# Red Scarf Ninjas

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-scarf-ninjas/814471>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [May 19, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-scarf-ninjas/814471 "2018-05-19T18:39:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-scarf-ninjas/814471/1 "2018-05-19T18:39:09Z")

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I noticed in both the video game Shinobi and Strider the ninja character wears a red scarf. Is this a reference to something Japanese?

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-scarf-ninjas/814471/2 "2018-05-19T19:32:12Z")

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Apparently (going by a post on [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/43ibj0/how_did_the_scarf_wearing_ninja_trope_come_about) Reddit thread) it is a thing from ninja folklore:

> [@a post on this Reddit thread](#):
>
> Actually, it’s not as much of a trope as it is " fact ". In the book ‘Fujita Seiko The Last Koga Ninja’, he wrote;  
> " Fujita also claimed that a ninja was expected to be able to move 10 miles an hour, or 100 miles a day, and thus was required to undertake endurance training to acquire this ability. One such method involved putting a bamboo leaf on one’s chest and reaching adequate speed to ensure that the leaf adhered to one’s chest while moving. Another similar practice involved wearing a long, cloak-like cloth that would be worn around the ninja’s neck while running, with the aim of attaining adequate speed so that the cloth would not touch the ground. "  
> Source: Hevener, Phillip T. (2008-02-19). FUJITA SEIKO: THE LAST KOGA NINJA (Kindle Locations 256-260). [Xlibris.com](http://Xlibris.com). Kindle Edition.

(Also mentions that in manga/anime/games having the scarf helps in being able to suggest fast movement in the character.)

[There’s A Trope For That](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ScarfOfAsskicking), but no explanation.

(It _really_ doesn’t help in searches that apparently “ninja scarf” is a type of hijab.)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-scarf-ninjas/814471/3 "2018-05-20T18:04:27Z")

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Visually speaking it does suggest speed and looks really cool. So that’s probably the main reasons.