Ninjutsu evolved and developed as a way of life for the survival of a Japanese people culturally opposed to the ruling Samurai class of the day. With a traceable history of 1000 years the Ninja were most notable for their skills and activity during the Japanese Civil War periods of the l3th-l6th Centuries. All martial arts were stripped of warrior significance when peace came to Japan in 1868 (Meiji Restoration) but the teachings of Ninjustsu went underground and was brought to modern times by the 33rd Grandmaster, Toshitsugu Takamatsu. As the lore of the Ninja were passed down to the 34th Grandmaster, Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi (Dr. Hatsumi is classed as a living treasure in Japan), Ninjutsu was made available to the Western World for the first time in the 1970's.It came to the U.K, Europe & North America in 1983.

  

For hundreds of years the Iga Ninja groups were the major force in Ninjutsu. Smaller groups existed in other parts of Japan, but in the Sengoku era Ninja groups rose up throughout Japan. Within these groups of spies, saboteurs and assassins, there developed two super groups, the Iga of Mie prefecture and the Koga of Shiga prefecture.​

Interestingly Shiga prefecture resides next to Mie prefecture in southern Japan. The Koga and Iga inhabited the same mountain range, in two valleys divided by a mountain. Being completely isolated from the wandering eyes of the Japanese military and Samurai, they lived as farmers and were consulted by the locals on medicines, herbs,

weather, and agriculture.

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Most of the Koga Ninja and Iga Ninja were descendents from the Yamabushi-(Mountain Priest Warriors), that settled in the region. Ikai, a General in the Chinese military, brought Kosshijutsu to Japan after fleeing China's war during the battle of the Kitan and Xia dynasty against King Jinso during (1040-1050). This man had many teachings from The Art of War and was responsible for introducing these teachings to the Japanese.​

 

Other Iga and Koga groups consisted of wandering Ronin, who were master-less Samurai, similar to modern mercenaries, who took home in the same region. The Koga Ninja were capable of forming false groups within the same area in apparent opposition to one another. This threw off suspicions and allowed the Ninja (Koga) to hide their numbers and to be hired by both sides of any dispute in the region. In that way they acted as triple agents, working not only for both sides, but for themselves as well. The Koga Ninja organizations were most likely shadows of themselves and it is probably the reason the Koga Ninja consisted of 53-family groups within their own region. They remained unobtrusive and less centralized; therefore, they were harder to ferret out and destroy-unlike their Iga counterparts.​

 

 

Kōga-ryū

(甲賀流, "School of Kōga"; occasionally transliterated as "Kōka")

is an ancient school of ninjutsu. It originated from the region of Kōga (modern Kōka City in Shiga Prefecture). Members of the Koga school of shinobi (ninja) are trained in disguise, escape, concealment, explosives, medicines and poison; moreover, they are experts in techniques of unarmed combat (Taijutsu) and in the use of various weapons.

 

History

歴史

The beginnings of the Kōka-ryū may be traced to near the end of the Muromachi period. While the town of Kōka was under the jurisdiction of the Rokkaku (lit. "hexagon") clan, it was a kind of autonomous municipality composed of peasant unions, then called sō (惣). All important decisions in the municipality were made by a majority vote from the union representatives, this kind of system was uncommon for the period in question.

 

Sasaki Rokkaku of Ōmi Province, using Kannonji Castle as a base, started to steadily build up military might. He made light of commands from the Ashikaga shogunate, and eventually began to ignore the shogunate altogether. In 1487, General Ashikaga Yoshihisa brought with him an army to stamp out this rebellion, and a battle between Ashikaga and Rokkaku’s camps ensued. Ashikaga mobilized daimyo from several provinces against the castle of Kannonji, the headquarters of the Rokkaku; as a result, Rokkaku Masayori and Rokkaku Takayori (Masayori's son) were forced to flee to the castle of Kōka. The factual accuracy of their escape is debated and it is likely that they gave up the town to avoid a direct confrontation instead.

 

Ashikaga then moved his base to Anshiyoji of Kurita District and attacked the castle of Kōka. Kōka fell, but the Rokkaku duo escaped again and ordered the Kōka warriors who followed them to mount a heavy resistance against Ashikaga using guerrilla warfare. Exploiting their geographical advantage in the mountains, the Kōka warriors launched a wide range of surprise attacks against Ashikaga’s forces, and tormented them by using fire and smoke on Ashikaga’s camp during the night. The guerrilla warfare prevented a final showdown, until Ashikaga died in battle in 1489, ending the three-year conflict and sparing the lives of the Rokkaku duo.

 

The elusive and effective guerrilla warfare used by the Kōka warriors became well known throughout the whole country. This also marked the first time that the ninja of Kōka were drafted as a regular army by their lord. Previously, they were only mercenaries and it was not uncommon to have warriors from Kōka on both sides of a battle. As a result of this victory, the local samurai in the 53 families who participated in this battle were called "the 53 families of Kōka".

