In Search of the Niinja (7 page)

It continues with:

How to Know if there is an Ambush Ahead:

To Know if there is an ambush in a forest, send a shinobi
from the leeward side so that they can smell Hinawa [musket] fuses and so that they can listen for sounds on the wind.

This manual also discusses the shinobi
adopting the painted lantern crests of the enemy, so that the ninja can infiltrate the enemy ranks at night, a skill which is known in the
Bansenshukai
as
Bakemonojutsu
or the skill of transmutation (literally ‘Ghost Skill’).

The
Edo
or Peace period – the manuals and records from which will be explored in depth as this volume progresses – is the period of the ninja manual ‘boom’. Basically, the Edo period starts with accurate accounts of the ninja, but then they start to deteriorate in quality and in some cases build the foundations for future ninja misinformation.

Whilst Shinobi as a word can be taken back to the
Taiheiki
war chronicle, what is
not
recorded that can also help to find the ninja. When diving deeper into the tomes of ninjutsu, certain figures crop up time and time again: Yoshitune, Masashige, Shingen and others are names that ring out in ninja and samurai history. However, the tactics of all of these famous warriors were written down after their time, including references to their ninja and shinobi usage. Therefore, whilst these works were not recorded by their own hand or by their contemporaries, we know the ninja existed and we know that they conducted asymmetrical warfare. We can consider the tactics of these famous samurai and investigate what the ninja themselves thought of these patriarchs of ninjutsu.

Yoshitsune was a twelfth-century figure who fought in the wars of the early Kamakura period. He is a well known figure in Japanese history and also a character in the Japanese epic poem
The Tale of the Heiki
. Fighting alongside him was Ise no Saburo Yoshimori,
who was the supposed author of the
100 Ninja Poems
.
22
These two figures, closely acociated with the origins of ninjutsu, are shadowy figures, as no contemporary literature exists to confirm or deny their involvement in the development of the shinobi ways. However, 500 years after they were active, both the
Shoninki
and the
Bansenshukai
ninja manuals class them as the forerunners of the ninja, and in fact go so far as to imply that ninjutsu was already developed and that they utilised its strategies.

The
Shoninki
states: ‘[The shinobi’s] existence was highlighted at … the Genpei War, when Minamoto no Kuro Yoshitsune picked up and utilised brave men like Ise no Saburo Yoshimori.’

The
Bansenshukai
goes on to state that both of these characters indeed used ninjutsu, and further, the
Bansenshukai
lists the forms of fire tools and torches attributed to
Yoshitsune
and quotes from the
100 Ninja Poems
of Yoshimori.

It will never be known just how much these two figures contributed to the origins of
shinobi no jutsu
, but what is certain is that the ninja themselves considered both figures to be active commanders of shinobi.

Masashige is a figure whose deeds are recorded, but whose tactical abilities are mythical. He is described as a general who utilised ninjutsu extensively, however, sorting fact from fiction is very difficult. Contemporary records are scarce and the annals are filled with manuals and lineages of the
Kusunoki-ryu
school that arrive well after his time, showing his continuing popularity. One thing is sure, he is considered as a major figure in the world of the ninja, and by the ninja themselves. The
Shoninki
states: ‘In the Kemmu period [of 1334–1336], Kusunoki Masashige used shinobi several times.’ The
Bansenshukai
states:

It is also said that those generals who fully exploited ninjutsu were Ise no Saburo Yoshimori, Kusunoki Masashige and his son,
23
Takeda Shingen, Mori Motonari, Echigo Kenshin, and Lord Oda Nobunaga. Of them Yoshimori made 100 poems about the shinobi and they have been passed down to this day.

Before Kusunoki Masashige was turned into a hero of the post-Meiji Restoration and for the purpose of the Second World War a propaganda tool, he was a much beloved and respected hero of the shinobi and is recorded in various manuals as one of the greatest utilisers of ninjutsu. Shinobi traditions (including the
Bansenshukai
) have considered Kusunoki Masashige and the Kusunoki family to be some of the most important figures in the development of ninjutsu
.
Masashige is thought to have engaged in both conventional and unconventional warfare, including the use of shinobi.

According to the
Bansenshukai
,
Kusunoki Masashige called his shinobi ‘
Yutei
’ and ‘
Yushi
’, terms that originated in China, as will be discussed later. The
Bansenshukai
clearly sees him in a positive light and explains the methodology of his ninjutsu:

In Kusunoki Masashige’s ninjutsu, there was a skill where he divided 48 ninja into three and always had one of the groups of sixteen people staying in Kyoto. They observed the situation by utilising various plots and kept Kusunoki informed. This is exactly what the word
Yutei
means.

Contrary to popular belief, Kusunoki Masashige did not live during the Nanbokucho period, as he died in 1336, just as the Nanbokucho wars were beginning. Therefore, the ninjutsu he employed was utilised in the Kemmu Restoration of 1333 to 1336, when the Imperial Court defeated the Hojo Clan. The Kusunoki family member who used ninjutsu during the Nanbokucho period was Masashige’s son, Masanori (who presumably gained his knowledge of the use of shinobi from his father). It would be the ninjutsu of Kusunoki Masanori that would spread from Kawachi to the rest of Japan, being known loosely as ‘
Kusunoki-ryu
’ or systems based on Kusunoki family techniques.
24
This
Kusunoki-ryu
is referred to in numerous ninjutsu manuals and scrolls.

