The Secret History of Ninjutsu by Zoughari
Ref: Kacem Zoughari (2010). The Secret History of Ninjutsu. Tuttle Publishing.
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Summary
The History of Ninjutsu in Japan.
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Martial Arts
Aikido: Blends with the energy of an attack to redirect force rather than defeat it; a modern, non-aggressive martial art.
Budo: Trains follower physically and psychologically (evolved from Bujutusu).
Bujutsu: The use and mastery of various weapons and techniques.
Judo: Combines the model of the warrior with western knowledge.
Jujutsu: Empty hand combat techniques, controlling the body of the enemy through articulation of tendons and muscles. An attitude, a way of being and of being driven that allows one to adapt to all situation and weapons.
Musoku no hō: Controlling the transfer of body weight to manipulate the state of imbalance.
Karate (Okinawa Tōte): Consists in repeating kata, pre-established sequences of movement, without any clear application in situational combat.
Kendo-ka: To search for a form of freedom, a formlessness of pure movement.
Ninja: The art of remaining unseen (English).
Ninjutsu (aka Ninpō aka shinobi no mono): A collection of adaptable survival techniques that allow one to face the uncertainties of life and to respond to dangerous situations, through physical and psychological discipline, where one uses orthodox weapons in unorthodox ways.
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Ninjutsu
Ninjutsu (aka Ninpō aka shinobi no mono): A collection of adaptable survival techniques that allow one to face the uncertainties of life and to respond to dangerous situations, through physical and psychological discipline, where one uses orthodox weapons in unorthodox ways. Ninjutsu evolved as a martial art without a pre-established code. Since it developed in locations where hermits, ascetics, dissidents, and deposed warriors came to seek refuge and live-in peace. Historically, ninjas were an example of a mercenary paid for a specific job.
Ninjutsu is the use of all means in the pursuit of justice including the use of deception and tricks continuously against an enemy.
The heart of the techniques in ninjutsu lie in the practice of vigilance, by finding and exploiting an opening from all directions, by retaining flexibility and strength forged by endurance.
Birthplace: Japanese Honshu provinces of Igao and Kōga.
Nin (shinobu or shinobi): To apply one’s thoughts and ego to the edge of the sword; to be constantly vigilant of one’s self and one’s surroundings and to have courage with endurance. To act by controlling one’s ego.
Ninja no hachimon (Ninja no kahhei): 8 Fundamental disciplines of Ninjutsu:
Ninja no Kiai: Practical synthesis of breathing and energy.
Koppō tai-jutsu: Bare-handed combat techniques based on the laws governing the human skeleton.
Ninpō no ken: Sword fighting Techniques.
Yari-jutsu: Spear Techniques.
Shuriken: Techniques for the throwing and handling of sharp blades and objects.
Ka-jutsu: Techniques for using fire in all its forms, from setting fires to using explosives.
Yūgei: Cultural pursuits; music, painting, dance, and the like.
Kyōmon: Religious Practice.
Essence of Ninjutsu
The essence of Ninjutsu is difficult to grasp. There is no form, no technique, no name. Only action stripped of forethought. This unpremeditated action is the embodiment of the state in which the spirit and the body regain their unity, and where true body and spiritual flexibility is restored.
Human beings have a body that consists of 70% water. Thus, all movements must be loose and flexible without rigid blocking, which can cause injury and prevent continued practice into old age.
All movements reflect the mental state of the individual. If the individual is stressed, upset, aggressive, and so on, the movement will be an embodiment of such feelings or mental attitudes. Do not forget that the body is the temple that houses the spirit, and, consequently, any psychological state has an effect on the body and vice versa.
Spontaneous reaction requires a natural mental state in which the mind reacts to threats instinctively and without conscious thought, making it possible to defend and attack instantaneously and without hesitation. This is what is meant by invisibility, which can be attained only when the body and the spirit do not exist as isolated entities anymore, and the practitioner has, in a sense, forgotten the self. This requires profound soul-searching and inner journey of the soul. This physical and mental process confers a quasi-religious depth to the practice. As the movements become second nature to the practitioner, the physical and mental combine as well.
When the angles, rates, rhythms, breathing, distance, balance, and imbalance merge with the form to become based in the heart, then the original unity emerges and all actions can be carried out effortlessly and without premeditation.
In the practice of Ninjutsu, the ego remains the principal source of danger and is at the base of all confrontations. The suppression of the ego is the basis for the body/mind unity that makes it possible to avoid gathering danger.
Ninjutsu is, in essence, a science of survival based on the experience of the death which rises from defeat and thus bring re-birth. One who survived by avoiding the many internal threats to his being (those caused be his ego) was then entitled to be a ninja.
