Ninja are falling back into the shadows, much to the concern of officials in Aichi Prefecture. The government was attempting to put together an "Ieyasu Tokugawa and Hattori Hanzō Ninja Team," but found applicants in short supply. Officials were surprised to say the least, last year they were flooded with applicants. This year the numbers dwindled to only 10, including two from overseas, since applications opened on February 15.

Aichi prefecture began hiring ninja in the summer of 2015 to draw and entertain tourists. The team performs acrobatic shows at landmarks like Nagoya Castle and the Chūbu Airport and interacting with visitors.

The prefecture credits foreign media for spreading the word about the ninja job openings last year. Overall 200 individuals applied from 40 different countries, including 35 applicants from within Japan. Ninja are paid as much as 180,000 yen (US$1,611) per month.

The lack of interest could be due to stricter requirements this year. The job previously drew plenty of overseas applicants but this year Aichi is requiring Japanese language proficiency. Officials are feeling the push to fill the ninja niche as more tourists come to Japan. They already operate another team based on Sengoku-era warlords but ninja are more easily recognizable to foreign tourists.

Nagoya previously hired ninja to teach elementary school kids the ways of ninjutsu. Transportation company Fuji Kyuko opened its "Oshino Shinobi" village in Yamanashi prefecture in 2015 and the Tokyo Government opened its "Ninja Trick House" amusement park in Shinjuku the following year. Restaurants and bars with ninja themes are also very successful.

Source: Haruko Hara at Asahi Shimbun, Image via Ieyasu Tokugawa and Hattori Hanzō Ninja Team Twitter