Iga and Koka Ninja Skills E-Book

Antony Cummins

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

'A retainer of our domain, Renpeido Chikamatsu Hikonoshin Shigenori, each morning washed his face and hands, dressed himself in Hakama and prayed in front of the kamidana alter … His prayer was thus: "Please afford me success in war." He kept to this routine all through his life.' Through patient and scholarly detective work, Antony Cummins and the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team have unearthed a Shinobi treasure. The 18th-century military historian Chikamatsu recorded the oral traditions of the Ninja and passed on those skills in lectures he gave at his Renpeido school of war in Owari domain during the early 1700s. Chikamatsu wrote specifically about the Shinobi of Iga and Koka, regions from which warriors were hired all over the land in the days of war. The lost scrolls are filled with unknown Shinobi teachings, skills that include infiltration, assassination, explosives, magic and commando tactics, including an in depth commentary on Sun Tzu's famous 13th chapter, 'The Use of Spies'.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Title Page

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

Part I: The Skills of Iga and Koka

The Oral Tradition of Iga and Koka and Additional Articles on the Use of Spies

Second Part of the Scroll by Master Yorihide of Iga

Shinobi Hogyo no Maki: The Shinobi Way of Divination Scroll

Hoi no Maki: The Volume of Principles

Ingu no Maki: The Volume Concerning In Tools

Hinomaki: Volume of Fire

Kakureru Tane no Maki: Hidden Elements Scroll

Gokui Ten no Maki: The Secret Scroll of Heaven

Part II: An Iga and Koka Commentary on Sun Tzu’s ‘Use of Spies’

Further Teachings from Sun Tzu

For the Prosperity and Future of Koka Shinobi

Appendices

Copyright

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book could only be dedicated to Chikamatsu Shigenori himself, who, in his foresight collected the secret traditions of Iga and Koka for the education of all who follow this path.

A special thank you must be given to Kevin Aspinall who posed for some of the images and to Mr Takashi Shimizu for his aid with some of the more unintelligible sections of the text. Also, my thanks to Jayson Kane for his vast efforts with the images and illustrations and lastly to Jackie Sheffield and Shaun Barrington for their editorial help.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This document was written on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the period of Kyoho Four (1719). Also, all of the important points from Hara Yuken Yoshifusa’s [ninja] scroll and the associated oral traditions have been passed on and have all been given, together with a certificate of qualification [to Chikamatsu, the transcriber of these words].

Koka Shinobi no Den Miraki

This single passage above initiated my search for the elusive ninja scroll of the shinobi named within it. To my bitter disappointment, the shinobi Hara Yuken Yoshifusa was nowhere to be found, nor was his text, making what was a great lead for a full Koka ninja manual a dead end, or so I thought. That was until I considered that maybe, just maybe, the scroll was not under his name and that the information found within it was also recorded in one of Chikamatsu Shigenori’s own scrolls. Chikamatsu Shigenori was a tactician-scholar (more on him later) who continued devotedly to record ancient and military ways, so my thought process was, why would he not transfer this information into his own scrolls? This led me to hunt down his more obvious military texts, the ones listed under his schools, such as Zen-ryu and Ichizen-ryu, but after scroll upon scroll and search upon search, there was nothing to be found. It was, again, with a flash of inspiration that I knew I been looking in the wrong place, I had been searching for a title only, so I changed my angle and found a listing of his major and extended works, all collected under his name, which contained around 150 scrolls, and lo and behold, there it was, glimmering among the black ink of the other titles – ‘The Use of Spies’.

To find some of the ninja scrolls of yore, you have to put yourself in the position of a writer of the medieval period and take note that the word shinobi is not considered a positive one in the world of Edo-period Japan. However, Yokan – ‘The Use of Spies’ is a reference to Sun Tzu’s thirteenth chapter in The Art of War and that chapter of this famous text contains the Five Chinese Spies – where there are the Five Types of Spy, surely the shinobi will follow. The reasoning paid off; document number in hand, I and my translation partner, Yoshie Minami, ordered copies of four of Chikamatsu’s scrolls that appeared to have this spy theme.

Waiting in the dark streets of Warabi, Japan, I saw Yoshie approaching and we moved on to a traditional English tea shop, a local haunt where many of our translations are completed. After a pot of tea and the usual cake I could contain myself no longer and Yoshie produced the now familiar red and white envelope that a certain university send their documents in. Beaming, she said ‘it is full of shinobi information’. Hours and more tea later, she had read through the titles and given a brief explanation of most of the points found in the manuals. I sat back, knowing the day would come – in the not too distant future – where I would be writing this introduction, knowing that my happiness would spill on to this page.

