Sharpen your shuriken, Japan's Aichi prefecture is looking to hire six ninjas in a bid to boost tourism.
是時候亮出你的忍者飛鏢了——日本愛知縣正欲招募六名忍者，以推動當地旅游業的發展。

The roles are full time and the pay is ￥180,000 ($1,600; ￡1,100) a month, the job ad says (in Japanese).
招聘廣告上用日語寫道：需全職，月薪18萬日元。

Physical fitness and acrobatic skills are a must says Aichi prefecture, which hopes to promote "warlord tourism".
愛知縣官方稱，應聘者要身體健康，且必須練過雜技。愛知縣希望通過此舉發展“武士游”。

Ninjas were 15th Century Japanese mercenaries specialising in espionage, assassination, sabotage and other forms of irregular warfare.
忍者是15世紀日本一種特殊的兵種，專門從事間諜、暗殺、蓄意破壞等種種非常規的戰斗任務。

Such trickery was considered beneath the samurai, or military nobility, who had to observe strict rules on fighting honourably.
日本忍者地位在武士和貴族之下，他們必須遵守嚴格的規則，為榮譽而戰。

The job specification has been somewhat changed for the advertised roles.
然而在這則招聘廣告中，忍者的工作內容了發生一些改變。

It involves stage performances and "PR work" for radio and television. Combat experience as a ninja is not required and a track record of killing people for money would not help your application.
在這里，忍者的工作包括舞臺表演以及負責電視和廣播節目的“公關工作”。作為一名忍者所必須的格斗經驗，你不一定要有，而且拿錢取命的工作經驗也不會對你得到這份工作有任何幫助。

Ideal candidates should "enjoy being under the spotlight even though he or she is a secretive ninja," Satoshi Adachi of the prefecture's tourism promotion unit, told AFP.
愛知縣旅游宣傳部門的安達哲告訴法新社記者，理想的應聘者須“放下自己‘神秘忍者’的心理包袱，享受站在聚光燈下的感覺。”

As the troupe will sometimes perform in English, Japanese language skills are preferred rather than essential, Mr Adachi said, although a passion for history and tourism is a requirement.
安達智表示，劇團時常要用英語進行演出，所以會說日語并非必要條件，當然會的話更好。對日本歷史和旅游充滿熱情的人，都可以應征。

Training is also a little quicker these days: winning applicants will be up to speed in the arts of wooing tourists with back flips and sword play by the end of April.
目前的培訓進程正在加快：通過面試的人，必須在4月結束前盡快掌握后空翻以及劍術等能夠吸引游客的技能。

Successful applicants will be performing in Nagoya Castle and various other locations.
成功入選的申請者將在名古屋城和其他各地進行表演。

Aichi prefecture may be hoping to see some of the success seen by neighbouring Mie prefecture's Ninja museum in Iga city, which combines historical details with acrobatic performances inspired by tales of the ancient warriors.
三重縣在愛知縣的旁邊。三重縣伊賀市修建了忍者博物館。受古代武士傳奇故事的啟發，該博物館將歷史傳說與雜技表演融為一體，取得了極大的成功。愛知縣希望能復制這樣的成功。

Iga, which brands itself as the "home town" of ninja, was once home to many ninjas, also known as shinobi, who emerged as a distinct phenomenon in the volatile "warring states" period of the 15th Century. They gradually disappeared as Japan was unified in the 17th Century.
伊賀市曾出過不少忍者，自詡為“忍者之鄉”。忍者，又名“西諾比”，起源于15世紀烽煙四起的日本，是那段動蕩不安時期的一個獨特現象。隨著日本在17世紀完成統一，忍者也逐漸消失在了歷史長河中。

While ninja were a very real historical phenomenon, much popular folklore about them is based on legend and myth.
雖然忍者是一個真實存在的歷史現象，但現在民間廣為流傳的關于忍者的傳說則大多都來源于傳奇和神話。

But while once they were looked on as little more than a historical curiosity of more interest to foreigners than Japanese themselves, prefectures are increasingly keen to capitalise on historical ties to tap into the country's tourism boom.
曾經，忍者僅代表了一段讓人好奇的歷史，而且這種好奇更多地來自外國人，而不是本國人。但隨著時間的推移，日本各縣開始關注這段歷史淵源的吸金價值，逐漸將它運用到推動旅游業上面。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to increase tourism even further in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
日本首相安倍晉三承諾，在2020年東京奧運會到來前，日本將進一步發展旅游業。

Anyone over 18 can apply to be a ninja in Aichi, and applications close on 22 March.
凡年滿18周歲的人都可以應聘成為愛知縣的忍者，報名截止日期為3月22日。

英文來源：BBC
譯者：懵懵zoe
審校&編輯：杜娟