Arashikage

Arashikage Sen, leader of the Arashikage clan

The Arashikage Clan is ninja clan based in Japan, although it has members all over the world. Its most famous members are Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes. The clan and its members have played a major part in the ongoing battle between G.I. Joe and Cobra.

Members

The clan has many members, on the sides of both GI Joe and Cobra, and some are neutral in the conflict. A partial list follows.

• Akiko
• Anibal Alcazar - Former student of the Hard Master. Alcazar later hired Storm Shadow to kill him when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Storm Shadow refused, and Alcazar retreated to Japan for meditation before he died.

Arashikage ninja Ashiko

• Ashiko - Arashikage ninja and a professional motorcycle stunt rider
• Boris - the Nameless Master - Russian student of the Middle Master
• Budo - samurai combat instructor and new recruit to Arashikage
• Dojo, trained by the Soft Master. "The talkative one" as he refers to himself. He wields a Kusarigama (a chain-sickle weapon).
• Firefly, aka Faceless Master
• Iron Master - A mystic swordsmith. Tiger Claw was originally his protégé.
• Kenta
• Middle Master - The Older brother of the Soft and Hard Master, known as Nakunatta by Storm Shadow, or "to become nothing". He worked as a secret agent during World War II and passed the Arashikage secrets to his disciples. After he died, his son continued his work in Brooklyn where Storm Shadow, Snake Eyes and Billy found him, after hearing about an unknown Arashikage dojo.
• Moskvina - former Blue Ninja
• Nunchuk, who studied under the Blind Master and Storm Shadow. Expert in blunt weapons.
• Onihashi - The Arashikage's mystic swordsmith who trained T'Jbang and Zartan. He committed a ritual suicide after finding out Zartan's true intentions.
• Pale Peony - half-Russian former pupil of Storm Shadow's
• Red Ninja - offshoot claiming to be the true clan
• Snake-Eyes, AKA The Silent Master. An American war veteran who joined the clan after Storm Shadow saved his life during the Vietnam War. He is Hard Master's most talented student and was the appointed heir for clan leadership for a time.
• Storm Shadow, AKA The Young Master. Hard Master and Soft Master's nephew. He was blamed for his uncle's murder and the clan's ultimate decline.
• Jinx, a full member, one of the only two living members to share the clan name. Studied under the Hard Master, the Soft Master, The Blind Master, the Young Master and the Silent Master.
• Shadow Strike - Another Storm Shadow's pupil, A Cobra infiltrated agent with the mission to "corrupt" the clan from within.
• T'Gin-Zu - swordsman. Student of Storm Shadow who considers him his most talented pupil.
• T'Jbang - swordsman. Storm Shadow's second cousin and Onihashi's pupil.
• Slice - renegade ninja from the Arashikage clan
• Kamakura, who studied under Snake-Eyes. Sean Collins, a G.I. Joe recruit and the son of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's Vietnam mate Wade Collins. Snake Eyes' most prominent apprentice.
• Tiger Claw - A young recruit obsessed with martial arts flicks. Trained originally by Iron Master and later by Snake Eyes.
• William, Cobra Commander's son, who studied with Jinx and Storm Shadow
• Hard Master - The former leader of the Arashikage clan and Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow's master. He was assassinated by Zartan when the latter was trying to kill Snake Eyes.
• Soft Master - Hard Master's youngest brother and Dojo master. Murdered by Scrap-Iron while traveling with Billy Kessler.
• Blind Master - Sensei Moore is an honorary member of the clan who was taken in and trained by the Hard Master. He later opened a dojo in Denver, Colorado. Jinx, Billy Kessler, Nunchuk and an orphan called Tyrone were his protégés. He was murdered by Zartan.
• Gōjū Master - In 1950, Gōjū Master's wife gave birth to a son, Arishikage Tomisboro, in San Francisco, CA while on a secret mission to the US. However, records also indicate that he went missing in 1945, which is when the Hard Master stepped up to lead the family. He is deceased.
• Obake Obaasan - The wife of the Hard Master and now leader of the clan.
• Ophelia - Snake Eyes' pupil.