To the ninja who empties his mind, the unforeseen no longer exists because he does not presuppose. In the same way, one is physically most flexible when relaxed and free of tensions. Consider the flexibility of the bamboo; which is attributable to its empty interior. Likewise, when we are open, we are sensitive to all things, in any situation. This place where one feels unity with nature even in one’s slightest gestures implies the extinguishing of one’s own desires and, thus, the ego. This place cannot be reached without sincerity and rectitude of the soul. It inevitable implies a unity between the body and the spirit that can only be obtained by a practice that leads to the abandonment of the self.
Ninjutsu is the art of recognizing one’s own flaws and abuses, which are against nature, and the ability to recognize what is and must be. Part of ninjutsu is to recognize defeat and know when to resign oneself to the real battle within. The essence of ninjutsu remains an amazing fusion between adaptable, practical survival techniques and a spiritual search for profound self-knowledge that allows the sincere practitioner to anticipate and neutralize threats within and without.
To know how to observe is an essential capacity for a ninja, because all strategy starts with careful observation.
Rise of Ninjutsu: During the Japanese Sengoku period, the services of the people of Iga and Kōga were in high demand due to their ability to infiltrate fortified towns considered impenetrable, to commit selected assassinations, and to conduct guerilla warfare.
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Names of the Ninja
Daigo-retsu: ‘The 5th column’; a group of warriors using unorthodox fighting methods.
Gokan: One who has mastered perfect control of the body.
Iga/Kōga no mono: One who infiltrates enemy castles, in secrecy, and conceals himself to hide plans, weapons, and information.
Kanchō: One who dissects and controls information.
Kanja: That which is between things, between men, entering the actions, the man of the intersection.
Kagimono-kiki: One who feels and hears things quietly, which cannot be heard by anyone but him.
Kansai: One who finds vital information during conflict.
Kimono-yaku: One whose role consists in hearing specific things.
Kusa: One with the ability to blend into the vegetation, trees, and grasses.
Mittei: One who spies intensely in secrecy.
Ongyō: One whose appearance is dispersed, hidden, concealed.
Onmitsu: One who hides, conceals, buries.
Shinobi: One who has the talent or skills to achieve their goals through information.
Shinobi-no-mono: Those who see and hear without being seen.
Tandai: One who looks further into a problem or one who controls the problem deeply.
Tantei: One who deduces the depth of issues, the screening of facts.
Tanzaru: One who has the skills to move from roof to roof with the agility of a monkey.
Ukagami: One who spies, supervises, watches for movement of the enemy.
Yōkan: One who makes good use of time and space.
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Misc Quotes
Intimate confrontation with a frightening reality leads naturally to belief and connection with religion and a different view of the world.
To seize the truth, it is necessary to confront false perceptions of reality.-9c, unknown, Baghdad.
Integrity; sincerity, honesty, a sense of duty, as well as a sense of the morality that enables us to face the tests and to surmount them and finally to be victorious.
War sharpens the senses, strengthens the will, improves the body, and swiftly brings combatants into close combat. It is there where one can find the measure of a man.-Antara, 7c.
Peace, stillness of the spirit, an unflappable nature; none of these states can be attained through simply training in a multitude of combat techniques with the aim of simply having the most effective methods. No, combat begets combat, hatred begets hatred, and the savage animal within man that wallows in self-love will suffer an unexpected and early demise.
The War Against oneself; there Is no rest; from when we wake in the morning until we sleep at night, there is perpetual combat against oneself. In this combat, the aim is to overcome all the contrary practices and reactions that have become “second nature.” Unrestrained, this second nature mingles with our original mind/body unity, preventing spontaneous movement that is free from distracting thought. If we allow it, our fears, prejudices, resentments, and the like will block us and prevent the freedom we seek. This combat against oneself, which leads to intimate self-knowledge, cannot be carried out without sincerity and faith.
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People
Hattori Hanzō Masashige (aka Hanzō the Demon): Born in 1543, One of Ieyasu’s 16 generals; a warrior from a famous Iga ninja family who guided and protected Ieyasu’s trek through Iga. Hanzō became the head of Iga gumi dōshin, a group of 200 people and received a salary of 8000 koku. He established his home at one of the entrances in Edo castle, which he guarded and which bears his name today, Hanzō mon (Hanzō gate).
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Terminology
Aiki: Union of energies, meetings of energies, merging into one energy.
Bugei jūhappan: 18 warrior disciplines.
Bushi: Warrior, loyal to a lord.
Densohosha: A person who will be the prism in which an incredible amount of knowledge and technical ability will converge.
Do: The Way.
