than Thatcher, and try to cover it up. To question that fiction invites a violent response. And in order to appear to be strong, the weaker females have been known to do things that have had dire consequences later on. With Thatcher, you could not overcome her willpower. With some others, you merely have to question her abilities to get her to do something to try to prove it.

Think of the words, “What, are you chicken?” Those words are famous for goading others into doing something stupid. Young men are especially vulnerable to the fear of being seen as frightened. Yet the things they are goaded into a scary for a very good reason. This sort of thing doesn’t work as well as someone older. When they see something scary, they are far more likely to say that the consequences outweigh the rewards and leave it alone. A young man is still controlled by his need to be seen as the alpha male, so even though he is scared he will do something to avoid being seen as a coward.

This is an example of a second rater, but one that most grow out of to a certain extent. There are different types of those that lie about what they are, with different results, aspects and ways of manipulating them.

I dealt with at a distance a woman whom it soon became clear had to have an image as a sex kitten. How much of this was the self image, and how much was what she had to present to the world is debatable. A quick investigation showed that all her life she had been the type of woman men fought over and she could pick and choose the men in her life based on her physical charms.

But by the time I ran across her, she was a few decades beyond that point. Instead of maturing and moving on, she clung to her image as a woman that men fell over themselves to be with. We found her profile on a dating site, and since we knew her real birth date, we could tell that she had taken a decade off her age. At that point, she crossed over into the second rater since she would hoping to live with anyone that thought she was much younger.

She had fallen in with a con man that manipulated her. He told her what she wanted to hear, played to her need to be seen as a young, sexy woman and got her complete loyalty. She barely had the courage to leave him when he started to beat her. Indeed, if it wasn’t for some help in her leaving, and the immediate suicide of the abuser, she probably would still be with him today and letting him live off of her money.

This case may sound like the desire of sex. But it was more about the image she presented to the world. Originally, it was about her self image, but at some point the image she presented to others became more important than the facts. She was a fraud, a second rater, but the way she evolved from one type of person into another is a valuable case study.

Other applications of this sort of second rater can be found in the ex-jock that still clings to glory or other examples. The person that still clings to past images really didn’t make a conscious choice like the fake ninja master that claims to have learned in the Shaolin Temple from birth. But to some of them the image does become more important than the reality they won’t accept. Few will be so delusional as to think they still could be the same type of athlete, but it still controls them to a certain extent. It is a fine line sometimes.

Second raters are more prone to anger when their image is threatened. For them, it is related to fear in that the image is all that they have. But calling out a fake vet can be dangerous. Con men are often thought to be nonviolent, but that is only because they generally fear the consequences. If someone were to expose them to the world, and there was a way to kill them safely, most of them probably would. To them, it is a matter of self defense. For them, exposure is the same as death, so they will do what most will do to save their lives in order to keep their secret safe.

Fakes are more likely to become angry at the thought of bad publicity. It is part of the internal trouble they have with the difference between what they know they are and the image they present to the world. Obviously, people that live a lie 24/7 have a much less stable foundation to stand on in life. Their emotions are much more violent and prone to change. They can’t center themselves and accept things, for they live a lie. So their emotions tend to be all over the place and more extreme than the rest of the populace. And as you can imagine, this means that they can be manipulated even better by those that know what they are doing.

On a lesser level, just mentioning how others might think of someone if they do something can be a powerful way of manipulation. Just do not be obvious about it. The desire to be seen as something good is almost universal in its appeal. Some are of course more susceptible to it than others. But if someone can look good to the world while doing something, it is far more powerful than doing something they think is good in obscurity. Acknowledging good deeds, praising people for things they are doing, etc, helps reinforce those habits and actions.

The power of showing simple, honest, appreciation cannot be underestimated. Letting people know that the good things they do are seen and acknowledged is one of the most positive ways of supporting that behavior. Obviously, people should do the right thing even if others do not notice. The reality is that many people give up when it is clear that their hard work is not appreciated and no one seems to care. Taking the time to find something that someone does for others and pointing it out to them reaps great rewards and anyone thinking to become better socially should develop the habit. Work such acknowledgements into your daily routine.

When going through a line at a security point at an airport, it takes little to turn to the staff and say, “I could never put up with the crap you guys do for unappreciative idiots.” You probably will not get anything out of it, but it is good practice and helps lighten the day of people who really are under- appreciated. And, it might be that they take time to show you the best way to get to your gate instead of ignoring your obvious confusion.

