7. Ninjas Didn’t Have Samurai Swords
No movie featuring ninjas would be complete without shuriken, the dreaded throwing stars that can be unleashed with deadly force from many yards away, or a man in black pajamas wielding a samurai sword. First off, while throwing stars did exist, they were probably used in hand-to-hand combat, to slash the enemy, rather than to kill from a distance. Also, if anyone other than a samurai carried a samurai sword, he or she could be put to death; it was akin to impersonating a police officer, which today is a serious offense.
That said, some ninjas did have what we would recognize as weaponry. Some of them carried shinobigatana, or mid-length swords, which were smaller than samurai swords and could do some severe damage in close combat. They also used shuko, metal claws that could help them climb, and tessen, metal fans. However, all of these weapons were very conspicuous and would tell any would-be captor that the bearer of said weaponry was a ninja. They would have to be very carefully concealed so that they could not be discovered, even upon capture. For that reason, they tended to carry more concealed weapons, like blowguns that were cleverly disguised as flutes.