 

The last officially known Soke of Kōga-ryū was 14th headmaster Fujita Seiko (1898-1966). He taught prior to World War II, and earned such a reputation that he was pulled into teaching for the government during the war. He continued to teach privately after the war, and thus had many students. Some of these students went on to create their own officially recognized systems. Among his students was one Heishichiro Okuse, author of many ninjutsu books and one of the primary references in the 1970 book by Andrew Adams, Ninja: The Invisible Assassins.[1] According to some sources, Okuse served as the 15th Soke of Fujita's line of Koga-ryu, during which time he changed the name to "Iga-ryu" to reflect his residence, and possibly to avoid controversy. That system of ninjutsu is still maintained today by Kazuo Saito, the apparent 16th Soke of Fujita's shinobi lineage.

 

 

Arts of the Kōka

甲賀の芸術

The Kōka ninja practiced similar arts as their Iga counterparts. The Kōka had separated the arts so they could practice solely on what was needed for certain situations. Instead of mixing all the teachings, separating them allowed them to focus, yet they used them together in a lethal combination.

 

Angou: Signaling

Bajutsu: Horsemanship art

Bōjutsu: Staff art

Boryaku: Military strategy

Chimon: Geography

Choho: Espionage

Gokui atemi sakkatsuho zukai: Secret killing strikes art

Goton-no-jutsu: Five elements escape methods

Hensōjutsu: Camouflage art

Hichojutsu: Jumping art

Hojōjutsu: Rope tying art

Hojutsu: Gunpowder and fire art

Kusarigamajutsu: Kusarigama art

Kyushojutsu: Vital points art

Iaijutsu: Sword drawing art

Intonjutsu: Escaping and concealment art

Jōjutsu: Short staff art

Jouhou kaishuu: Information gathering

Karumijutsu: Body lightening art

Kenjutsu: Sword art

Kukushi bukijutsu: Hidden weapons art

Kyuba: Mounted archery

Kyujutsu: Archery art

Naginatajutsu: Naginata art

Shinobi-iri: Stealth and entering methods art

Seishinteki kyōyō: Spiritual refinement

Shurikenjutsu: Throwing weapon art

Sojutsu: Spear art

Suijutsu: Swimming art

Suirenjutsu: Water survival art

Taihenjutsu: Body moving art

Taijutsu: Unarmed combat

Tenmon: Meteorology

Zanshin: Clear mental awareness

 

 

 

Togakure-ryū​

 

According to Togakure ryu Ninjutsu Hidensho (a Japanese manuscript, currently in the possession of soke Masaaki Hatsumi, Togakure-ryu ("School of the Hidden Door") was founded about eight hundred years ago by Daisuke Nishina (Togakure), who learned shugendo practices as well as Hakuun ryu ninjutsu from Kagakure Doshi. Although the existence of Daisuke Nishina has been verified, in that a person by that name was found by Koyama Ryutaro in a period work, the history of the system has not been independently verified. It must, however be noted that the Bugei Ryuha Daijiten recognises Togakure-ryu as a legitimate koryu bujutsu school.​

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According to the Bujinkan, the school contained Yon-po Hiden (Four Secrets): Senban Shuriken (four-pointed throwing star), Shuko and sokko (spiked bands worn on hands (shuko) and sometimes feet (sokko), for climbing), Shinodake (a tube used as a snorkel or blowgun) and Kyoketsu shoge, an unusual blade attached to cord which is in turn attached to a heavy ring, and taijutsu or arts of the whole body.​

 

 

 

Hide History According to Togakure ryu Ninjutsu Hidensho ​

  

In 1182, during the Japanese Genpei War, at the end of the Heian Period, Minamoto no Yoshinaka, a general from the mountainous Nagano region of Japan, captured the capital city of Kyoto. After this victory, he found himself under attack by his cousin Yoshitsune. When Yoshitsune's troops successfully crossed the Uji river, a key strategic defense for the capital, Yoshinaka withdrew, only to be killed as his horse fell through the ice of a frozen rice paddy.

 

After Yoshinaka's defeat, one of his samurai retainers, Daisuke Nishina of Togakure Village escaped to the mountains of Iga in south central Japan. Nishina's native village of Togakure is now known as Togakushi, Nagano, and was an early center of Shugendo training. It may be that Nishina engaged in such training, but the records of the Togakure ryu do not mention it. The mountains provided an easy place to hide from the enemy troops, who still searched for Yoshinaka's forces. Daisuke Nishina, who subsequently changed his name to Daisuke Togakure, later became known as the first Sōke (family head) of Togakure-ryu ninjutsu.​

Ironically, Yoshitsune was later overthrown by his brother Yoritomo. After escaping capture by Yoritomo's forces, he founded the Yoshitsune-ryu of ninjutsu. The Yoshitsune-ryu later died out, along with many other famous ninjutsu ryu.​

The ninja families of Iga grew to become a great part of Japan's military history. Lending their support to Tokugawa Ieyasu, they were able to aid in the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate and were recruited to many government posts, including police, bodyguards, and intelligence agents.​

 

 

The 18 forms of Togakure Bujutsu​

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Taijutsu​

Ninja Ken​

Bajutsu​

Shurikenjutsu​

Kusarigama​

Yari​

Naginata​

Bojutsu​

Suiren​

Kayakujutsu​

Bo Ryaku​

Choho​

Shinobi-Iri​

Intonjutsu​

Hensojutsu​

Tenmon​

Chimon​

Seishin Teki Kyoyo​

 

 

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