Above books are entitled  Ninpo Kaiden Jo (Total Transmission of Ninpo First Volume) (book on the left) printing date December 30, 1977 and the other is entitled Ninpo Kaiden Ge (Total Transmission of Ninpo Second Volume) (book on the right) printing date May 10, 1978. The author is Okuse Heishichiro Ueno City. Ninpo Kaiden Jo (orange book) is about Okuse Heishichiro columns and essays. Ninpo Kaiden Ge (blue book) is about the historical facts of Ninjutsu.

Above is an article from a 1952 Japanese magazine called "Liberal" written by Fujita Seiko (August 13, 1899 - January 4, 1966). The article is entitled "I Am the Ninjutsu Trainer, I Am the Messenger of Ninjutsu."

Here is an English translation of the article.

“WATASHI WA NINJUTSU TSUKAI”

(I AM THE MESSENGER OF NINJUTSU)

14^th Successor of Kōga-ryū, Seiko Fujita

Ninjutsu Omens in Our Land

Ninjutsu has two main schools, Iga Ryū and Kōga Ryū. There are other various schools called Akutagawa, Negoro, Fūsou, Ninbikari, Kouyou, and Kishū. My house is from the Kōga-ryū. The native birth place of Kōga ryū was from the House of Isomi in the Kōga District of Shiga Prefecture. The Isomi House was the birthplace of most Ninjutsu schools and was comprised of 21 different houses. These schools were divided into four main houses, the Shōnai Sanke House (3), the Kashiwagi Sanke House (3) the Kitayama Kuie House (9) and the Nanzan Rokuie House (6). My house is the Nanzan House under the Wada Iga Lord. This Wada Iga Lord came to Edo in the 18^th year of the Tenshō Era (1591) at the same time as Tokugawa Ieyasu came to Edō Castle.

At that time Tokugawa’s Shogunal vassal was comprised of 1, 500 koku and gradually he came to rule over 3,500 koku Even today in Kanda, Tōkyō there is a town called Koga-chou. This is the same area that Kōga spies seized control in the 16^th century.

The other school, Iga Ryū, also began in the 18^th year of the Tenshō Era (1591). This is a different subject but there were three major incidents that came to Tokugawa’s attention.  At that time there was a temple called Honnōji that was famous for one of these disturbances. On June 2, 1584, Tokugawa Ieyasu was sightseeing at the border of Senshū when he heard about the disturbance at Honnō-ji and decided to return home. However, one of his followers named Nobu began staggering and was unable to return.  Tokugawa’s colleagues, Hanzō Hattori, Sannosuke Tsugi, and Beisetsu Anayama, came to his assistance and lent him the strength of 200 Iga and Kōga ninjas. They were able to make it back to Mikawa, Ise.

To reward the people of Iga and Kōga, Tokugawa summoned some of them to Edō and retained them as spies. In Yotsuya, Edō there was a town called Iga-chō. This town was split into Northern and Southern Iga-chō. The people of Iga-chō were supervised by a man named Ushizō Hattori. This is the reason why the people of Iga and Kōga lived in separate areas of Edō.

I am the 14^th successor of the Wada Iga Spirit and that’s how my house came to protect the traditions of Kōga.  Shiga Prefecture was controlled by Kōga. In essence, Iga was a part of the Koga District and complied with Kōga. The neighboring people in the Ayama and Naka Districts of Mie Prefecture further complied with Iga. This area contains the followers of the Fujita house.

The origins of Ninjutsu are extremely ancient. Looking at it from an historical perspective, we turn to Michi no Omi no Mikoto in the age of the Gods.

Iga and Kōga were surrounded by mountains in every direction. They had many natural defenses. Many military commanders desired to capture them but were unable to successfully do so.  (9)  Commanders like Nobu Odanaga were at a considerable loss when trying to figure out how to conquer them. In Iga most of the Samurai were called “Chi-samurai”, or land owners, whereas in Kōga most of them were called “Gōshi”, or country samurai. These samurai had amassed small fortresses, from 500 tsubo (1,655 square meters) to 1,000 tsubo (3,310 square meters) large.  They were watching vigilantly for a way to gain more ruling power. Therefore the people living near Iga Harbor had to be aware of spies traveling incognito and develop strategies to limit the likelihood of a surprise attacks. Those going back and forth along the road often resorted to Kamide behavior. Consequently the above mentioned Shōnai House, Kashiwagi House, Kitayama House and Nanzan House became colleagues and often provided mutual aid and assistance to each other. At the same time that they drew up this agreement with each other, they made their alliance known to the entire country.