But the ‘fairy tale’ does not end there; the scroll quoted at the beginning of this introduction was a scroll from the area of Koka, as the words were being said by the Koka ninja Kimura. However, to my pure delight, Chikamatsu, in a wondrous turn of events, had not only recorded most of the Koka traditions, he had also studied with a master shinobi of the Iga line and recorded and compared the two traditions. Words cannot express the satisfaction of such a find, not only do we have a reputable figure in Japanese history, and not only did he learn and record the written and oral traditions of the shinobi, but in his foresight collected both the traditions of Iga and Koka, the premier spies of all of Japan. Eerily, in his own introduction he states that his recording of these very secret skills was for posterity and for the future study of those to come who follow the path of the shinobi, but not in his wildest dreams would he have considered that they would be here in English, the language of the world, to be studied across the globe.

It is with great pleasure that Yoshie and I present to you the collected shinobi skills of Iga and Koka and a commentary on Sun Tzu’s ‘Use of Spies’, compiled and taught by Chikamatsu Shigenori – a ninja treasure beyond price.

Antony Cummins, 2013

CHIKAMATSU SHIGENORI

Famous for tea and the tea ceremony, the image of Chikamatsu in the west is considered from the wrong angle. When searching for information on his life, often the primary focus is put on the only other work of his published in English, Stories from a Tea Room Window – a text on curiosities pertaining to tea – which is often followed up with ‘He was also known to be a military tactician’. This is a skewed vision of a man who can be considered one of Japan’s premier Edo period military scholars who also happened to like tea. However, what is buried even deeper in the historical mist is Chikamatsu’s connection to the shinobi, Japan’s spies, now known as ninja.

When reading any Edo period military scholar’s work on the science of warfare from Japan, you will almost always find references to shinobi, but again, almost all of the time this is a brief instruction on how to use shinobi or how to defend against them, containing no more than a few paragraphs. Chikamatsu on the other hand is a licensed master of a full Koka ninja tradition and also a student (if not a master) of the shinobi arts of Iga. Master Kimura of Koka awarded Chikamatsu a Kyojou licence, confirming that he had a full transmission of the scrolls, complete with all of the oral traditions, making him an instructor of shinobi no jutsu – the arts of the shinobi. However, we must not fall into the trap of placing him solely in the realms of the shinobi, Chikamatsu also had licences or instruction in many other military and classical arts, such as poetry and Shinto, and overall was a man dedicated to the study of warcraft.

According to the Shirinsokai, the official record of the samurai of Owari province, Chikamatsu’s grandfather, Chikamatsu Shigehide, started his service for the third inheritor of the Owari Tokugawa clan, Lord Mitsutomo, at an unknown date before 1664. He became the magistrate overseeing two districts and held the office of magistrate of the water supply (mizu Bugyo), a position of importance. The Owari Tokugawa clan were one of the three great houses of Tokugawa, alongside Kii (Kishu) and Mito Tokugawa. His son, Chikamatsu Shigekiyo, who was Shigenori’s father, entered into the service of the Owari clan in 1691 and later became the ‘head of craftsmanship’ and controlled the lumber for the lord’s residences in Edo.1 He died in 1732.

Chikamatsu Shigenori was born in 1697, the name he was most commonly known by was Hikonoshin. He was also known as Renpeido (after his training hall) and Nogenshi. At the age of sixteen, in 1712, he entered the service of the Lord Tokugawa Yoshimichi2 as an Otoriban (a form of page or helper) and was transferred to the lord’s residence in Edo in 1713. At this point he put on a demonstration for the lord and performed Iai (sword quick draw) from Katayama-ryu, also Takanao-ryu military arts, Shin’nen ryu staff fighting, and other military ways. The lord was greatly impressed and promoted him, bringing him to his side as a close retainer. The lord had an enthusiasm for the martial arts and had the aspiration to found a school called Zen-ryu Zen meaning ‘all’ or ‘complete’; it would be a school that integrated the best from various different schools. With this intent, he taught Chikamatsu military warfare himself and also told him to teach the military arts to the lord’s own son, Sir Gorota, who would be his successor. However, the lord died that year and Sir Gorota also died very young soon after. This meant that Lord Tsugutomo succeeded as the head of the family and from then the situation went against Chikamatsu and he returned to Owari province.