This sort of thing is the most pleasurable of all the manipulation tactics and should be used even when there is no intent to influence or manipulate. The occasional show of appreciation to others is just a nice thing to do. And it does reap benefits to the one doing the praising in that the smile that it usually brings to the other’s face lifts the spirit of both people. People that do good should be informed that others see that they are doing good because it just makes a better society.

This is especially true for those that do things that aren’t appreciated much. The example of the folks at security is a good example. Most people only see them as hinderances to getting where they want to go on time. But if you place yourselves in their shoes, they really are just trying to make sure all of us are safe while we fly. It is easy to think nasty thoughts about those that do such jobs and make up things about them. So most folks look down on them and treat them mainly with indifference or even open contempt. A simple word showing them that someone sees what they are doing and appreciates it works much better to help raise their spirits than praise to people like doctors whom no one seems to hate.

Maybe all you get out of it is a chance to help raise the spirit of others. Maybe there will be some benefit to you. In either case, it costs little to do. A good habit to cultivate is to try to find people that do things, imagine their side of the story and see how they think they are doing good for others and then find a way to show appreciation for that. Some say to try to pull this off at least once a day, with the most under appreciated people being the best targets. Think of people like garbage collectors, DMV clerks and others that are looked down on and often harassed and take their side when giving a little appreciation.

This acknowledgement of the pains others go through without much appreciation is an effective way to get close to them. By itself, it may not be the means to manipulate others. But it sets the stage for a closer relationship where something else can be used. Thus it is a vital skill to study and practice whenever possible.

財でとり入る術 Zai De Toriiru Jutsu

Zai de toriiru Jutsu is about acquiring resources. The most obvious is money, but it is wise to not limit your thinking to just that and instead think about anything else of material nature that someone might want.

Bribes are the most obvious use of this, and they are very effective. But of course bribes aren’t always about money. Some nations are notorious for the way their customs officials are corrupt. Actual drug smugglers routinely get by them by sticking something like a box of good quality cigarettes on top of their clothes, with whatever they are hiding at the bottom.

But as with the case of CEO pay previously mentioned, sometimes money may not be the real motivator of people, especially if they are rich.

Bribes work for both rich and poor, but the motivations have to be examined. Someone that can barely make their car payments is very susceptible to bribes, especially in combination with one of the other means of manipulation. (Actually, that is a good rule to follow- the more aspects of these ten desires and emotions you can use, the better.) But why do people that are well off take the risk of bribes, or for that matter, do anything for money?

A study of money and how it effects people is rarely a waste of time. In a lot of cases, those who have money are the least influenced by it. For these people, money is merely a tool for something else. Finding what they want to use money for is a much better objective.

One thing that is easily confused with the desire for money is the desire to be seen as rich. This of course closely relates to the desire for reputation previously mentioned. People want money to be seen as being well off. As a strategy for attracting the opposite sex, it is actually pretty effective. But these are the sorts that tend to get over their heads trying to keep up with the Joneses. They will get brand name goods and other signs of material wealth, usually driving themselves into debt in the process.

If you consider the rise of counterfeit brand goods, such as fake Rolexes, you see the situation in the nutshell. The watches are not as good as the real ones, and serve only to impress others based on a lie.

This gives the manipulator several key points they can take advantage of. They can play to the target’s need to be seen as rich as well as their probably need for money to cover the debts they have built up.

These types might not go as far as buying fake brand names, but they are trying to present a face to the world of being rich. These sorts are known as the ostentatiously rich, and usually have a desire to be seen in a certain light all through their lifestyle.

In contrast are those that have wealth, but feel no need to appear wealthy. To them, wealth is just a tool for a good life and usually money is the side effect of some other desire. Some folks like to see some business they started grow and expand. Warren Buffet used to be the richest man in the world before people like Bill Gates came along, and is still well up on the list. A study of him and his habits shows that he really doesn’t feel a need to make a show of his wealth, or really take advantage of it. He lives, not in a mansion in Manhattan or Hollywood, but in a relatively cheap but good quality house in the backwater of Omaha. He isn’t known for parties or anything like that, and is actually rather reluctant to spend money on over- priced items. His sole luxury he says he can’t do without is his private jet that ferries him around.

For a man like Buffet, money is like the chips in a poker game. They show how well he is doing in the game, but like those of us that play poker with chips distributed equally at the start of the game with no cash value at the end, the game is the appeal and nothing else matters.

