Eimi Haga saw an animated television program about ninjas when she was a child. Now a student at Mie University in Japan's Mie Prefecture, she signed up for a course in ninja history and was assigned a report on a visit to the Ninja Museum at Igaryu. Professor Yuji Yamada told students they would get extra credit for creativity.
When Ms. Haga handed in a blank piece of paper, the professor probably thought that it was not the first time he'd been given a blank assignment that would probably involve some kind of plea for mercy. But while Ms. Haga had indeed include a note with her assignment, it was not an appeal for academic leniency. It was an instruction to heat the paper. When Professor Yamada did so, words suddenly began to appear, as Ms. Hagi had used the technique of aburidashi to write her assignment. That process mixes crushed soybeans with water to create ink that disappears when it dries. It only reappears when heated.
Prof. Yamada was impressed enough with Ms. Hagas' work that he awarded her a top score for just the manner of her presentation once double-checking that the content was at least adequate. I have to say that I now wish I had taken a course in the history of ninjas, because a number of my assignments would probably have been improved if they were only partially visible.
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