In Owari he had time to spare and devoted himself to training in military affairs and founded a school called Zen-ryu (also Zen-ryu Renpei Den) which he later changed to Ichizen-ryu – presumably to continue his original lord’s wishes. The school started to take students in 1715.

Chikamatsu’s own writing states that he learned Naganuma-ryu Heigaku (military studies) with master Saigyoku-ken Saeda Masanoshin and was licensed (Menkyo Kaiden) in 1731. Naganuma ryu had strict criteria for those who are licensed with Menkyo Kaiden and out of more than 1,000 students, only ten people or so were given such a qualification; Chikamatsu was one of them. It appears that Chikamatsu did not hesitate to learn from any teacher, even after he had his own students and was considered the master of a school. He compiled and wrote a vast amount of work, which he started at the age of seventeen. More than a hundred of his works are still in existence today, most of which are concerned with military studies but also the collections include considerations of the tea ceremony, of poetry and other subjects. Chikamatsu died on the seventeenth day of the second month in 1780, over the age of eighty.

Chikamatsu appears in a collection of stories collected by a group known as the Tenpokaiki . This was a group of samurai serving the Owari Tokugawa clan, with the aim of conversing and recording things of interest, such as literature, poems, history and other various subjects. This band of intellectuals was organised by Fukada Masatsugu (1773–1850). The subjects brought forward by the members were recorded in six books between 1830 and 1843. The first meeting of the group was held in the era of Tenpo one; hence the group was named Tenpokai. Chikamatsu appears in Book Three of the Tenpokaiki records, which states:

The grave of Chikamatsu Shigenori.

A retainer of our domain, Renpeido Chikamatsu Hikonoshin Shigenori, each morning, washed his face and hands, dressed himself in Hakama [traditional trousers] and prayed in front of the kamidana altar, which was dedicated to Amaterasi Daijingu Atsuda Hachimangu. His prayer was thus ‘Please afford me success in war.’ Then he also prayed to a charm from Akiba Jingu, saying ‘please protect us from fires’. After this, he went down the Keikoba training room and performed five kata from each of his martial arts [bugei] and then had breakfast. He kept this routine all through his life, each and every morning without fail.

Also in the text it states:

He was friends with Komiyama Soho3 who he knew from Tea Ceremony. Once he said to Soho, ‘I would like to ask you for a large favour. Will you please say yes?’

Soho said, ‘You should first tell me what it is. Otherwise, I cannot agree to it.’

Shigenori replied, ‘Please lend me 100 gold coins.’

Soho said, ‘100 gold coins is not a small amount and I have to talk to my head clerk about such a matter. Therefore I cannot lend it to you at this moment.’

Shigenori said, ‘I do not need it now but I would like to have you promise the amount to be given upon the eruption of war.’

Soho said, ‘In that case, the answer is simple. I will lend you the money you require.’

Shigenori said, ‘I am so very happy that you have understood my situation and have agreed. I will be able to sleep soundly from tonight on.’ This was said with a smile.

The next day, he showed his gratitude with a present of sake and food and continued sending him sake and food at various times; such as Bon and the end of every year for the rest of his life.

I, Masanori say:

Consider the character of Shigenori with these two episodes above, and you will see that he was solely obsessed with military matters. However, he also wrote with concern about many subjects, including; the tales of Mukashibanashi (Old Stories) and other books. He liked the Tea Ceremony and wrote Sayukojidan (Old Stories about the Path of Tea), which cleared up a lot of uncertainties about that way. They say Shigenori lived in the Horeki and Meiwa eras and served under the reign of Taiko.4

Tenpo 10 (1839), 15th day of the first month

Fukada Masatsugu

THE RENPEIDO – CHIKAMATSU’S TRAINING HALL

The Renpeido was the name of the school that housed Chikamatsu’s teachings and to date we do not have a reference to its exact location, nor its size. However, we have concluded that it is Chikamatsu’s personal house and that it was situated to the south of Nagoya (Owari) castle. The term Renpei is a word taken from Naganuma ryu to mean ‘training soldiers’ while Do , means ‘construction’ or ‘building’, but in this case ‘place of’. It is unknown just how many students Chikamatsu had under his banner of Ichizen Ryu, and how many attended training at the Renpeido building. However, this is where Chikamatsu would have passed on his military knowledge, including this shinobi information.