So trying to put more money in their pocket without going through the game will not work. It is important to identify those that have a desire for money, and those that acquired money as a side effect to some other goal. If their goal isn’t money, but rather seeing something like a business they create grow larger, you need to work on their real goal and ignore how much cash you can put in their pocket.

Many of the very rich fall into this category. They have so much wealth that they could never spend it all. But that money is a means of measuring their success a lot of times. Such people may be manipulated if you managed to offer them a deal that would put millions of dollars into their business, but a bribe directly into their pocket and off the record would have almost no effect on them.

For these people, money is a tool for some other purpose. Find the purpose that they use the money they gain for, and then you know their weakness. Do not confuse money for the end result.

The ostentatious rich are far easier to manipulate, for they care a lot about how they appear to the world. These are the types that buy the most expensive vodka, even though blind taste tests show that there so little difference between most of them that it really is the name that is doing the selling instead of the taste. If you talk to many of those that have 60,000 dollar salaries, they say they do not have enough and are not rich. Talk to people making twice or even ten times that amount a year and you will probably hear the same. No matter how much money they make, they find new ways to spend it and are soon living beyond their means.

In Colorado, there is a section of Denver called Congress Park. Near the center of the city, the houses are small, expensive and quite fancy in their design. No one can fail to note that these houses cost a lot of money, which is their purpose. In contrast is the area an hour to the South known as Black Forrest. The houses still tend to be pricy, but the lots they are on cover several acres, the houses are huge and fine quality but they are built a bit back off the road in the trees and can’t be easily seen by most. In the case of Congress Park, the people have to be in the center of things and have to show their wealth. For the same amount of money they could have a much larger and nicer house in Black Forrest. But to not be in the thick of things and not have people realize how much they own is not to their liking. These are the differences between those who work for their money, and those who work and get money as a side effect. Black Forrest tends to be filled with the driven executives and such that are too busy to attend parties or any other social life outside of work. What drives them is usually a vision other than money.

An interesting aspect of these types if their politics. As part of their drive to improve appearances, they usually take popular political stands that get them popularity with the masses at large. Whether they believe them at their core is another manner. The late senator, Ted Kennedy, is a great example of this. A notorious womanizer and predator, in his public stances he championed the rights of women. In private, he had numerous scandals involving him forcing himself of women, but his public persona was the exact opposite.

Of course, Kennedy was a politician so it is natural that he both take a stand he would think is popular and consider himself a bit above the laws others have to follow. But it is interesting to see the politics of places like Congress Park. Unlike the typical stereotype about the rich, you will find almost all the political signs supporting the more progressive candidates as I write this. Of course, that is what they put out on their lawns to show that they care about the common people. After a big show of being ostentatiously rich, convincing the world you care for the people is a needed step as well as part of the broader need to have people look up to them. Hollywood stars are much like this. They throw huge parties, throw away large amounts of money on their pleasures and at the same time claim to work for the little people. Of course, most actors tend to lean toward anything that gets them fame and adoration, so while they make sure everyone knows they are rich, they also make time to denounce other rich people.

It pays to have a rather cynical view about those that make a big show of their charity or concern for the poor. It was not for nothing that Jesus told his followers to give alms to charity in such a way that not even their other hand knew about it. Some, like Warren Buffet, do not care about money as was pointed out and so they don’t miss it when it is gone. But Buffet has given his money to the Bill Gates foundation, saying that he didn’t want to spend the time to find a good place to park it. Again, Buffet is not one to be ruled by money, fame nor reputation. His obsession involves using money, but he is not controlled despite being one of the richest men on the planet.

The poor tend to be those most easily controlled by money. People in dire straights are the ones most vulnerable to scams promising quick wealth. Desperation lowers their common sense as they will latch onto anything to get money. This is especially true it is a case of someone spending themselves into poverty because of a lack of ability to delay pleasure. When you find someone struggling to meet their bills, they are most likely to fall for the lure of money.

Again, find out what people will use the money for as a means of manipulation. This strategy is not limited to money, it is about resources in general. If they are saving in order to put their kids through college, then the kids are the prime concern of theirs, education the way they want to help them and money only the obvious way to get them into a fine university. Many a foreign government official has been recruited by the CIA with the promise of their kids going to a fine American university. To a ninja that lacks the money to send anyone’s kids to a first rate college, pretending to be someone in charge of a generous scholarship might be a more profitable effort. Many are obsessed with money, and that is the tool you should use at that time. But when money is only a tool to a goal, it is needed to know the goal and not be concerned with the money.

