Ninjutsu

Ninjutsu, in the form we recognize today, was developed in the Iga and Koga regions of Japan by mountain warrior ascetics. However, it is widely accepted that the true origins of the art reach back over 2,000 years and stem as far as India, Tibet and China. Looking closely, one can see the influence of East Indian spiritual doctrine, and Chinese military strategy and combat principles within modern day teachings.

The majority of the Ninjutsu clans were most likely founded by warriors who had the misfortune of being on the losing side of a major war or battle. Rather than face ritualistic suicide, as the code of the Samurai demanded, they instead chose to live by taking their families into the mountains. This is the case with Daisuke Nishina, a samurai who, in the 1100’s, fled to Togakure mountain in Iga after one such battle. There, he adopted the name of the mountain as his own and is credited with laying the foundations of our modern system of self-preservation.

Other ryu, or styles, were founded by simple peasants and farmers whose only chance of survival against an oppressive military government was to ally themselves with nature and develop skills to help them prosper under the most adverse conditions. The ancient Ninja soon developed a reputation as formidable guerrilla warfare specialists with expertise in all aspects of combat, strategy, and intelligence gathering. These attributes did not sit well with the military establishment of those times. Many fierce battles were initiated by the Shogunate and lesser daimyo to eradicate the existence of these warrior families because their beliefs were not in line with the prescribed doctrine of the government.

Although other schools of Budo do still exist and a few do contain some elements of Ninjutsu as part of their curriculum (the most widely known is the Shinden Katori Ryu school of Samurai arts), only the
Bujinkan system of Ninpo/Budo Taijutsu is known to have survived as a complete system of Ninjutsu history, tradition and techniques.