Ninpo: The Life of the Ninja

Much is unknown about the history of the ninja by the general public. Typically, a ninja is thought to be an assassin clad in black garments with supernatural abilities. This is largely in part to the image that Hollywood has created. Unfortunately, this has led to a plethora of inaccurate and farfetched stereotypes about this once secret and ancient art. Let us travel back a thousand years to peer into its beginning.

In the year 1049 AD, a Chinese commander by the name of Ikoh was defeated in battle at the hands of another Chinese warlord. He escaped certain death by fleeing across the sea to mainland Japan in an area known as Iga. The mountainous and lush terrain of Iga was perfect for him to keep a low profile. Ikoh took up residence in a cave and began to teach a couple people the beginnings of what is today known as "ninjutsu". His teachings included stealth, leaping, hand-to-hand combat, shuriken (throwing stars), and a wide range of Chinese martial arts.

Over a hundred years later, defeated Japanese warriors from battles between the north and the south sought refuge in the mountains of both the Iga and Koga (Koka) regions as the two provinces sat strategically in the center. As the teachings of ninjutsu began to spread amongst the refugees who began to live there, the Iga and Koga areas began to form their own traditions separate from one another. Eventually, they began to compete against each other. Soon, the Tokugawa shogunate used both the Iga and Koga ninja to help serve Japan in its civil war and put an end to help create a more unified Japan. Through the Iga and the Koga clans, other ninja clans and traditions began to form, slowly spreading out across Japan.

Over the course of the next few centuries, the ninja continuously served under the shogunate and other daimyo (heads of powerful clans) including the Oda, Takeda, Hojo, Mori, Shimazu, and many other historically renowned clans. They were the most sought after and essential warriors of every army for their expertise in intel, stealth, spying, assassination, sabotage and espionage. Without the ninja in their ranks, armies were blind. While the samurai were socially held in high regard and were the primary foot soldiers, the ninja were the specialists and tacticians. Although they did not necessarily have their own social class, the ninja were typically low-income farmers. This also made it easy for them to conceal their identities and avoid attracting unnecessary attention.

While many people believe the samurai and ninja were sworn enemies, in reality this was not the case. They often fought alongside one another, despite holding different beliefs which at times were considered dishonorable. The samurai were a proud and powerful warrior class and devoted their lives to battle. However, the very essence of ninjutsu is that it was and is "the art of winning". The ninja were heavily devoted to their masters and stopped at very little in order to achieve success. Because of the often unorthodox methods they used, many people referred to their tactics as dishonorable. In fact, their tactics were often so unorthodox and so clever that the ninja eventually began to be feared. Fairytales and rumors began to arise how they were actually descendents of the tengu (humanoid demons with either partial birdlike features or red faces with long noses). These stories began to work in their favor as many began to fear them, and until this day, little else has been understood about the ninja by the general public. Toward the mid-1900s, Toshitsugu Takamatsu sensei, a previous grandmaster of true ninja lineage, passed on his knowledge to multiple students - most notably, Sato Kimbei, Masaaki Hatsumi, Shoto Tanemura, and Unsui Manaka. Of the four, senseis Hatsumi, Tanemura and Manaka all eventually followed their own paths to create their own schools and continue to carry on the legacy of the ninja as it has been for a thousand years from master to student, master to student. As soke (grandmaster) of the Genbukan, Shoto Tanemura says, "ninpo is a living art".

So then what is "ninpo"? Although on the outside the history of the ninja may appear to be that of bloodshed, there was a far more poetic and meaningful explanation to these legendary warriors. Like the samurai, they lived lives of servitude and honor by serving righteous masters. They believed in mastering all aspects of life and to develop a strong mind and heart. The ninja refer to this as 'fudoshin', the "immovable heart (or mind)". Through rigorous training and constant challenges, a ninja is able to better him/herself in all aspects of life. And through that hard training comes discipline, focus, character, and confidence. It allows oneself to learn one's own shortcomings and then to overcome them, continuously striving for perfection day after day. That constant strive for perfection is what led to the fearless, multi-talented warriors. This way of life is referred to as ninpo whereas ninjutsu is simply the physical aspect alone. One cannot truly be a ninja without following the path of ninpo.

These characteristics define ninpo as a living art which allow it to survive from one era to the next. Though we now live in an age of laws and advanced technology, these concepts very much still apply in today's world. Ninpo has always been taught in concepts so that a ninja can adapt his or her skills to various situations and areas. Today, the ninja are still incredibly misunderstood and are often rejected as being a myth or an aged art in the world of modern fighting sports. What many fail to understand is that ninpo is anything but a means of fighting inside a ring of rules. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It is a way to live your life free from unnecessary danger, a way to survive, ensuring you have the upperhand in any situation, a means of succeeding in all aspects of life, and a path to inner harmony and balance. It is a true lifestyle and martial art in the truest sense which has evolved through a thousand years of trials and tribulation.

This is ninpo and what the ninja are truly about.

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