This is about resources, not just money. Do not get too centered on cash. There are usually other things that can be done in lieu of money. One organization could not pay the fee a professional asked for in return for testing their security. But they put out a professional magazine to their members, which had a wide readership among many different fields, most needing some sort of security. In return for giving him a cover story in it, they got the fee reduced to a manageable level. The advertising and new business was much more important to him.

風流でとり入る術 Furyu De Toriiru Jutsu

Last is Furyu de Toriiru Jutsu. This is the art of getting close and manipulating people by means of arts and such.

Really, this part of the art is getting close to a person. You find their interests and use them to form a bond between you. This makes you part of them, and thus better able to be trusted. It also gets you close as you share the activity.

Today a lot of our entertainment is solitary. Literacy is near universal, so we all can read even if most of the population doesn’t own many books or have a library card. There are televisions and video games so that people can be entertained without ever interacting with others if they choose not to. This of course was not the case for most of history. Even music had to be played by someone instead of being recorded. So there was a lot more interaction for entertainment in everything from games to performances. This was something the ninja of old could use to great effect.

Today, it is a bit lessened in effectiveness, but the essential lessons still remain. People often have passions. If you share that passion for something, you are more likely to be accepted. Activities that have people work together, like golf or poker, create strong bonds between folks.

Anyone wanting to be a ninja in the modern world can’t ignore popular activities. They should know a bit about how to play golf, poker, online games and even Pokemon-Go. Obscure activities such as shogi won’t go over well in the modern world, stick to what most of society has an interest in. Of course, if the target is a fanatic about shogi (they exist in Japan at least) then learning how to play is needed. Be prepared for a wide variety of interests and know which ones are popular.

Common points are a key way of getting close to another, and that is needed to manipulate them. You may be from the same area and use that to build common ground, but the odds are against you. And it is too easy to be tripped up if you try to pretend you are from someplace and deal with someone actually from there. So interests are perhaps the best way to get close to someone and gain a connection to exploit. A wide variety of interests is needed, for you never know what you will encounter.

Fujita Seiko, last head of the Wada-ha Koga-ryu ninjutsu, said this about the many interests he had in his book, “Secrets of Koga-ryu ninjutsu.”

“I have mentioned hensojutsu, the art of disguise, before. For this art, one must be able to play the role of a komuso, a traditional dance performer as well things like magicians and be proficient in a wide area of skills and abilities. I practice traditional dance from the Fujima-ryu, and can play a shakuhachi flute made from a sheet of newspaper. I can imitate the mandolin and violin with just my mouth. I have taken part in performances of traditional chanting in the Osaka area from the Meji era on and have made note of myself in that role.”

Know the target and follow their interests. If they talk a bit about cooking, make sure you know how to cook as well and find some way to bring it up in conversations. You don’t even have to be as good as them at it. In fact, being less skilled probably helps a lot more than being equal. People love to help others in their passion. If you ask advice about cooking from someone who loves to cook, they will fall over themselves to help you and their fondness for you will deepen. Just don’t do it with someone that cooks for a living. Never try to hit someone up for free advice or service in something they do for a paycheck. The most glaring example of this is people that ask doctors to examine them outside of the office. Even just talking about your condition to them puts them off.

Now if that doctor was a bird watching fanatic and you ask them for advice where to spot the best examples, you have made a friend. You have gone from an acquaintance to a fellow fanatic in a stroke. This is one of the best ways to get close to people.

This part of the art is about getting close to people by shared interests. Whenever possible, know what the target thinks and try to be the same. If their politics lean a certain way, show them that you follow the same way of thinking. If they watch a certain television program, make sure to watch it. The more like them you are, the closer you get to them. This applies to everything when using desires and instincts. Even if you use fear, or sex or any of the other tactics, appearing to be like them can often be used at the same time for better effect of the tactic. It allows you to get closer to use the other tactic.

And as the poem by Yoshimori says, of all the tasks the ninja must master, the most important is getting close to people.

References and Further Reading

On War, Indexed Edition Reprint Edition

by Carl von Clausewitz (Author), Michael Eliot Howard (Translator), Peter Paret (Translator)

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance Paperback – May 24, 2011

by Steven D. Levitt (Author), Stephen J Dubner (Author)

The Secrets of Koga-ryu Ninjutsu Paperback – December 9, 2015

by Fujita Seiko (Author), Don Roley (Translator)

Ninpo Kaiden Shosei no Tetsuri

by Okuse Heishichiro (Author)