In the Kamiyo Period at the time when Emperor Jinmu was in control, Michi no Omi no Mikoto took over his turf. After this, he took the name Otomo and joined Kōga.   In other words, we are his descendants. At the time when Prince Shōtoku subjugated the rebels he wanted to know what Hosoiri Otomo’s strategy was for gathering intelligence.  According to the record at that time he had originally used the characters from “Maniyō” to call Otomo “Shinobi” and this marks the beginning of the use of the kanji character Shinobi. Ninja became the word for Shinobi long after that.

Here are the names of ninja at the time:  Tateoka no Mimotsugu, Nomura no Ootakimagotayuu, Shindō no Kotarō, Shimotsuge no Kisaru, Ueno no Hidari, Yamada no Hachiemon, Kōbe no Kominami, Otoba no Kido, Kamiyama no Taroushirō, etc. These ninja are all men who attained great success.

By way of a memo that has been passed down we can see that each respective family system had its own precepts which were passed down orally from generation to generation. In order to ensure the future prosperity for each family, there were protocols. Those who revealed the secrets of their systems would without a doubt be assassinated. Those who fell ill agreed to burn any written evidence. Despite this, through my diligent work, I have been able to gather written evidence from 2 of the 50 schools of Ninjutsu.

For each of the respective schools to succeed, there are three conditions that have been determined. 

1.   When serving a just cause, a warrior will act only in one’s self interest. 

2.   Concentrate on things that are good for the mind. 

3.   Learn to act swiftly. 

In order to achieve these conditions, there are tests. First fill a basin with water and dip your head up to the neck in the water. Stay underwater for 15 minutes. When you bring your head up out of the water, your technique should be such that you let the water drip off of your hair in a way that if a screen door was laying on its side, the drips would fall without tearing or breaking the paper screen on the door. If the screen breaks or tears, you have failed. To pass this test successfully you will need to begin to learn how to control your breath.  

No matter how fast you run or how dangerous a situation you encounter, there is a way to make sure that you don’t lose your breath or let the expression on your face change. You should be able to control your breath well enough that a piece of paper hanging in front of your nose would not even quiver at your breath. You should be so well disciplined that at the same time you react to a dangerous encounter, you remain as calm and still as someone who has returned from the dead.

As you practice these breathing techniques, also practice the way you walk. There are separate techniques: forwards, sideways, diagonally, backwards, etc. These ways of walking come from 36 methods. There is a way to walk without letting someone hear your footsteps. Even if you jump off of something there is a way to jump without leaving footprints. There is a way to seem as if you are walking forwards when you are walking backwards and a way to walk as if you’re leaving when you are really moving forward.  At the same time, if you’re waiting alone, there is an art to imitating the footsteps of 2 or 3 people. Mastering these techniques only comes with extreme training.

There is also the art of speed walking. You should walk fast enough that you can cover 40 “ri” (157.2 km) in one day while maintaining an upright posture to the degree where if a bamboo woven hat was placed on your chest, it would not fall to the ground. There have even been instances where 70 ri (275.1 km) were covered in one day.

There is the art of jumping a distance of 50 shaku (15.15 meters). And with the broad jump you should be able to jump 3 times in succession a distance of 9 shaku (2.73 meters). To practice, take a hemp rope the length of 1 tsubo (3.31 square meters), lay it out on the ground and practice jumping over it day after day. You should repeat this practice for about three years.

There is the art of running. Take a roll of cloth the length of 1 han (10 yards) and attach one end of the cloth to your collar and the stake the other end in the ground. You should practice running the exact length of 10 yards at top speed and be able to stop without letting the cloth slip out of your collar.

You must also practice the art of jumping into water, underwater respiration and swimming without making a sound.

You must learn to control your tolerance for pain, the movement of your internal organs and the 5 states of the body. There will be times when you will have to go without eating and other times when you will need to be prepared to eat anything and everything. You may have to go without sleep. You will need to learn the art of disguise and be prepared to pose in one of seven guises as a monk, a mountain ascetic, a Zen priest, a practitioner, an acrobat, a merchant, or a commoner. The possibilities are endless, but you should be prepared to any of the seven different forms. The point is to be able to become anyone in any occupation.