Enemies

• The Blue Ninja - Mysterious cyborg assassins.
• The Red Ninjas - Renegade members of the Arashikage clan. At one point led by Master Sato, then by Sei Tin, and later by T'Jbang.
• Faceless Master (Firefly) - Originally a member of the Koga clan, infiltrated the Arashikage clan to kill Snake-Eyes, but later refused to do so and referred the job to Zartan.
• Night Creepers - A syndicate of hi-tech ninjas/corporate mercenaries hired by Cobra as spies and assassins.
• Black Dragon Ninja - The Black Dragon Ninja were originally a cabal of spies operating before the Cold War and destroyed by the original G.I. Joe Team led by General Joseph Colton over 30 years ago. The "Black Dragon Leader" survived to rebuild the organization, which now serves as Cobra Commander's personal guard, providing him with advanced weapons and tactical data. Each Black Dragon ninja is known to carry non-traditional bladed or custom-designed weaponry.
• Cobra Ninja Vipers - Start out as "Cobra Ninja Troopers", recruited from the highest Cobra Viper corps' ranks for their cunning and ruthlessness. Extremely obedient and always carry out their orders to the letter. At one point hand-picked and trained by Storm Shadow.
• Sei Tin (Satan) - Red Ninjas' Leader, Clan's ultimate Grand Master with special mental abilities.
• Slice - A British Cobra Command agent described as "brutally efficient" who based his skills on the scorpions' attack patterns. Never officially confirmed, but he is suspected to be a former Arashikage member, Storm Shadow's pupil.
• Dice - A sadistic ninja forsaken by the Night Creepers for his brutality. Slice's partner.
• Slash - Renegade ninja recruited for Cobra and trained by Storm Shadow. A graceful fighter who based his technique on the moves of the praying mantises.
• Shadow Strike - Another Storm Shadow's pupil, A Cobra infiltrated agent with the mission to "corrupt" the clan from within.
• Master Sato - Once one of the most respected ninja masters amongst the Arashikage's ranks. He got embittered of Hard Master's attentions towards Snake-Eyes. He planned the first attempt to assassinate Hard Master and later Storm Shadow, blaming the latter for the clan's corruption and ultimate disbanding.
• Dark Master - Rogue ninja master exiled to cave beneath Arashikage Mountain for betraying the ninja clans. (Introduced in the last wave of Sigma 6 figures as "Dark Ninja Master"; before the series and corresponding toy line was canceled.)
• Rivals of the clan also include the Koga, Omikana, Nichira and Bakufu clans.

History

“	There are three here who wear the hexagram of our ninja clan on their right arms. They are the unbroken lines. There are three here who do not wear the hexagram. They are the broken lines. We six, together, complete the circle. All forces are in balance and harmony.	”
—The Young Master, G.I. Joe #66

Centuries ago, the Emperor of Japan asked his general to protect the Jewel of Amaterasu, a gem said to allow the wielder to control their chi. The gem was so well concealed, that its location was lost with the ascendancy of emperors, and the general's family was eventually reduced to simple farmers, who would later become the Arashikage. For generations, the Arashikage worked as shadowy assassins, using deception to earn their keep as ninjas, as well as developing a reputation for being able to perform impossible tasks.

Later, the Arashikage would continue the deception, financing front businesses to hide their true work as covert operatives, bounty hunters, thieves, and contract killers. Their remote compound was hidden in the mountains of Japan. Only those who truly prove their worth, and commitment to the Arashikage katas and discipline, were allowed full membership into the clan. This was denoted by the tattooing of the clan symbol on the forearm, the 63rd hexagram of the I Ching.

Marvel Comics

Thomas Arashikage, after receiving his initial training to become a member of the clan, participates in the Vietnam War. During the war he meets an American nicknamed Snake-Eyes, whom he brings back to Japan after the war for training in the ways of the ninja. Cobra Commander learns of this and, angry with Snake-Eyes because of a car accident in which Snake-Eyes family and Cobra Commander's brother were killed, sends Firefly to kill Snake-Eyes.

Firefly decides that he is no match for Snake-Eyes, so Cobra Commander sends another mercenary, Zartan, to finish the job. Zartan accidentally kills the clan leader, the Hard Master, instead of Snake-Eyes. Thomas is blamed for the Hard Master's death, and after taking on the name Storm Shadow he joins Cobra Command to find the Hard Master's killer and exact revenge on him.