KIMURA OKUNOSUKE FUJIWARA YASUTAKA SENSEI OF KOKA

Kimura Okunosuke was a Koka-mono, or ‘man of Koka’, who was employed by the Owari-Tokugawa clan. Unfortunately, his name is not in the listings, meaning that he was probably too low ranking to be named and was probably a statistic under one of the headings in the clan listings. What we do know is that he had a brother, who seems to have been more accomplished and was recorded in certain documents. The only mention we get of Kimura Okunosuke is from a listing in the late Edo period, much later than ‘our’ Kimura, which states that he got his name from his forefathers and that he was employed to look after cannon and to undertake construction and lastly to be a guard. While not conclusive, it would seem that this is ‘our’ Kimura’s descendant.

Chikamatsu penned the document; Mukashibanashi , Old Stories about the Owari Tokugawa Clan in 1738 and here, briefly, Kimura and his brother appear and while the reference is slight it shows that the Kimura brothers were heavily involved with shinobi-jutsu and were of course Koka mono for the Owari branch. The first episode does not contain the Kimura brothers, however, it does deal with Koka mono of the same domain and therefore has been included here. The episodes are as follows:

The first episode

Ueno Kozaemon5 and his family have their origins in Koka of Omi. From old times and until his grandfather, his family were in charge of shinobi as well [as other things] for the whole Kai province.6 The grandfather’s brother, Wada Magohachi was a minor captain of ‘the fifty bodyguards’ [assigned to the lord of Owari Tokugawa]. Once, Lord Zuiryu-in7 departed from Owari to Edo and went as far as Kawasaki.8 The lord heard that a retainer was told to keep the gates [of his castle] strictly locked when they left and he had hoped to send a letter back to the castle about a matter he had forgotten to attend to. He called for Wada Magohachi and when he came to see him the lord gave him a letter and told him to deliver it discreetly and bring back the reply to the lodgings they would be in the [next] night. Magohachi immediately went back [to the castle] to deliver the letter and came back with the reply to the lord’s lodgings the very next evening. The lord was extremely pleased and praised him.

Magohachi’s son, Magodayu, changed his surname to Ueno, and his son is the Magohachiro of this day [1738]. Wada and Ueno are both local names from Koka.

The second episode

Kimura Okunosuke’s brother, Kimura Kogoemon, was called by the lord to a place called Yokosuka9 and was asked to demonstrate the use of ‘floating aids’ (Ukigutsu) to the lord. The demonstration went very well. Also, Kimura Kogoemon was good at shooting muskets because he was studying at Tatsuke-ryu.10 On top of this, he discussed the subject of shinobi and of his family traditions, and was thus appointed to enter the Gojunin gumi (fifty bodyguards). These were men chosen from second sons and below of good families; that is, families who at least held the position of magistrates and were known for their skill at arms. These bodyguards would keep the lord safe while on journeys or when hunting, etc. Kimura’s brother later became a sub captain or kogashira, which is a leader of a squad of five of those men, making ten kogashiga in total. When the Mt. Koya incident in Kishu took place in 1692 and ronin were about to rise up united in arms, the shogunate sent examiners to decide if an army should be sent and if other ronin were going to join the rebellion. At this point, [the lord] told Kimura Kogoemon to discreetly investigate the situation. Kimura Kogoemon presented a detailed report including drawings of Mt. Koya and so on within two days [most likely through the Koka network].

TAKENOSHITA HEIGAKU MINAMOTO YORIHIDE SENSEI OF IGA

This warrior is the man whom Chikamatsu studied Iga ways under. It appears he is a man of Ise, a province near Iga, and that he is not a native born of Iga himself, however, he teaches the Iga arts and therefore we have added the suffix ‘of Iga’ to his name. In truth, this means that we consider him to be ‘of Iga’ in the sense that he is an instructor of Iga traditions and of that lineage.

In the Mukashibanashi document, Old Stories about the Owari Tokugawa Clan, Chikamatsu referred to Takenoshita Heigaku in an article on archery. Chikamatsu states, ‘I learned the arts of how to shoot arrows from horseback – [traditions found in] Ogasawara ryu – from Takenoshita Heigaku, who is an Inshi11 (hidden warrior) in Yokkaichi of Ise province. The skills from Heigaku [of an Iga line decent] are transmitted in two other books. I added them to the subject of warhorses in the basic course of Ichizen-ryu, which I founded and started teaching [this archery] in 1727. We are the first to train and shoot arrows from horseback in Owari province.’

