In order to stay true to his art, James Wright prefers to keep a low profile; to blend in with his surroundings. But in his adopted Matsubushi, a rural town in Saitama Prefecture, the fair-haired, 180-cm Scot would seem to be fighting a losing battle. That he also works for the local butcher merely adds to residents' curiosity.
"They want to know what I'm doing living and working in a place like this," Wright says. "But I keep that to myself. Anyway, I don't think they'd believe me if I told them I'm training to be a ninja."
Wright, 32, has been honing his ninja skills for almost 18 years. Ten of those have been spent in Matsubushi, where he has attended training at Genbukan, a dojo specializing in ninpo, the name commonly given to the ninja's art.