You must learn to mimic sounds. You may see or hear something only once before you will need to imitate it immediately. Practice so thoroughly that no matter where you are or what situation you may find yourself in, you are ready.

You will need to practice unlocking doors with whatever tools you may find at your disposal.  

Our Ninjutsu Origins

The Kōga-ryū method has been a success for over thirteen generations thanks to the efforts of my grandfather. My father originally intended to become a researcher in the medical sciences and so he served as a doctor’s assistant at Sapporo Hospital. He received gradual promotions until he became the director of Shibetoro Hospital. He liked drinking and found that serving as head of a small country hospital did not suit him so he resigned his post and returned to Edō. He then became a prison guard on Ishikawa Island.  He served as a policeman in Asakusa at a small police station in the town of Itsuka-chō. He continued to be transferred around until he became a detective thanks to his shrewd investigative techniques. My father focused primarily on murder and theft investigations and during his tenure he aided in catching 8 condemned criminals and 25 others who were sentenced to life imprisonment. He was responsible for over 3,000 arrests during his career.

When I was six years old, I remember my older brother running an errand to the next door neighbor’s house. I saw some boys hit him with a bamboo laundry pole and remember blood streaming from his ear. This really bothered me. I grabbed the sword from our house and ran to help him. I trapped his opponents in the corner of the road and attacked them when I noticed 11 neighborhood farmers coming towards me to stop me.  Since I got in a lot of trouble for this I was sent to be in the custody of the temple. 

I stayed at the temple for a little while but there was a devil in the temple and I was really frightened. I wanted to cry out but couldn’t because I thought the devil was playing a trick on me and wouldn’t release me.

Seeing his head caught in the lattice work I could tell that he was ready to snap at me with his teeth. However, neither his eyes nor his nose were moving. I thought, “I’ll get you!” and I moved closer to touch him. All was calm. I touched his shoulder and nothing happened. It was so easy to be fascinated with him. Then I heard footsteps coming closer.  Suddenly I lost my voice and couldn’t scream out. It seemed as if I might faint. I went around behind the devil. I climbed up his back until I was sitting way up on his shoulders.  It was difficult for the priests to get me off of his shoulders and I wouldn’t come down.  Finally, at the end, I was pulled down and after that I lost all fear. Because of this incident and others when I rang the bell in the temple and smashed a taiko drum, I was thrown out of the temple. 

I wanted to return home, but the 11 men were still waiting there and I had no one to help me. At the time, there were a lot of Yamabushi monks residing in the mountains of Chichibu, so I went there. 

Ninjutsu is Practice

I studied together there with the monks and it was only afterwards that this knowledge became very useful. The monks would announce arrivals and departures by blowing on a conch shell. They would cook over coals that they lit using the reflection of rays of sunlight. On rainy days, they would start a fire by rubbing two sticks together to make a spark. They would wear one rain clog to help them gain traction on uneven ground as they climbed up the mountains. The monks would carry one live coal in their hand and blow on it to keep the embers burning. When they prepared food, they would boil it in a piece of cloth. As they were ascetic monks, it was not acceptable for them to devour these meals. Each man was allotted a fistful of raw rice. Naturally, those with large hands received a larger quantity of rice and those with small hands, a smaller amount. Those monks of smaller stature who worked hard had larger hands. This was the most natural way to assure that everyone received a just allotment of rice. They would dig up the earth, put a fistful of rice into a cloth, mix the rice with gravel and wash it in the mountain streams. Then, in the same hole that they had made, they would start a fire for cooking and steaming the rice. This fire exemplified the Buddhist symbol of indestructible truth. By following these procedures, the monks were able to meditate and practice the techniques of walking across hot coals and bathing in boiling water. Since then I have practiced these jojutsu 300 hundred times. Plunging one’s hand into boiling water or running it over the blade of a sword serves a hidden purpose. When approaching this from a scientific point of view, this may seem like nothing, but even my daughter can do this.

