Thwarting Crime the Ninja Way

Amid all the depressing stories in the paper about the war in Iraq—or conflict rather—and people being murdered in Golden Gate Park, I came across this little gem of a story about a Japanese designer who is designing clothes to help people escape street crime.

Inspired by the ancient techniques of Japan's ninjas, designer Aya Tsukioka created a skirt that unfolds into a fake vending machine that the wearer can hide inside to elude criminals.

If it were to take off, I imagine a product like this would fall victim to its own success. If everyone had one, then crooks would probably get wise and start looking for the trembling vending machine if their victim magically disappears.

However, at $800 a pop (Tsukioka hand sews and hand prints her skirts), it's unlikely that people are going to be scrambling for this unusual crime prevention tool. But cheers to quirky Japanese ingenuity, keeping criminals on their toes ninja style since the 15th century.

You can go here for more pictures (the writing is all in Japanese) of "urban camo" and a slideshow of Tsukioka's vending machine skirt in action.