In short, the ninjutsu of Kusunoki Masashige is a specific form of scouting and spying. As previously stated and according to the
Bansenshukai
, he used the word ‘
Yushi
’ for his shinobi, a Chinese-derived word which translates as ‘playing warriors’,
25
revealing that he conceived of them as scouts who interfered in other’s plans. However, rather than the generic ‘Monomi scout’, who ventured to the edge of the enemy position to gain information, Kusunoki’s
Yushi
were deployed into the territory of the enemy to gather information by blending with the population (the ninja skill of
Yo-nin
) and also, to creep around undetected
26
(the ninja skill of
In-nin
). The Kusunoki Clan serves as an excellent historical focus for understanding the inseparability of ninjutsu and politics and the transmission of Chinese
Yushi
skills to Japan and their evolution into Japanese shinobi. Regardless of political position, clan loyalty and even origin, all shinobi seem to conceive of Kusunoki Masashige as one of the developers of ninjutsu.

Takeda Shingen, the highly respected adversary of Uesugi Kenshin and Togugawa Iyeasu, would probably have become military ruler of Japan, had not his death through illness
27
taken him from the field of battle. Again, literature from his hand or about him by contemporaries has not been dicovered. His connection to ninjutsu is strong and it is thought that he used ninjutsu to a high level. The
Shoninki
states: ‘Shingen of Koshu employed those called
Suppa
, who were also thieves of Kai province.’

This statement is perplexing when we consider the Natori family. Here the author of the
Shoninki
, Natori Masatake, calls them ‘thieves’ and does not form any connection with them. This is strange as the official records of the Kishu-Tokugawa clan record the originator of
Natori-ryu
ninjutsu as Natori’s own grandfather, who was a samurai under the Takeda clan. Natori omits this fact, and it is well established that the Natori clan did serve the Takeda family and that they originated
Natori-ryu
. It is strange that Natori in his own ninja manual states that they are ‘thieves of Kai’, considering the connection to his own family. Sadly, we will never know why Natori chooses to ignore his own ancestry.

The ninjutsu of the Takeda was not recorded at the time that it was utilised, that is during the Sengoku period. However, afterwards it was said to have branched off into many variations, including the
Koshu-ryu
,
Takeda-ryu
,
Koyo-ryu,
etc and the tactics are recorded in the
Koyo-gunkan
military war manual. It is unknown how close these schools actually are to the original Takeda system that was used in war.

The
Iga-ryu Koka-ryu Shinobi Hiden
scroll talks of Shingen’s connection to the ninja and establishes how he used them. It is said that Takeda Shingen instructed his three retainers, Babamino no Kami, Yamagata Saburobei and Yamamoto Kansuke, to hire four men to command his
Denuki
or
Suppa
, both considered to be shinobi in some form. Shingen then ordered two of the three, Babamino no Kami and Yamagata Saburobei, and a third man, Mutokihei Yoshibei, to have a further and secret meeting with Yamamoto Kansuke
,
who was told to pass the skills of this type of warfare on to a select number of people. It must be noted here that the
Gunpo Jiyoshu
manual of
c
.1612 does in fact name Yamamoto Kansuke in its shinobi scrolls as a person with this kind of knowledge. It is not known how many people he passed the arts on to, but the following names are recorded within the Matsushiro domain.

Kosaka Danjo

Oi Zuioken

Osawa Dojusai

Obata Kanbei

Hara Hayato

Tomagawa Daini

Hasegawa Zenbei

Interestingly, the scroll also claims to have a connection to two Iga and Koka ninja, who were named Tada Jibuemon and Takada Gozaemon and that the teachings of the scroll itself are based on the oral teachings of these two men. The scroll lists 72 skills of the ninja.

Takeda Shingen is considered to be a general who used ninjutsu, and after his death numerous schools used his name to form their own military strategies. It is certain that Shingen used the ninja and that he was an adept at their deployment. An independent study of the individual Takeda-based systems would display commonalities that would identify his tactics.

Often, the words ‘Iga’ and ‘Koka’ are found next to ‘ninja homeland’, which often incorrectly changes to ‘ninja birthplace’. The name ‘
Koga
’ is a modern representation of the word ‘Koka’. The older version is still used in the region to this day, as can be seen by the train station sign opposite.

The next step in understanding the ninja and its connection to the regions of Iga (Modern day Mie Prefecture) and Koka (modern day Shiga Prefecture), is to know that zero documentation exists tying the birth of the ninja to the regions and that ninja documentation itself does not state that these regions gave birth to ninjutsu. As described above, historical figures who do not originate from either Iga or Koka have better claims to be involved with the origin of ninjutsu and predate the mythical ‘Iga and koka ninja birth story’. The
Shoninki
states that Yoshitsune and Yoshimori practised ninjutsu and that from there, ninjutsu also moved to the areas of Iga and Koka, where it was developed into a highly sought-after skill set.