English-speaking ‘ninja' promotes hometown with show of stealth

Asahi Shimbun

2 days ago

Dressed in ninja attire, Tsuyoshi Ashihara, left, talks to a customer at the Japan Expo held on the sidelines of the Osaka Kansai Expo 2025 in Osaka's Konohana Ward on April 27. (Sho Tanji)
OSAKA--A Japanese man in ninja attire was calling out in perfect English to passers-by at the Japan Expo venue here in late April.
Tsuyoshi Ashihara was hawking 'shuriken' throwing stars and 'kunai' knife-like weapon: the hallmarks of ninja stealth.
Ashihara, 55, staged the stunt at the event held on the sidelines of the Osaka Kansai Expo 2025 to promote his company, Kansai Saw MFG Co.
The blade manufacturer was founded in Miki, Hyogo Prefecture, in 1919.
The ninja artefacts were fashioned from production techniques used to manufacture rotary blades for lawn mowers, but in this case purely for ornamental purposes.
Ashihara's company participated in the event as a member of a union comprising manufacturers and wholesalers of Miki to promote the city as one of Japan's largest ironware production areas.
As a graduate of a U.S. university, Ashihara's language skills are in high demand, especially after the union started taking part in trade fairs outside Japan around 10 years ago.
He often serves as a publicist for the city's ironware industry.
Officially titled the Japan Expo Paris in Osaka 2025, the event is a celebration of Japanese pop culture that has been held in the French capital since 2000.
Ashihara used the event as a foothold to promote Miki ironware in Paris.
He called out to customers from France to say he would see them again in Paris next time.