Togakure-ryū ( 戸隠流 ) is a historical tradition of ninjutsu known as the "School of the Hidden Door", allegedly founded during the Oho period (1161–1162) by Daisuke Nishina ( 仁科大助 ) ( a.k.a. Daisuke Togakure ( 戸隠大助 ) ), who learned his original fighting techniques from a Chinese monk named Kain Dōshi. However, the history and early lineage of Togakure-ryū may be impossible to verify due to the antiquity of the time period and its claimed historicity has been disputed by Watatani Kiyoshi, writer for the Bugei Ryūha Daijiten . After Togakure, the title of Sōke (head of school) was recorded by Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu to have been passed down through other practitioners that kept the style secret from the outside world.
30-515: Toshitsugu Takamatsu is the recorded 33rd Sōke of this school. According to Bujinkan sources he became well known throughout China and Japan for his martial arts prowess and his knowledge from studying ninjutsu that he then imparted on various Chinese nobles. Takamatsu passed the title of Sōke to Masaaki Hatsumi , the recorded 34th Sōke; it was Hatsumi who largely brought the style to public attention, and subsequently resulted in wide-scale media and public attention given to ninja and ninjutsu in
60-487: A deshi (English: apprentice ) called Shima, who would become the third master of the style after Rokosuke. According to Hatsumi, since historical times, the Togakure-ryū style was passed down through the years until mastership was granted to Shinryuken Toda, the 32nd Sōke of Togakure-ryū. He began teaching the style to his grandson, Toshitsugu Takamatsu, since Takamatsu was five in 1893. When he turned 19, Takamatsu
90-457: A series of incidents that occurred throughout China, Takamatsu became infamous throughout the region by the age of 25. When he turned 28, he was elected as the "Head of Japanese martial arts in China". Bujinkan sources indicate that Takamatsu became known throughout China and Japan for his martial-arts abilities and from his ninjutsu knowledge that he imparted to various Chinese nobles. Passing on
120-418: A tree or over a wall, or tie up an opponent". There are 18 training areas that modern Togakure-ryū focuses on. The areas are constantly updated to remain relevant to modern threats that practitioners will need to face. The Togakure ryu Ninjutsu Hidensho is a Japanese manuscript written by Takamatsu, in the possession of Masaaki Hatsumi, that documents modern Togakure-ryū. The document is purported to contain
150-557: Is an international martial arts organization representing several modern styles of ninjutsu , the historical lineage of these styles is disputed. Some schools claim to be the only legitimate heir of the art, but ninjutsu is not centralized like modernized martial arts such as judo or karate . Togakure-ryū claims to be the oldest recorded form of ninjutsu and to have survived past the 16th century. Spying in Japan dates as far back as Prince Shōtoku (572–622). According to Shōninki ,
180-634: Is attributed as a martial arts master by members of the Bujinkan organization. Hatsumi reports that Takamatsu traveled through Mongolia to China at the age of 21, teaching martial arts and fighting a number of life or death battles. He was married to Uno Tane. They adopted a girl named Yoshiko. His father (Takamatsu Gishin Yasaburo) owned a match-factory and received Dai-Ajari (Master) title in Kumano Shugendo (a type of Shingon Buddhism ). His dojo
210-462: Is largely because, unlike these other styles, Togakure-ryū does not have a "tightly regimated [sic] organizational structure." The Bujinkan teaches that while Togakure-ryū contains some "historical kata ", which are similar to the training in judo and aikido in that they require an opponent to attack and initiate the movements. Much of the "formality" that other styles contain is not present in modern Togakure-ryū. Stephen K. Hayes explained that it
240-456: Is likely this "freer, more flexible structure" that makes it different, as the style has an atmosphere where "questions are encouraged, but there isn't one part answer for every question." Modern Togakure-ryū resembles other martial-arts in the "footwork and dynamics" that all styles utilize because of the nature of human movement. Hayes stated that a main goal of the style is shin shin shin gan (English: god's eyes, god's mind ), which refers to
270-616: The Bugei Ryūha Daijiten : Toshitsugu Takamatsu Toshitsugu Takamatsu ( 高松 寿嗣 , Takamatsu Toshitsugu , 10 March 1889 – 2 April 1972) was a Japanese martial artist and teacher of Bujinkan founder Masaaki Hatsumi . He has been called "The Last Shinobi" by Bujinkan instructor Wolfgang Ettig. Toshitsugu (Chosui) Takamatsu was born on 10 March 1889 (the 23rd year of Meiji) in Akashi , Hyōgo Prefecture . Also known as Mōko no Tora (蒙古の虎 Mongolian Tiger ), he