NAGANUMA RYU

Naganuma ryu appears frequently in this book and is a school of military studies founded by Naganuma Muneyoshi (1635–1690). He studied Koshu ryu and other various Japanese schools, also he studied Chinese manuals including the Bubishi (not the Karate text but the Wubeishi, a colossal war manual) and also the Kikoshinsho (Ji Xiao Xin Shu ). He produced the document, the Heiyoroku, which is the main text of Naganuma ryu, which attached importance to gunnery and the drilling of soldiers and taught more than one thousand students (Chikamatsu was not among them as he was too young). His schools were inherited prominently by two students, Saeda Nobushige and Miyagawa Ninsai, and these two branches continued up to the end of the Edo period.

SAEDA MASANOSHIN OF NAGANUMA RYU

Born in 1654, this warrior is quoted extensively by Chikamatsu in this book and was of course Chikamatsu’s instructor in this school. Also known as Saigyoku-ken he was from Owari province and at first served Shinjo province and then moved to Edo where he studied and taught Naganuma-ryu. Later in 1706 he served Tsu province (possibly remaining in Edo), and died in 1742.

THE MANUALS USED FOR THIS TRANSLATION

This book is based on five manuals found in the Chikamatsu Shigenori collection, two sets of two, a main manual and its companion text, normally with extra information and further oral traditions, plus the warning scroll given by Kimura of Koka. We have decided to divide the complete teachings into Part I and Part II, firstly, the shinobi skills of Iga and Koka and secondly, the Iga and Koka commentary on Sun Tzu’s thirteenth chapter from The Art of War. Even though Chikamatsu’s manuals can be found in various locations, our manuals are from Hosa Library in Nagoya, details of which are given overleaf:

Original Title

Title in Latinised Form

English Translation

Text Location

Catalogue Number

Yokan Kajo Denmoku Kugi

Oral Traditions from Iga and Koka and Additional Articles on the Use of Spies.

Hosa Library

12–146

Yokan Denkai Kudensho

Oral Traditions on the Study on the Use of Spies

Hosa Library

12–118

Yokan Denkai

A Study on the Use of Spies

Hosa Library

12–185

Yokan Rigen

Traditional Sayings on the Use of Spies

Hosa Library

12–178

Koka Shinobi no Den Miraiki

For the Prosperity and Future of Koka Shinobi

Mukyukai Library

N/A

THE YOKAN KAJO DENMOKU KUGI – ORAL TRADITIONS FROM IGA AND KOKA AND ADDITIONAL ARTICLES ON THE USE OF SPIES

The bulk of this translation is of this manual and is made up of the collected skills and oral traditions of Iga and Koka from the respective lines and schools that Chikamatsu studied under. Each article is given a name and an explanation of the skill is given below it, sometimes in a three-stage format. Chikamatsu himself states that he is recording these skills for posterity and that he has written down around 60–70 per cent of the oral traditions (Kuden) that were passed on along with the original manuals for generations. This leaves 30–40 per cent of the oral traditions missing and they cannot be guessed at in full. However, a clear example of these missing skills can be seen in Kimura of Koka’s statement – found in the manual Koka Shinobi No Den Miraki – where he says that the deepest secrets of Koka shinobi include subjects such as ‘Toothpick Hiding’ a skill which does not appear in this manual and therefore should be considered one of the missing oral traditions.12 That being said, Chikamatsu also states that he has tried to hide nothing and that he has attempted to be as straightforward in his description and recording as possible, so that no future misunderstanding of these skills can take place, and that while some sections are missing, it is not something to fret over.

It must be noted that while Chikamatsu claims these are the secrets of Koka and Iga lineages, we know now that not all lineages from Iga and Koka shared identical skills. The Bansenshukai manual, a collection of Iga and Koka skills, does share elements of the skills found here to quite an extent, however there are significant variations and information that is not found in the Bansenshukai is found in the Chikamatsu scrolls and vice versa. Furthermore, scrolls such as the Shinobi Hiden and the Gunpo Jiyoshu, which can also claim Iga lineages, differ somewhat from the skills listed here, showing that while many manuals claim to have the collected skills of Iga and of Koka, a unified, definable Iga or Koka line of ninjutsu is theoretical, even in the Edo period; meaning that there was no single repository of a full curriculum of the skills of Iga and Koka and that elements differ from family line to family line. That being said, it is clear that a firm and identifiable record of the shinobi arts is a reality and while skills do differ between lineages, the aims and themes of the teachings remain the same and countless times techniques appear in different formats that have a shared origin. This means that even though terms like Iga-ryu and Koka-ryu are bandied around at least as early as the 1700s, they were not a codified school with a firm curriculum and they had no central base. Chikamatsu’s own school, like that of other famous schools, maintained a dojo or training hall, Iga-ryu and Koka-ryu cannot be seen in this way.

