Only ignorant fools say ninja.
Such is the way of the world inNetflixs new series,House of Ninjas.
The proper term is shinobi.
Its what was used historically.
And like in every dramedy, the Tawaras are comically and tragically dysfunctional.
Their thievery goes from grocery store shoplifting to museum art object theft.
Beyond his leading role, Kaku created the original story forHouse of Ninjasand serves as a co-executive producer.
He was inspired to create it from a real-life trip where he saw some ninjas…or shinobi.
And when I saw there, I was like ohh, thats it!
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Various regions of Japan are famous for their ninja history.
Today, they celebrate their shinobi legacy with ninja shows, parades, and festivals.
Witnessing one of these cultural ninja shows first hand, Kaku was inspired.
I was fascinated by these rules and I realized it is very attractive.
As Kakus vision ofHouse of Ninjasbegan to manifest, the project enlisted the acclaimed American film director Dave Boyle.
His work is character driven with richly written roles and sublime dialog.
That got the gears turning at Netflix and consequently, Boyle found himself writing the first episode.
One thing led to another and the next thing he knew, he was offered the chance to direct.
He relocated to Tokyo for 18 months during the production.
Boyle also chose not to use an interpreter.
Everybody wanted to make the same show.
House of Ninjascenters around the Tawara family, who are descendants of Hattori Hanzo.
He served Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), who established the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan (1603-1868).
Like the Hatfields and McCoys, the feud between these two shinobi clans is legendary.
Here again, the show delved into authentic history.
I did a deep dive.
I was trying to find some corners of Ninja lore that maybe had been less explored, Boyle says.
The Fuma clan traces back to Japans Sengoku period in the 15thand 16thcenturies.
Theres a museum dedicated to the Fuma ninja within Odawara castle, whereHouse of Ninjasis set.
The Fuma clan has a peculiar place in Japanese history.
Ninjas are sort of the heroes of Japan, but theyre also the villains of Japan.
It just all sort of depends on which master theyre serving.
Both Boyle and Kaku were huge fans of theShinobi No Monofilms, an eight-movie franchise from the early 60s.
They also do such a great job of depicting the really, really difficult lives that shinobi had.
However he missed out on many of the Hollywood films of the 70s and 80s.
He joked that his knowledge of the Western ninja genre is limited to American Ninja Turtles movies.
Were omnivorous when it comes to ninja content, Boyle adds.
All episodes of House of Ninjas are available to stream on Netflix now.