300-527: The shugo governors of their lands, in which the local samurai of both regions operated as de facto independent confederacies – the Kōka and Iga ikki – and formed an alliance together which persisted until the conquest of Kōka by Oda Nobunaga in 1574 and the conquest of Iga in 1581. Throughout history, the shinobi were assassins , scouts, and spies who were hired mostly by territorial lords known as daimyō . Despite being able to assassinate in stealth,
330-499: The "development of a broad vision or knowledge" to anticipate the moves that an opponent will make and to also be able to sense danger. The Bujinkan organization teaches that the original Togakure-ryū utilized many special weapons. One was the shuko , which is a "spiked iron band worn around the hand". It enabled the wearer to use it as a defense against sword attacks and also to reach higher terrain, as it could be used to climb trees or walls, especially when worn with similar devices for
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#1732791427567360-473: The Bujinkan organization, the lineage in the line of Sōke (grand masters) of Togakure-ryū, beginning with Daisuke Togakure, is as follows: As a ninjutsu tradition influenced by the samurai martial arts of the Sengoku period, the style of Togakure-ryū consists of a small number of physical escape and evasion techniques, called ninpo taijutsu , and a series of sword attack patterns, or biken kata . However,
390-641: The Iga-ryū Ninja Museum, a commercial enterprise and tourist attraction. According to martial arts author Donn Draeger "The late Fujita Seiko was the last of the living ninja, having served in assignments for the Imperial Government during the Taisho and Showa eras. Modern authorities such as T. Hatsumi are responsible for most research being done on ninjutsu." Ninjutsu Ninjutsu ( 忍術 ) , sometimes used interchangeably with
420-553: The Western world. Hatsumi recently passed on the school to Takumi Tsutsui. The style of Togakure-ryū has been described by its practitioners as having less-restrictive training regimens, which encourage individual personal training. One of the main goals of the training is to develop shin shin shingan (English: god's eyes or god's mind ) so that they can learn to properly know their opponents and defend themselves. The Bugei Ryūha Daijiten has claimed that embellishments were made to
450-401: The feet called ashiko . Additionally, the tetsubishi (a type of caltrop ) was a "small spiked weapon used to slow pursuers or protect doorways". The third was the kyoketsu-shoge , a blade from a double-bladed spear that was tied to a length of rope with an iron ring at the other end for the wielder to hold. In addition to use as a weapon, it could be used to "wedge open a door, climb into
480-690: The first open usage of ninjutsu during a military campaign was in the Genpei War , when Minamoto no Kuro Yoshitsune chose warriors to serve as shinobi (ninja) during a battle. This manuscript goes on to say that during the Kenmu era, Kusunoki Masashige frequently used ninjutsu . According to footnotes in this manuscript, the Genpei War lasted from 1180 to 1185, and the Kenmu Restoration occurred between 1333 and 1336. Ninjutsu proper
510-573: The forests on the Kii Peninsula in the Iga Province . This account claims that it was there that Nishina met Kain Dōshi, a warrior-monk who had been politically exiled from China. From Kain, Togakure learned the fighting styles of China and Tibet and put aside his samurai code ( bushidō ). Hatsumi has stated that Togakure's first successor was his son, Rokosuke, and that Togakure also trained
540-476: The genealogy are also made older than they actually are. Thus the genealogy can be considered to be something that [Takamatsu's teacher Toda] Shinryūken newly arranged around the end of the Tokugawa shōgunate." The Iga-ryū Ninja Museum lists Jinichi Kawakami as the only legitimate inheritor of authentic ninjutsu although this is likely to be a biased opinion as Jinichi Kawakami is also the honorary director of
570-628: The history of the Togakure-ryu, changing the age of things to make the school appear older than it is. This was not uncommon in many Japanese lineages. According to Bujinkan researcher Glenn Morris, Togakure-ryu originated in the Mie Prefecture with its creator, Daisuke Nishina. Morris explains that it was started in 1162, as a way of fighting in the war between the Genji and Heike (Taira) clans. The style itself would go on to be known as
600-424: The majority of the art involves techniques of geography, meteorology, swimming, signaling, potion-making, fire-starting, concentration, disguise, impersonation, and other forms of knowledge suited for the unique information-gathering and infiltration roles of ninja. Togakure-ryū's ninpo taijutsu is described as being "fundamentally different" from other styles of Japanese martial arts that are currently taught. This
630-455: The modern term ninpō ( 忍法 ) , is the martial art strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare , guerrilla warfare , insurgency tactics and espionage purportedly practised by the ninja . Ninjutsu was a separate discipline in some traditional Japanese schools , which integrated study of more conventional martial arts ( taijutsu ) along with shurikenjutsu , kenjutsu , sōjutsu , bōjutsu and others. While there