Formlessness: A state of consciousness where the body and the spirit are one, erasing the ego, and bringing one in harmony with nature.
Fuki: “To sweep the enemy as a powerful blast of wind,” implying a silent manner of moving and fighting.
Gokui: The philosophical essence of a school.
Kamae: Posture, attitude, or combat position; attitude of spirit.
Kata: Pre-established sequences of movement.
Kinki: “The body is so disciplined that no arrow can wound it,” the training of the body is key to survival. To forge it, like the mind, with a discipline enabling one to face any situation.
Mutodori: To disarm with bare hands.
Nawa-jutsu: Techniques of the rope to disarm and bind.
Ogi: The secret and subtle way of using the body and weapons.
Ongyōki: “To hide one’s appearance and to surprise the enemy in order to crush them”; to surprise the enemy by cloaking one’s intentions.
Rōnin: Masterless Samurai.
San shin no: The form of the three hearts; spirit, heart, thought.
Shinken: To disarm or stop with bare hands.
Suiki: “Like a flood- flood the enemy everywhere,” combat in groups, namely harassing the enemy on all sides.
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Chronology
1938: The Japanese school of Espionage is founded in Nakano to train and lead secret agents in espionage, sabotage, assassination, and sedition.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1923: Okinawa Tōte (Karate) is imported to Japan from Okinawa by Funakoshi Gishin.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1920: Aikidō is first taught in Japan by Ueshiba Morihei.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1909: Japan invades Korea.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1882: Introduction of Judo.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
27 Jan, 1868- 27 Jun, 1869: The War of Boshin (aka War of the Year of the Yang Earth Dragon, Japanese Revolution, Japanese Civil War) is fought in Japan; Forces seeking a return to political power under the imperial court defeat forces loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate ending the shogunate and restorating the Meiji empire.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1853: USN Commodore Perry arrives in Japan.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1684: The terms Ninja and Ninjutsu are first used during the Edo period in a work titled Buyō Benryaku.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1676: Bensen-shūkai (‘The Ocean of Ten Thousand Rivers’) is published by Masayoshi as an encyclopedia of Ninjutsu; the 12 volumes of the book are treatises on strategy, espionage, astronomy, philosophy, and geography.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1654: Ninpiden (‘Secret Transmissions of the Ninja’) is published by Hattori Yasukiyo, discussing the teachings of the famous ninja of Iga.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
17 Dec, 1637- 15 Apr, 1638: The Shimbara uprising in Japan against the Tokugawa shogunate; forces under the Tokugawa shogunate supported by the Dutch VOC defeat a civil uprising in Shimbara leading to prohibitions against Christianity and the expulsion of Portuguese traders.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1614: Siege of Osaka Castle in Japan; Forces under the Tokugawa shogunate siege and defeat the Toyotomi clan, ending the last major armed opposition to the shogunates establishment.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1603: Tokugawa Ieyasu is made Shogun in Japan.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
21 Oct, 1600: The Battle of Sekigahara; the greatest battle ever held on Japanese soil; the Eastern Army under Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the Western Army under Ishida Mitsunari, gaining control of all of Japan and beginning the Tokugawa shogunate.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1597: Japan’s Second Invasion of Korea.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
May, 1592: Japan’s first invasion of Korea ends in failure; 2 Japanese Divisions under General’s Konishi Yukinaga and Katō Kiyomasa capture Pusan and invade Seoul but are halted at the Korean Fortress of Chigūju.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1579-1581: The Revolt of Iga in Japan.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
27 Sep- 28 Oct, 1581: The Battle of Iga in Japan; Oda Nobunaga with an army of 40K men defeat the Iga bringing the Iga Province under Oda’s control .-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1575: The Battle of Nagashino in Japan; Nobunaga defeats Katsuyori.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1542: The Portuguese introduce firearms to the Japan.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1493: Hosokawa Masamoto takes over the Kyoto Shogunate in a coup d’état.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1487: Battle of Magari no Jin; Ninja first appear during the siege of the castle of Rokkaku Takeyori in Magari.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1477-1600: The Sengoku (Warring States) Period of Japan.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1467-1477: The War of Önin in Japan is fought over a conflict of succession to the shogunate between members of the Ashikaga family.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1281: The Mongols second invasion of Japan.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1274: The Mongols first invasion of Japan.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
1192-1333: The Kamkura Period in Japan; the Samurai class rise to power.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
734: Japan’s Chinese Emissary, Kibi Makibi, returns with the ‘Sonshi’, a military strategy spy’s treatise.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
Age of the Gods: Mythical period of Japanese history which tells the foundation of the country by the gods.-Ninjutsu by Zoughari.
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