After several months of practicing jumping or climbing up and down trees, I returned home to discover things. I was 8 years old when I returned to Tōkyō and I was clairvoyant. At that time I was the sole surviving clairvoyant.  Clairvoyance is the art of being able to see through things. They called me a child prodigy and publicized my skills around the world. I was able to work with someone called Kiemon Tatashimaka as well as serve as a divine medium or Shafuku. According to the fortune teller Keizō, I should practice the art of “seeing” unknown objects that had been placed in boxes or the barrel of a gun. Today there are hardly any remaining Shafuku fortune tellers.  Kiemon Tatashimaka said to me, “You really should practice the art of fortune telling.” So I began studying. By reading palms and studying others’ physiques, I became interested in pursuing the study of Budō arts like Ju-justu, Kendō, Shōgi, Kusarigama, Shuriken, Jitte, etc. I am currently certified in four arts and have been permitted to study the secrets of four others. Eventually it’s possible that I will also concentrate on Kenpō. I am Nanpo Sato-Ryū.

Now I would like to talk about the 2^nd successor, Iffusai Hashimoto. Hashimoto sensei was an elderly man with a beard, tall enough at 5 shaku (151.5 cm), and thin. He could break the bamboo pipes used for flower arrangement with the tips of his flexible fingers. Even though my fingers have a diameter of 1 sun (3.03 cm) and are about 1 ishhaku (30 cm) long, if I bind all four fingers together and try to use my whole hand to break one, I still can’t.

With practice, anyone could put their hand in boiling water, or walk barefoot through fire, etc. From the start I recognized that jutsu is not a miracle. The point is practice.  It is written that when ninja use Ninjutsu they often make symbolic gestures and chant, but it is not necessary to do these things yourself.

Here is one way to clear your mind. Join your hands together with the middle finger of your right hand touching the bottom of the pinky of your left hand and try to focus on slowing the beating of your heart. Make sure your breathing is in rhythm with your spirit.

This is a symbol from long ago of the Dojutsu Shingenmippō. There is a belief that when you cross over water, you should make the gesture for crossing water. When you go through fire, you should make the symbol of the ocean. Only the shape of what we call “9 characters cut” will be left.

So far as we have heard Bisasuke Saruto is the name of a famous fictional ninja. Perhaps Mukeisai Takahashi, from Nagaoka, Echigo-han (current day Niigata Prefecture), Kurouemon Akutagawa and Kannosuke Akutagawa from Matsumoto, Shinshuu are as well. When Kurouemon Akutagawa said he would teach the way of Ninjutsu he pulled a prank by making his maid dance and then the legend of him ripping off her entire kimono underskirt began to circulate. Something similar to what happened in Matsumoto took place when Zennemon Uehara was living in Okachimachi. In Izuha there were people from Iga like Hannmabou. Kutayuu Ikeda was in Yoshida, Sansu as well as many others. Nowadays it is hard to tell the truth from fiction. It is difficult to know who the actual people were.

Even if they were fictional characters, Bisasuke Saruto,Resaizou Kirigaku and Hakuunsai Tozawa were the most famous. It was decided that Hakuunsai Tozawa founded Kōga Ryū, but at that time there was no such person in Kōga. I think this was probably Yamajoumori Yamanaka’s mistake. After that it was decided that Santayuu Momochi founded the group of ninjas in Iga Ryū. He, however, was an actual person. Even now in Ayama County, Mie Prefecture, there is a place called Tomoumura Jikuiyo Shirogatani and the remains of Santayū’s mansion, as well as his gravesite, can be found there. However, there is no evidence of Tozawa.

The character Bisasuke Saruto was born in the 6^th year of the Taisho era (1918). At that time there was a 16 year old boy who had literary talent and he was the one who made the character Bisasuke Saruto. The Tachikawa Library paid 5 yen to publish the story. That is to say that an elderly woman from the Tachikawa Library discovered that a 16 year old boy created Bisasuke Saruto’s character.

Real Ninjutsu is split into two types, Yojutsu and Injutsu. Yojutsu’s tactics involve the skill of infiltration and embedding yourself into the enemy’s camp. Injutsu’s tactics involve the art of stealth and disguise. Another name for a Yojutsu ninja is “Ichimei Younin” or one single undercover ninja. An Injutsu ninja may also be called “Younin” or undercover ninja.

Among Younin, even before they encounter a distant rival, they have a way of slipping covertly into the midst of the enemy. The art of overt confrontation and fighting rivals will require the younin to possess the means to spy. It is inevitable that they must perform as such in certain situations.