In later years, a group of ninjas affiliated with the Arashikage clan form the Ninja Force as a part of the G.I. Joe Team to combat Cobra. Its inaugural members are Nunchuk, T'Jbang, and Dojo, led by Storm Shadow. Ninja Force goes to Beirut to answer a call for help from Snake-Eyes. They become involved in helping a Joe/Cobra force fight against the Night Creepers, with further assistance comes from the Joe "Sky Commandos". The Ninja Force is seen later in New York, undergoing intensive training. Ninja Force's roster is later expanded to include Snake-Eyes (as their new leader), Jinx, and Scarlett.

On the MUX, the Red Ninja have organized themselves as THE new Arashikage clan, considering their American offshoots to be traitors and imposters. They have resumed performing assassinations for the highest bidder. They no longer seem to be directly involved with Billy, Storm Shadow, Zartan, or any members of Ninja Force, although they do still occasionally perform contracts for Cobra.

Family Holdings

The Arashikage, despite their apparent fall from power, maintain locations across the globe to this day.

• Arashikage Dojo (Tokyo)
• Arashikage Dojo (San Francisco)
• Arashikage Martial Arts Academy
• Arashikage-jo
• Yomiuriland

Shattered Glass

In the Shattered Glass universe, the Arashikage are more of a traditional ninja clan -- the kind of people who kill victims in their sleep.

Others

As a self-taught ninja, Bushido is not a member of the Arashikage clan. Likewise, although Night Fox has had ninja training, he is also not part of the Arashikage clan.

Budo is a samurai, not a ninja, a fact in which he took some pride. However, in 2016, Budo was accepted into the Arashikage clan, and traveled to San Francisco to take over the martial arts academy there.

Practices

Uniform and symbol

Arashikage Hexagram

Members of the Arashikage clan wore a tattoo on their right forearm, which is the ba gua symbol for 'water' and 'fire', representing the 63rd hexagram of the I Ching. Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow were revealed to have the same tattoo in their first battle at the Silent Castle.

Seven Silent Forms

These are the basis of Advanced Arashikage Ninjas. Once five of the forms are Mastered, the ninja can move on to the most advanced Ninja training. Mastery of five of these forms also serves as graduation to a full clan member.

The Blind Sword

A lesser sword fighting technique that allows the practitioner to defend itself in no visibility conditions, consisting of just extending the sword using its scabbard for touch and to compensate for loss of sight. Hard Master taught this technique to Snake-Eyes just before teaching him the "Cloak of the Chameleon".

The Cloak of the Chameleon

Using extreme physical control, the Cloak of the Chameleon alters breathing and circulatory patterns, to perfectly mimic the sounds of another person. The Hard Master employed this technique when he was killed, because he was imitating Snake-Eyes, the assassin's real target.

The Ear That Sees

An exercise that concentrates hearing, to compensate for loss of sight. The Ear That Sees allows a warrior to identify a foe through sound alone, with cues such as heartbeat, the sound of cloth against cloth, and the patterns of breathing and other movement.

The Eye that Pierces

This silent form allows an observer to look beyond what the eyes show, and see through some 'illusions', or cosmetic changes, to see the real person.

The Heart that Waits

This discipline teaches a ninja to watch an attack, until the last possible second, before committing to a defensive action, to allow for the best possible counter move.

The Iron Hand

This discipline allows one to strike harder than a normal hand or foot could possibly strike. It allows for the breaking of wood, stone, and with extreme training, metal.

The Unbreakable Will

This form allows the ninja to push through any amount of pain or distraction, to complete ones mission. Some ninja's have forged this into the ability to resist many forms of Mind Control, and Snake-Eyes uses this form to resist the Brainwave Scanner.

Master Forms

These forms are only taught to members of the Clan that are to be considered for the Master Rank. The ability to do both of these forms can lead the ninja to become a Master in the Arashikage Clan.

Arashikage Mind-Set

The Mind-Set is a form of hypnotism that requires extreme concentration and focus. It is the most powerful and dangerous of the Arashikage secrets, granting a warrior unshakable resolve and tenacity. The Mind-Set will cause a warrior to ignore pain and fear and has proven capable of casting off the effects of brainwashing.

The Sleeping Phoenix

This technique mimics death, by exerting extreme physical control over involuntary bodily processes. It has proven valuable in fooling enemies, and in extending survival, such as when Storm Shadow used the technique to preserve his life after the Baroness shot him.

Shattered Glass

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References

• Arashikage @ Neo Encyclopedia Wiki