THE WAY OF THE TIJUANA DONKEY

“If necessary you should choose to disguise yourself as a shukke [monk], yamabushi [hermit], merchant or anything else that you feel is appropriate to the situation. Pilgrims have a good reason to move around shrines and temples. For this purpose, which is different from other cases, it may be better for you to move as a company of two or three people. In such cases, the technique of dakkō, to understand all the local customs and dialects, is used.””
— Quote taken from the Shoninki, as written in 1681 by Master Ninja Natori Masazumi

recently found myself standing on a corner in downtown Tijuana, waiting for the light to change so I could cross the street, when I saw a man walking a donkey painted as a zebra. He was on his way to work at one of the famous picture stands on Revolution Avenue. Anywhere else on the planet, a man walking down the street with a donkey covered in zebra stripes would certainly draw attention. But the famed “zonkeys” of Tijuana have been a familiar sight in the tourist districts of this city since the 1930s, when gambling was