Within Injutsu there is Shukei Jutsu, Katsura Jutsu, Jyukei Jutsu, Hisanoichi Jutsu, Satori no Jutsu, Minomushi no Jutsu, Hotarubi no Jutsu, Fukurotobi Jutsu, Tentsuban no Jutsu, Ikeyumi Jutsu, Yamabiko no Jutsu, etc.

Within Jojutsu there is Ryokuhon Jutsu, Geinyuu Jutsu, Youja Jutsu, Sansa, Mizuki, Taniiri, Ryohan, etc. Within Injutsu there are also Shiroyarinin no Jutsu and Kanin no Jutsu. It is often said that there are 5 Ton no Jutsu, but this was a myth from the start.

There is a book entitled “5 Zasse” and in it written the terms “suiton” and “hiton.”  “Suiton” means concealment in water. “Hiton” is concealment in fire. In Japan there is an example of a book which took 18 years to write called “Ryuuza wa bakin no Hakken haku.” In it a man called Dosetsu Inuyama was made to dance on our behalf and this is a originally a secret within our family called “Suiton”, “Katon”, and “Mokuton.”

From this came the 5 Ton no Jutsu which originally dealt with using fire to spar with an opponent, stealing his spirit to escape, or possibly manipulating the spirit of water to escape. There are 10,000 such phenomenon within Ninjutsu.

Ninjutsu is often mistakenly classified as black magic. For example, when we think of things that give our opponents the creeps, like a snake or frog, this could also be referred to as “magic.” But the point is to use these mental tricks to our advantage.

If we have a fish hook we can unlock any kind of door even in the dark. This seems to be a special Jutsu technique, but anyone who knows the structure of locks can unlock any door. The trick of breathing underwater also seems impossible, but it isn’t if you continue to practice keeping your head underwater in a basin of water at fifteen minute intervals everyday, 365 days a year.

Furthermore, Ninjutsu has tools for underwater diving. At times you may not have these tools readily available and can instead use bamboo or cut the end of the scabbard of your sword off, blow the water out of it and breathe through. In Ninjutsu concealment in water is called “suiton.”

When we climb trees this is called “Kitsune ga kure” or “Tanuki ga kure.” We are able to climb even the largest of trees. “Ha ga kure” is concealment in tree leaves. “Shiba ga kure” is concealment in the grass. 

To strengthen your fingertips, put sand into a box about 30 centimeters large and practice plunging your hand into it. Once you’ve mastered this technique practice with small pebbles. Next use hardened clay. After this you’ll reach the point where you can plunge your fingers into the ground. 

You should practice tearing meat with your fingers and subsequently tearing off the flesh of dogs, cats, pigs, cattle, etc. Seek out a corpse and practice thrusting your fingers into the rib cage. You can utilize this skill in hand-to-hand combat and will no longer need a sword to kill someone. And because of your strong fingertips you’ll be able to climb even the highest wall.

Ninjutsu utilizes additional tools. There are 36 ways to use these tools; for climbing, for bending, there were even tools resembling today’s parachutes. There is even sleeping powder. There are 40 ways to use rice that has been left in water for a day. And in the event that there isn’t any water, you can use pancreatic juices to grind the rice and this will make a chemical that can harden armor, or a kind of stimulant that can let you go without sleep. These are made by utilizing alkaloids. 

Recently potassium cyanide has been used a lot in murder and suicides. Using plants you could easily concoct cyanide or you could create something similar to mustard gas which can kill someone as quickly as a drop of water falls. “Hitokidanjou”, or Ninjutsu scrolls, often have pictures of a ninja holding their tied fingers in their mouth with white smoke coming out. There are seven ways to make this white or black smoke come out in the shape of the pole that holds the scrolls. 

I currently possess over 1,000 of these scrolls which illustrate the different Ryu or methods; 1140 for Kenjutsu (fencing), 442 for Juujutsu, 273 for Iai (drawing one’s sword to kill and sheathing it), 262 for Soujutsu (spearmanship). All together I found 3830 different examples. Eventually I would like to put together a technical manual describing 1452 of these methods. I even have things from Musashi Miyamoto from Kamizumisenogami during the Tenshou Era (1573.7.28-1592.12.8).

From the time I was seven I practiced Budo and dance until I reached the state of Natori. I did carving. I practiced Karate, Shuriken, Kenjutsu, and Hakuheisen (hand-to-hand combat). At any rate, you must practice all forms of Ninjutsu. Even painting, drawing comics, and sketching figures of dissections you made in secondary school are important. 

It’s extremely important to participate in autopsies. When you read about murders covered in newspaper articles you need to instantly be able to imagine the state of the corpses before you even hear the whole story. Another one of the “masks” I wore was when I served as an assistant during these autopsies and I was able to gain frequent access to corpses because of my courage.

Scientifically speaking it is not surprising that it is possible to lie down on the ground with a plank across your chest and let a car drive over you. I have analyzed the percentages.

Character is something that is extremely important. When I was young I often set off fireworks and usually when I lit one I ran away quickly. This really interfered with me keeping my nerve, so I forced my friends to let the fireworks go off in their hands. This scared us, but as we gradually grew accustomed to it. I took delight in putting the fireworks between my teeth and setting them off. Even though my teeth got worse as a result of these pranks, I can still hang from the ceiling by my teeth for around 30 minutes.  Human beings have enough strength to hang from the ceiling by their teeth.

With your eyes shut you can support a third of your own body weight by holding yourself up with your eyelids. Another trick I’ve tried is to put a button under my eyelids that has a string attached to it and is tied to a barrel of soy sauce. Then I pull the barrel from town to town to town with my eye.

By sticking your elbows out you can endure the pressure of 7 times the weight of your own body to the point where it is even possible to resist the force of two cars driving against you on either side. Someone who weighs around 56.25 kilograms lying on his back could hold the weight of 2,250 kilograms, 40 times his own body weight! If you weigh 67.5 kilograms you could resist 3,000 kilograms, if you weighed 75 kilograms, you could hold 3,750 kilograms! Depending on the speed with which they drive over you it can be quite different. I can hold the weight of a truck crossing over me with 10 people riding in the back.  I think it the muscles in the abdomen or stomach act as a shield. With practice you’ll even be able to move freely.

I usually only eat 2 small meals a day, but when I eat a lot I can eat 8 bowls of rice with fish on top and 25 plates of soba noodles in one sitting. I’m even able to drink poisons like sulfuric acid until it’s churning around in my stomach and I can throw it up so that I’m able to continue to drink more and more. Now I’m older and can’t drink as much, but the most I ever remember drinking was approximately 10 liters of sake in three hours.

The gyakute (backhand grip) move in Judo doesn’t hurt me at all. This is because I can twist my wrists one full rotation. I am double jointed and can freely move all of my joints. I can pound on a post with my fists until it caves in an inch. I have no trouble smashing 10 tiles in half using Karate. My successor from the fourth generation of Nanban Satouryu, Manzou Iwata, can calmly smash 20 tiles at once. Ascetics on the peak of Mt. Fuji practice plunging their hands into boiling water. Of course they use iron kettles. They believe in the power of Jinzuu, but because of their study they realize that this ability to endure hot water is not a miracle especially since they are often scalded. On level ground water boils at 120 degrees, but because of the lower atmospheric pressure at the peak of Mt. Fuji, water boils at 75 degrees.

Salt has the strength to absorb high temperatures and protect your teeth. Besides this is how we have the label “Okiyome” (the left behind wife), because of the how salt is used.

So they were under the impression that by summoning the spirit of Jinzuu on level ground they would be able to break 10 burnt bottles over their heads without it hurting very much. Depending on the angle, the fragments made quite a show when they scattered. They would also bring a lot of fragments, pile them up about 6 shaku (1.82 meters) high, jump in and roll around in the broken glass. Even so, not a drop of blood was spilled. There is one scientific explanation for this. The technique relies on proper weight dispersal. For example, if you take a brick and set it on top of a match box and strike the brick once and break it with your hand, depending on your skill level, it’s possible that the match box will be left untouched. Those who are naïve think that the only way to do something like this is with the power of Jinzuu, but with training anyone can get to the point where they can really do this.

For example, according to someone during a recent war, God supposedly delivered the revelation that during the New Year there would be unrest in the hearts of the enemy. So they strategized that the best way to know the enemy is to find out through palm reading and appearance. Even the most hearty or stubborn person will soon become faint of heart if they see someone killed by a sword. And even when they’ve had time to recover or before any signs of this are evident, fear will take hold of their heart. Goemon Ishikawa said that the Shitate (inferior) position is the way of Ninjutsu. This is where a ninja creeps into position using the opponent’s way. According to records, for ninjas this is the worst rule that has ever been established. What’s more important is training and cultivation.  The purpose of ninjas is to always raise their level higher. Long ago ninjas strived to reach their goals no matter what and were persistent until they accomplished them. This was the law. They could not be forgiven if they went home before they finished and trained to an extreme degree. This is why ninjas did not believe in miracles. With training comes tenacity.

There’s one other interesting fact. This is the first time I’ve ever shared this, but long ago, it was said ninja used to creep into the bedroom of the feudal lord, steal his pillow and run away with it. This is magic. If a ninja could’ve crept close enough to take the pillow, he would have slit the neck of the feudal lord instead. There’s no one foolish enough to run away with the pillow. In order to control the opponent’s mind, a close relative of the enemy would bribe someone to buy the feudal lord’s pillow. And then somewhere in the garden, they would throw the pillow down and while they were calling on him, would threaten his life. It was really a war of nerves. If the close relative ever was found out they would certainly be killed. No one was stupid enough to do this. However, there was no one who would be this disloyal to my own feudal lord. These are the secrets of Ninjutsu that needed to be told from the book I wrote a long time ago entitled “Ninjutsu Hiroku” (Ninjutsu Secrets).  Currently there are novels that deal with Ninjutsu and the authors follow the golden rule of Ninjutsu; things which appear to have vanished, have not vanished.

There are so many methods. In my house when the children were very young all of the doors were locked so we couldn’t play in the house. So we entered the house through the really narrow trash chute in the bathroom wall. After this, much like a spider, we would enter from narrow holes that couldn’t be seen in the kitchen walls. I even entered through the doggy door. I could open the padlocks on the dressers in my wife’s younger sister’s house with one pin even if I had the key.

Long ago Ninjutsu skills were not misused by ninja. For example, the record of Goemon Ishikawa being a thief is inaccurate. It seems that he was killed by Hideyoshi Toyotomi. The tradition of peace was passed down but it was like a jack-in-the-box that springs out and wakes you up. Goemon Ishikawa was not a skilled ninja.  He did not use cotton shoes when he walked down corridors. He did not know the sounds of a sleeper’s breathing.

There is a uniform costume for ninjas. There are six ways of using tea ink to make navy blue or light blue colored costumes. There are reversible haori coats and kimono too. There is cloth made from hair. There are easy ways to slip in and out of haori coats and kimono. 

You have to prepare for the unlucky chance of getting caught. Masanari Katsuragi came up with something called “Tekiya.” He managed the income for 48 ninjas, 16 of which were living in foreign countries. He was a samurai who usually guarded the north gate of Anzaijo. This was the best place to get information from all of the people who gathered there at the Shinto Shrine. Many pious men and women would leave incense as an offering. 

At the same time there were arrows, something similar to today’s bullets. He could order as many as he needed. He could also learn a lot about foreign armaments and military preparations. There were spies there called “Yashi.” They were like what used to be called “Gagushi.” After that he became like one of today’s spies.

Once the Edo Period began there was something called the 13 secrets; at the barber, the restaurant, the public bathhouse, the inn, the casino, etc. And these spread out to Kanto, Kansai and various other places. This is where you acquired the names of comrades.  This was also the origin of morality and justice. In the gambling world, there was gambling justice, and at the barber, there was the barber’s idea of justice. This way of thinking is still influential today. 

PICTURE CAPTIONS

(page 73)

1.   Breathing underwater through cut off bamboo.

2.   Long ago it is said that ninja would walk 18 (70.74 km) ri per day.

 (page 74)

3.   Typical Ninja Costume

 (page 75)

4.   Breaking a board with sand thrown from the hand.

 (page 76)

5.   Stopping two trucks with both elbows.

6.   Letting a truck run over someone.

Above book is entitled Ninjutsu Hiroku (Ninjutsu in Depth) by Fujita Seiko. The printing date is August 18, 1936.

Above book is entitled Ninjutsu kara Supai Sen e (From Ninjutsu to Spy Warfare) by Fujita Seiko. The printing date is 1942.

Above book is entitled Doronron Saigo-no ninja (Doronron - The Last Ninja), by Fujita Seiko printing date January 20, 1959. Original first edition was printed on October 20, 1958.

Above book is entitled Hiden Ninja no Hon (Book of the Ninja's Secret), written by Akira Nakao supervised by Fujita Seiko printing date March 1, 1963.

Above book is entitled Koga Ryu Ninja Ichidaiki (Biography of the Koga Ryu Ninja) by Fujita Seiko. This is the first printing from January 20, 1968.

Above book set is entitled Chosakushu by Fujita Seiko. This is a four volume set. The four titles are listed below.

Shurikenjutsu Zukai (Illustrated Shuriken Techniques) printing date September 19, 1986.

Hojojutsu Zukai (Illustrated Rope Tying Techniques) printing date September 19, 1986.

Kenpo Gokui Atemi Sakkatsuho Zukai (Illustrated Secret Kenpo Killing Strikes) printing date September 19, 1986.

Shinto Muso Ryu Jojutsu Zukai (Illustrated Shinto Muso-ryu Jojutsu) printing date September 19, 1986.

Above book is entitled Ninpo Seikatsu (A Ninpo Life) by Masayuki Yamaguchi (1901-1964). This is the original first edition, first printing from February 1963.

The above book is divided into 10 sections.

1. Ninjutsu and its History
2. Rise and Decline of Ninjutsu
3. Ninjutsu and Science
4. Ninjutsu and Literature
5. Ninjutsu and Morality
6. Ninpo
7. Ninjutsu and Jujutsu
8. Story of Shinobi
9. Acquaintances of the Ninja
10. Documents of Ninjutsu

Above book is entitled Ninpo Seikatsu (A Ninpo Life) by Masayuki Yamaguchi. The printing date is 1965. The original first edition was printed on February 1963, see above. The above book was previously owned by Donn Draeger.

Above book is entitled Ninpo Seikatsu (A Ninpo Life) by Masayuki Yamaguchi. The printing date is 1991.

Above book is entitled Shuriken by Kanji Naruse (November 10, 1988 - September 30, 1948). The printing date is April 15, 1943.

The above book is entitled Koga-Yashiki to Mochiduki ke Ichizoku by Motosada Mochiduki the printing date is 1959.

The above book is entitled Okuyama Ryuho Tabi Nikki (The Journey Diary by Okuyama Ryuho) by Ryuho Okuyama and a first edition printed on March 21, 1958.

The above book is entitled Okuyama Ryuho Tabi Nikki (The Journey Diary by Okuyama Ryuho) by Ryuho Okuyama and printed on January 1, 1981. The first edition was printed on March 21, 1958, see above book.

Above book is entitled Toritejutsu Kaisetsu (Exposition of Arresting Arts) by Shajiro Horita. The printing date is August 1, 1932.

Above book is entitled Ninjutsu-no Gokui by Gingetsu Ito. The printing date is May 15, 1918, 5th edition. The first edition was printed on May 20, 1917.

Above book is entitled Ninjutsu Gokui Hidensho (The Present Day Ninja)  by Gingetsu Ito. The printing date is May 5, 1937.

Above book is entitled Nihon Budo Zenshu Volume 1 by Yoshio Imamura, Kiyonobu Ogasawara and Yuzo Kishino.

Above book is entitled Nihon Budo Zenshu Volume 2 by Yoshio Imamura, Kiyonobu Ogasawara and Yuzo Kishino.

Above book is entitled Nihon Budo Zenshu Volume 4 covering Kajutsu, Hojutsu, Suijutsu and Ninjutsu  by Yoshio Imamura, Kiyonobu Ogasawara and Yuzo Kishino. The printing date is September 30, 1966.

Above book is entitled Nihon Budo Zenshu Volume 5 covering Jujitsu, Karate, Kempo and Aikido by Yoshio Imamura, Kiyonobu Ogasawara and Yuzo Kishino. The printing date is November 30, 1966.

Above book is entitled Nihon Budo Zenshu Volume 6 covering Yari, Naginata, Bo and Shuriken by Yoshio Imamura, Kiyonobu Ogasawara and Yuzo Kishino. The printing date is January 30, 1967.

Above book is entitled Togakure Ninpo-ryu (Living Wisdom - Ways of looking at things and thinking about things) by Masaaki Hatsumi. This is a first printing date from 1975.

Above book is entitled Sengoku Ninpo Zukan by Masaaki Hatsumi. The printing date is April 1978.

Above book is entitled Togakure Ryu Ninpo Taijutsu by Masaaki Hatsumi. This is a first edition, first printing dated April 25, 1983.