戸隠流
A historical tradition of Ninjutsu known as the “School of the Hidden Door”, Togakure Ryū is said to have originated in the Mie Prefecture with its creator, Daisuke Nishina. This claim states that i t was started in 1162, as a way of unconventional fighting in the war between the Genji and Heike (Taira) clans. 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 against the Genji people. The revolt, however, was crushed and Nishina fled his home village of Togakure in Shinano Province to save his children.
the 34th successor of the Togakure Ryū, Hatsumi Masaaki, indicates that Nishina then changed his name to ‘Togakure’ to reflect where he had come from and settled down in the forests on the Kii Peninsula in the Iga Province. This account indicates 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 put aside his ‘samurai code’. Hatsumi Sensei has written that Togakure’s first successor was his son, Rokosuke who trained a student named Shima, who would become the third master of the style after Rokosuke.
While much of the historical evidence for it’s pedigree lacks documentation (which is understandable given the nature of it’s existence), it is said that Togakure Ryū has been passed down through the years until it was given mastership to Shinryuken Toda, the 32nd Sōke of Togakure Ryū. Shinryuken began teaching Ninjutsu to his five year old his grandson, Toshitsugu Takamatsu in 1893. When he turned 19, Takamatsu was announced as the next successor of the Togakure Ryū Ninjutsu, becoming the 33rd Sōke. Following this pronouncement, Takamatsu spent a year meditating in the “mountains between Kyoto and Nara”. Upon his return, he set out to China where he was employed in the courts of nobles as an adviser. Takamatsu became infamous throughout the region of China he lived in by the age of 25. When he turned 28, he was elected as the “Head of Japanese martial arts in China.”
Passing on the title of Sōke to his student 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.
The Togakure Ryū Ninjutsu Hidensho is a Japanese manuscript written by Takamatsu that documents all aspects of Togakure Ryū as taught to him. The document is purported to contain the origin of the “18 skills of Ninjutsu” and is currently in the possession of Hatsumi Sensei in Noda-shi, Japan.
Employing highly unconventional techniques of escape, evasion and intelligence gathering, the training methodologies of the Togakure Ryū are rigorous and very often misunderstood. Throughout the study of the techniques recorded in the manuscripts of Togakure Ryū, the student will discover that there are very few techniques that involve engaging an opponent with the goal of defeat. Rather, almost all techniques are based on quickly attacking and escaping. Following are the individual areas of training within the Togakure Ryū:
Description of Technique
Ninpo Taijutsu, 忍法体術
These are the techniques of fighting used in the Togakure Ryū. Combined of both Gyokko Ryu Kosshijutsu and Koto Ryū Koppojutsu, the Togakure Ryū is broken into several areas of study including:
Taijutsu Ukemi Gata, 体術受身型
Shinobi Gaeshi Gata, 忍返型
Santo Tonkō no Kata, 鼠逃遁甲の型
Important consideration must be taken by the practitioner of the above syllabus that the use of shuko, metsubushi and senban (shuriken) is important to understand the nature of this movement. Shuko are iron plates that wrap around the hand with spikes extending from the palm. Metsubushi are small eggs that were carried in the pockets of the Iga Ninja. Filled with powders, these eggs are cracked open in the hands and thrown into the faces of an enemy combatant. Senban are four sided metal plates that are roughly palm sized. They too were hidden in a cluster of nine, and were quickly thrown at an enemy combatant under a number of varying circumstances.
Bikenjutsu, 秘剣術
These are the sword fencing techniques of the Togakure Ryū that are fundamentally used for engagement simulation with an opponent or group of opponent’s wielding conventional length swords. The ninja-to is an unorthodox sword that is quite unique in many ways. It’s blade measured around one foot, six-eight inches in length so it could be used easily in narrow places. Conventional swords of the time measured roughly two foot, three-six inches in length. Fixtures of the sword such as the tsuba, saya and sageo have qualities that are different as well. Training Togakure Ryū Bikenjutsu involves a strong understanding of space and timing of course, while emphasis on leg strength and agility is demanded. One simply cannot begin to understand this type of unique sword technique while ignoring pursuit of of greater thresholds of personal strength and speed.
Tonko no Jutsu, 遁行の術
‘Tonko’ means to escape from one’s enemy or to conceal oneself using the techniques of our art. It is taught to us that Unsui Sensei believes that Tonko no Jutsu was often used as a defense against sudden attacks, fulfilling the adage that the best defense is a good offense. Tonko no Jutsu comes from, the fourth Soke, Kuhara Kotaro Nobuyoshi, who created the twelve techniuqes of Santo Tonko no Jutsu for beginning students. In order to understand the Togakure Ryū, one must study the techniques of Tonko no Jutsu, not just the taijutsu.
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