Taking all the above into consideration and understanding that the information in this scroll was compiled from the teachings of real shinobi of Iga and Koka lines, we have to let the scrolls speak for themselves, showing just how impressive and detailed the shinobi skills of these regions were, taught as Iga and Koka shinobi once taught them.

THE YOKAN DENKAI KUDENSHO – TRADITIONAL SAYINGS ON THE USE OF SPIES

This is a transcription of the above manual, the Yokan Kajo Denmoku Kugi and was based on teachings given in a lecture by Chikamatsu Shigenori who was named in the work as Master Nankai . The information was written down from these lectures by a man named Suzuki Shigeharu. Nothing is known of Suzuki but the text has an ownership stamp naming a man called Suzuki Shinkichi, who is presumably a descendant of his. On the whole this text is identical to the first scroll as it contains the same information and format; however, at points additional sheets of paper have been over-laid on the manuscript with further teachings that contain more detail for some of the subjects. Unlike the two manuals that follow this one – which, while similar, have been kept separate in the English form – we felt that it was necessary to combine both of the above manuals to form one translation, a complete record of the skills and methods written down by Chikamatsu. Those who wish to study these two manuals as different entities will find that the position of the additional information from the second manual has been identified in the footnotes.

THE YOKAN DENKAI AND THE YOKAN RIGEN MANUALS

These two manuals have been combined into one single translation but retain their own identities. The reason for their combination is that the second manual is a copy of the first but contains more oral traditions and further explanations on each point. Therefore, in this book we have merged the two manuals together as one but identified which manual says what. The two manuals are commentaries made on Sun Tzu’s thirteenth chapter in his Art of War; this chapter is known as Yokan in Japanese and translates as ‘The Use of Spies’. This chapter is accepted as the single script that helped to develop spy craft in all of Asia, including Japan. The commentaries are from both Iga and Koka traditions and allow a superb insight into not only what was considered the Chinese method of spying but also the deeper skills and meanings that the Japanese added to the original text. Whether these additions were originally used in China and passed down and across to Japan is unknown, but it does permit a grand tour of espionage in feudal Japan. The commentary sheds light on tactics such as acquiring Internal Spies via Converted Spies, or the combination of use of Converted Spies alongside Doomed Spies, those who were sent to their deaths. It cannot be overstated how much of a delicious and substantial find this text is, for not only is it an explanation of the deeper meanings of the now famous thirteenth chapter but it also presents to us the tactics of the premier shinobi of all Japan. The original manuals are ordered so that a single quotation is given from the chapter and an explanation and teaching is given below. In our translation we have written the quote from Sun Tzu and then identified which manual each translation comes from. On occasion, this involves a little too much repetition but not enough to warrant the merging of the two into one text. Chikamatsu wrote them at very different periods in his life and therefore it is not correct to merge them as one here. The original text included quotations from other manuals and commentaries on the thirteenth chapter; however they have been taken out as they are not directly connected to Iga and Koka traditions and rarely talk directly of the shinobi.

A page from the Yokan Denkai Kudensho transcription.

THE KOKA SHINOBI NO DEN MIRAIKI SCROLL

The Koka Shinobi no Den Miraki is one of the most important non-instructional ninja documents in the collection of the Historical Ninjutsu Research Team and possibly in the world of Japanese Shinobi research. Dictated by Kimura Okunosuke Yasutaka to his student Chikamatsu Hikonoshin Shigenori, it outlines the Master’s fears for the ever declining Koka shinobi and predicts the fall of the shinobi with extraordinary accuracy. The reason for its importance is the issues that Kimura raises. Firstly, Kimura says that anyone under the age of seventy at the time he is writing, (born after 1650) has no connection to anyone who was living in the Sengoku Period and thus, the practical skills have been diluted and are not realistic or second nature. Furthermore, it provides an extremely rare view of the inside of a shinobi school; it shows that ninjutsu was practised in military compounds and that within these schools there were multiple levels of knowledge 13 that were kept secret from others. This document is of vital importance, showing us how shinobi were close to their lords and how they fell from prominence, and how the shinobi of Koka were one band.

