Oh no the boys have food poisoning!

When in Iga do as the ninjas do! It was an unexpected stop over and an even more unexpected city fare! When we were about to leave Iga, we found out that there was a ninja festival of sorts!

Having decided to take the train to Yokkaichi because both the boys were down with food poisoning and diarrhoea, we took a detour and joined the local throng at the Iga castle. It was a pleasant surprise to see the whole town out in the field; many lovers having a picnic under the blooming sakura trees, families going for the ninja performances at the museum and even the shiba-ken dogs dressing as ninjas and posing for the crowds!

We learnt that aside from political espionage and being body guards of the lords, they were also secret messenger carriers who protected important information with their lives. Highly sensitive documents were to be committed to memory and even carved on their skin if needed.

At that moment it occurred to us that here we are easily communicating with each other over technology - Whatsapp, email, social media platforms - while it took them the risk of a human life for a simple message. Life has changed over the centuries and for better. We might be commoners but the commoners of today live a better life than than the kings and lords of yesterday.

Puts our modern advancement in perspective.

Michelle Yang