Ninja Proficiency Test

On October 22, for the first time, the ninja proficiency test will be held at Zojoji, the Tokugawa shogunate family temple in Tokyo instead of the usual place in Koka, western Japan. The test measures the knowledge of the Koka clan of ninja, which had close ties to the founder of the shogunate. 

A ninja is said to have helped Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1582. After the Honnoji Incident in Kyoto in 1582, which resulted in the death of warlord Oda Nobunaga, Ieyasu fled from Osaka to his home in Mikawa (present day Aichi Prefecture) by traveling mountainous areas with the help of ninja from the Koka clan. This year's Koka clan ninja test will have 50 entry-level multiple-choice questions, followed by an assesment of the participants' skill with shuriken throwing stars. 

The multiple choice questions will cover activities of the Koka ninja from the late 15th to the late 16th centuries, as well as authors of ninja-related novels and manga. Test takers who wear ninja attire get additional points. 

Test takers are limited to the first 200 who apply and the cost is 3000 yen.  Who wants to be a ninja? Here's your chance.