DIRECTIONS AND DAYS

On page 79 you will find that the manual suddenly takes a dramatic detour from identifiable shinobi skills as it enters into The Shinobi Hogyo no Maki, The Shinobi Way of Divination Scroll. For this part of the scroll you may find yourself as a reader perplexed to the meanings and terminology and even a little taxed. This scroll lists the associations between the movement of the heavens and the Chinese dating system. It was believed in the medieval period that when the moon or a specific constellation was in a certain position then it had the power to determine if an action at a time, an hour, a day, a date or year was positive or negative. This knowledge would have been common to many and used by military groups. The aim of this scroll is to provide the trainee shinobi with a record and understanding of these associations. To aid the modern reader it is helpful to understand that the date was identified in two ways, by the twelve Zodiac animals, the Hare, Monkey and so on, and by the Ten Heavenly Stems, these are Japanese words like Kinoto and Kinoe and together they make a series of combinations that cycle forever in blocks of 60. Lunar mansions are simply a position in the sky, 28 in all, which the moon travels around each lunar month. With just this information it is possible to understand the main aim of each entry in the scroll and what it is used for. A modern diagram is supplied to help you follow the instructions in the scroll, as often the text will say, ‘count clockwise’, or ‘move six signs from the Monkey’, or something to that effect. This you can do for yourself with the aid of the image provided in that section. The actual instructions in the scroll are ambiguous; the function is to find a positive heavenly time to perform a certain task. Therefore, while this section may strain your attention, it has been kept in the scroll for completeness and for your future study as your understanding of shinobi no jutsu increases. The more ‘mainstream’ shinobi instructions start again on page 94.

MEASUREMENTS

All measurements are given in their original Japanese form, such as Shaku, Sun and Bu. The western equivalents are easily obtained and a reduced table is given below.

Shaku

30cm

Sun

3cm

Bu

3mm

Ryo

15g

Momme

3.75g

Kin

600g

Sho

1.8 litres

Go

180ml

ARTS, SKILLS, TRADITIONS AND PRINCIPLES

Most of the skills found within this book, as in many scrolls from medieval Japan, come with an accompanying title and all of them contain suffixes that follow a generic form. Each of the differing suffixes are actually very close in meaning and are often interchangeable, however, they do still contain subtle changes. We have attempted to unify the translations of each of these to promote conformity, however, the ‘feel’ of them in English can sometimes not work well and alternatives have to be used. In general, we have tried to stick to the following translations where possible.

– no Tsutae has been translated as ‘Tradition of’

– no Koto has been translated as ‘Art of’

– no Daiji has been translated as ‘Principle of’

– no Jutsu has been translated as ‘Skill of’

While consistency has been strived for, variations in this rule may occur, therefore, it is beneficial to familiarise yourself with the Japanese form of these endings.

CONCERNING IN AND YO

Throughout this book, you will come encounter the concept of In and Yo and many teachings and instructions where Chikamatsu uses one of these as a prefix or suffix. The concept is not altogether alien to a western audience; we understand it as Yin and Yang, the eastern notion of Dark and Light. While the ideograms remain the same in both Chinese and Japanese, the pronunciation changes to In and Yo in the latter.

This idea of dark and light is integral to the Japanese system of thought and has a strong presence in the text, however a direct translation changes depending on the context and the grammatical structure used. This translation has kept the original reading of In and Yo as we feel that a western reader will benefit more from this use of the original language instead of a series of differing translations.

ENTER THE REALM OF THE SHINOBI

One fundamental mistake most people make when reading shinobi texts is that they class the translations as a full curriculum, a complete set of skills. In one respect this is true, that is the translations are full shinobi skill sets, but those writing these manuals and carrying out these tasks had other skills as well. These shinobi were a part of the warrior culture and and you should understand that the skills of the ninja were an add on, used to enhance a warrior’s already formidable skill-set. In the Sengoku period – the time where these arts were perfected – a samurai would be a proficient fighter, horseman and sometimes, a war master, but more than all these things, such as swordsmanship, archery, swimming, sea warfare, survival techniques, they had shinobi no jutsu, for those special needs – making them warriors with that little extra, exceptional advantage, an advantage that could almost guarantee employment and was kept very close and secret.