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#1732791427567660-638: The origin of ninjutsu and its various fighting styles. Nishina was a samurai and a member of the Genji clan, which had been staging a revolt against the Heike clan because of their oppression of the Genji people. The revolt, however, was crushed and Nishina fled his home village of Togakure in Shinano Province to save his children. Hatsumi Masaaki indicates that Nishina then changed his name to Togakure to reflect where he had come from and settled in
690-549: The origin of the "18 Skills of Ninjutsu". Modern Togakure-ryu is taught in the syllabi of the Bujinkan , Genbukan , Jinenkan, Gi Yu Kyo Kai, and To-Shin Do . The training areas include: Modern Togakure-ryu and various historical claims are taught by Masaaki Hatsumi (Takamatsu's successor) and the Bujinkan organization. Criticism regarding the historical accuracy of the Bujinkan's claims of lineage have arisen from several issues of
720-456: The primary role was as spies and scouts. Shinobi are mainly noted for their use of stealth and deception. They would use this to avoid direct confrontation if possible, which enabled them to escape large groups of opposition. Many different schools ( ryū ) have taught their unique versions of ninjutsu . An example of this is the Togakure-ryū, which claims to have been developed after a defeated samurai warrior called Daisuke Togakure escaped to
750-748: The region of Iga. He later came in contact with the warrior-monk Kain Doshi, who taught him a new way of viewing life and the means of survival ( ninjutsu ). Ninjutsu was developed as a collection of fundamental survivalist techniques in the warring state of feudal Japan . The ninja used their art to ensure their survival in a time of violent political turmoil. Ninjutsu included methods of gathering information and techniques of non-detection, avoidance, and misdirection. Ninjutsu involved training in disguise, escape , concealment, archery, and medicine. Skills relating to espionage and assassination were highly useful to warring factions in feudal Japan. At some point,
780-533: The skills of espionage became known collectively as shinobi no jutsu , and the people who specialized in these tasks were called shinobi no mono . Today, the last authentic heir of ninjutsu is Jinichi Kawakami , the 21st head of the Koga Ban family, honorary director of the Ninja Museum of Igaryu , and professor at Mie University , specializing in the research of ninjutsu. In 2012, Kawakami chose to be
810-654: The title of Sōke to Masaaki Hatsumi (the stated 34th Sōke) it was Hatsumi who took the style public, which has resulted in the high amount of media and public attention on ninjas in the Western world. Masaaki also went on to found the Bujinkan , an international martial arts organization, in Noda, Chiba . The group combines modern Togakure-ryū and the eight other martial-arts styles. As of 1986, there were 20 dojos for Togakure-ryū in Japan that housed 100 instructors and around 100,000 students. There were also around 50 international dojos teaching Togakure-ryū outside Japan. As stated by
840-422: Was announced as the next successor of the Togakure-ryū style, becoming the 33rd Sōke. After this pronouncement, Takamatsu decided to spend a year meditating in the "mountains between Kyoto and Nara". Upon his return, he set out again, this time to China where he spent time in the courts of nobles as an important adviser because of his extensive knowledge from his ninja training. It is stated by Hatsumi that because of
870-828: Was most likely developed during the Nanboku-cho period , used by samurai fighting on both sides of the conflict, and was further refined after the Onin War and throughout the Sengoku period , where many rising samurai warlords used ninja to gather intelligence and commit secret raids on their enemies. In the chaos following the Onin War, jizamurai from the Kōka and the Iga Province began to engage in guerilla warfare in order to protect their lands from bandits, rogue yamabushi , and larger samurai forces. The jizamurai that lived in Kōka and Iga were self-sufficient and did not answer to
900-715: Was named "Sakushin" (Cultivating Spirit). His house was in front of Kashihara Shrine in Kashihara, Nara . Takamatsu died on 2 April 1972 of illness. His inheritor was Masaaki Hatsumi who founded the Bujinkan system and its art of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. Takamatsu's claim to lineage in ninjutsu has been disputed by a few individuals. The 1963 version of the Bugei Ryūha Daijiten indicates of Takamatsu's Togakure-ryu : "this genealogy refers to various written records and oral transmissions and there are many points/places where embellishments have been added and people appearing in
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