Therefore, before you finally reach the text, take a moment to stop and consider where you are about to journey. Deep in the mountains and war-torn lands of the Sengoku period, war-hardened men were operating, where many killed and were killed. They did this with the knowledge you are about to read ingrained in their minds, memorised through years of training; and it was a daunting task to put these skills into operation in a land riven by conflict. So, while these translations may simply be of great interest to a modern audience, they were once the deepest of secrets and repositories of applicable knowledge.

NOTES

1 These positions appear to be menial to western understanding, however, they are positions of authority in the lord’s house.

2 The fourth inheritor of the Owari Tokugawa clan (1689–1713), his reign was from 1699–1713, he was also known as Enkaku-in – his Buddhist name.

3 A famous merchant in Owari, who was very successful in the medicine business.

4 Tokugawa Munekatsu who reigned from 1739 to 1761.

5 Ueno Kozaemon was a Metsuke, in this case the supervisor of retainers and later promoted to a close aide to the sixth lord of the Owari Tokugawa family, who reigned from 1713–1731.

6 Most likely when Tokugawa took over Shingen’s forces.

7 Tokugawa Mitsutomo, the second lord and head of the Owari Tokugawa family.

8 The distance from Nagoya (Owari) to present-day Kawasaki city is more than 430km and therefore it appears that the episode is referring to a place called Kawasaki in Owari province, which is located no more than 70km from Nagoya. The story is about the speed with which he performed the task, which he most likely did on horseback.

9 Yokosuka is a place in Owari province (present-day Aichi) where Lord Mitsutomo had a residence.

10 One of the three major schools of gunnery for the Tokugawa shogunate.

11 This term possibly means someone who used to be of the samurai class and now is of upper peasant position, above the other three classes but below full warrior status.

12 This skill does appear in other manuals.

13 This should not be taken too literally, the author is showing depths of understanding which are kept secret, not a grading or curriculum.

PART I

THE SKILLS OF IGA AND KOKA

YOKAN KAJO DENMOKU KUGI

THE ORAL TRADITIONS OF IGA AND KOKA AND ADDITIONAL ARTICLES ON THE USE OF SPIES

The Upper Scroll

THE TRADITIONS OF IGA AND KOKA

There are two scrolls1 of additional articles pertaining to Koka shinobi and have been transmitted [to me] by Yasutaka [Kimura Okunosuke sensei]. Also, there is one scroll pertaining to the traditions of Iga shinobi which has been transmitted [to me] by Yorihide [Takenoshita Heigaku] sensei. For all of these manuals there is a small amount of oral tradition [that accompanies them] and these traditions have been passed on by memorizing and learning them each by heart so as to not lose this knowledge and therefore, since ancient times, they have never been written down.

I [Shigenori] have now made a resolution to combine the following two documents together; the Kajo [Koka traditions] and the Denmoku [Iga traditions] and also I have collected and written down six or seven out of ten of the oral traditions which have been passed on. The remaining three or four oral traditions out of every ten are such deep secrets that they have been omitted here, this is because they should be taught only through hearing them thoroughly and directly and only from one person to another. Therefore, you should have no doubts about these omissions but instead devote yourself to the study [of the arts which have been recorded here]. I have no intention of making anything secret within these writings, but only wish to pass down [these traditions] to those who have the ability and ambition [to learn them] so that these skills will not die out. This is my true hope and anyone who aims to learn these ways should learn them with extreme diligence and without neglect.

Written In the first days of the third month of 1737

In Bishu of Owari province

By [the founder] of the Renpeido school of war

Fujiwara Shigenori

1

Shinobi no Kunden

THE TRADITIONS OF THE MEANING OF THE IDEOGRAM SHINOBI

Koka traditions say:

This ideogram is called shinobi as they act in secret,2 away from the ears or the eyes.

Iga traditions say:

When you make a thing [that you have in hand] a deep secret, it is called shinobi.

The deepest secret traditions of Koka say is from the ideogram which means ‘patience’. Thus it is called shinobi because the [skills of the shinobi] are skills you need to endure the unendurable or any difficulties or hardships that are imaginable. Those who follow this path should think of what the name of their profession truly means. If you keep this in mind at all times, you will be able to complete shinobi missions and distinguish yourself.

I, [Shigenori] say:

The point taken from the deepest secret traditions above is entirely appropriate.

2

Shinobi no Kigen

CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OF SHINOBI

Iga traditions say: