Foreword Let me quote from "Introductory History - To the Schools of Bujinkan" by aul !

ichardson "#$$%& 'th (d& Bujinkan Lincoln )ojo*+ "Japanese history is possibly the most recorded on the spot history by any nation in the world. Unfortunately, the winner always writes the history, in the way that he sees it. Because almost all Japanese history was written by the Samurai, very little mention of the Ninja exists. ven !an"o !attori, a prominent Ninja leader, is recorded as bein# Samurai. !e may well have been a Samurai, as well as bein# a Ninja." So& do not look u,on the contents of this ,a-e as hard facts& but rather as rumors& o,inions and fra-ments. /nd secondly& don0t be fooled into belie1in- that one can ca,ture the 0feelin-0 of bujinkan from history. Feelin- can only be o,tained durintrainin-. I0m certain that this ,a-e holds more 1alue to an e2,erienced ,ractitioner of Bujinkan than to the casual reader. !ead on and see if you a-ree3 /fter each section it will be stated from where I o,tained that ,articular information in a smaller font.

Togakure Ryu
School of the Hidden Door The To-akure school of ninjutsu dates back to To-akure )aisuke in the ,eriod of 4ho "##5#-56*. He recie1ed his trainin- in ninjutsu from 7a-akure )oshi. 4ne 8uly 9day: durin- the Ho-an ,eriod "##%5-%$*& Shima 7osanta ;inamoto no 7anesada& a-ed #5& and a ,owerful clan in the Ise ,ro1ince& joined the army of ;inamoto <oshinaka and fou-ht with 9a-ainst: three thousand horsemen horsemen of the Fujiwara Hidehira army. Lyin- fallen in the battlefield seriously injured& Shima was sa1ed by 7a-akure )oshi and they fled into the mountains of I-a. It is said that he recie1ed his trainin- martial arts as well as ninjutsu from 7a-akure )oshi. In later years he was celebrated as the second -randmaster of the To-akure ryu ninjutsu. Le-end has it that there was a ninja named Ikai who li1ed under the So re-ime of 7orai ",resent day 7orea* from the late tenth to early ele1enth centuries. In the first year of the 7ouyu era he fou-ht a losin- battle a-ainst 7in- 8inso to-ether with the armies of 7ittan and 7a. Then he fled to 8a,an& landin- at Ise and li1ed in a ca1e in I-a ,ro1ince. It was recorded that Ikai was a military commander ,roficient in hicho kakure-ata "concealment techniques based on hicho jutsu*. /nd it is said that he could jum, many meters hi-h with a yell. /,,arantly& Ikai was the first to introduce ninjutsu to 8a,an. 9...: The record say that there ha1e been se1enty-three schools of ninjutsu throu-hout its history. Some of the main schools are as follows+ =e-ishi ryu& Shirai ryu& Shinto ryu& and Hakuun ryu& from which such schools as To-akure ryu& 7oushu ryu& 7ishu ryu& ;inamoto ryu& >enjitu ryu& !yumon ryu& Tenton ha,,o ryu and >oton 8u,,o ryu are said to ha1e been deri1ed. I-a ryu and 7o-a ryu sur1i1ed lon- enou-h to -ain such a hi-h re,utation that they were welcomed by the Toku-awa -o1ernment. Hakuun ryu was initiated by >aryu doji and later featured the fle2ible usa-e of four demons+ shadow demon& fire demon& earth demon and wind demon. )urin- the 4ho ,eriod a,,ro2imately a hundred years after the 8iryaku era& 7a-akure doji& who was a disci,le of Hakuun doji& im,arted trainin- in ninjutsu to To-akure )aisuke& who in turn took care of Shima 7osanta. /s mentioned abo1e& there is a record that in those days quite a few sur1i1ors of the 7iso <oshinake0s army fled into the mountains if I-a ,ro1ince. Later on durin- the (n-en "#??5-?$* and Shohei "#?'5-5$* eras& a number of stra--lers from both the South and the =orth @ourts are said to ha1e sneaked into the mountain of I-a and 7o-a ,ro1inces. Some say that this fact marks the ori-in of 1arious of the ninja includin- I-a and 7o-a ryu. 9...:

Taken from essence of ninjutsu by ;asaaki Hatsumi.

Kukishinden Ryu
The Traditions of the Nine Demon Gods $Sometimes written %u&ishin 'yu in en#lish( The techniques in 7ukishinden ryu are said to ha1e come from @hina and the land beyond @hina. The 7ukishinden ryu was de1elo,ed in the 7umano ,refecture. )urin- the life of the school it was em,loyed by 8a,anese seamen to hel, ,rotect them. This -reatly influenced the schools techniques and wea,ons. Aarriors of the 7ukishinden ryu are said to ha1e used masts and ri--in- durin- combat. In #??B the 8a,anese (m,eror >o )ai-o was held under house arrest at the 7aCanin& the !oyal Summer alace on <oshino mountain& be the Sho-un /shika-a Takauji. It was 7usunoki ;asashi-e& a hi-h rankin- samurai loyal to the (m,eror who was ordered to effect a rescue attem,t. ;asashi-e had in his em,loyment a younsi2teen year old >yoja "mountain ascetic* from 7ishu& south of =ara& named <asushimaru 7urando. 7urando was well known to be skilled in =injutsu and other Bujutsu arts and so was -i1en the task of rescuin- the (m,eror. /ided by another samurai named 7a-oshima& 7urando mana-ed to infiltrate the 7aCan in& and u,on reachin- the em,eror dis-uised him 9the (m,eror: as a woman. Dnfortunately the /shika-a samurai were alerted when 7urando attem,ted to croos the "HiCume corridor" with the em,eror on his back. This wooden corridor was s,ecially desi-ned to make loud sound as was walked on& thus alertin- the -uards. 7urando and the em,eror were surrounded& ,lacin- the (m,eror with his back a-ainst a nearby tree& 7urando faced his oncomin- ad1ersaries armed with his =a-inata "halberd*. 4ne by one they attacked him& and he cut them down with his =a-inata& until only their samurai officer was left. This man was a hi-hly skilled martial artist& and as 7urando cur at him with the =a-inata he retaliated by cuttin- the blade of the =a-inata cleanly away from the shaft. =ow armed only with a wooden ,ole& 7urando defended himself and the (m,eror with a secret !okushakubo "5th staff* technique called ">yaku 7uji". D,on defeatin- the samurai officer 7urando and the (m,eror >o )ai-o made -ood their esca,e& and then with 7a-ishima he escorted the (m,eror back to the ca,ital 7yoto. In reco-nition for this bra1e act the em,eror -a1e 7urando ,ermission to use the "7uki" of 7ukishinden !yu& which su--ests that he fou-ht like "=ine )emons". /lthou-h formalised at this time& the 7ukishinden !yu has a history stretchin- back to the 7amakura (ra "##EB0s*& with techniques that are said to ori-inate in @hina and the Lands beyond. 9...: 7ukishinden ryu hanbojutso is the main wea,on tau-ht to students of ninjutsu in the world today and is the third school in Bujinkan. Sensei Deshiba the founder of modern /ikido& in his youth studied the art of 7ukishinden ryu Ha,,o Hiken jutsu from the 7uki family. Taken from "seminar notes" recie1ed at a seminar with S1eneric Bo-sater and Brinn ;or-an.

Gyokko Ryu
School of The Jewel Tiger It is belie1ed that a @hinese named Ibou introduced these techniques to 8a,an in the Eth century. /ccordin- to ;r. Hatsumi that ,erson could also be somebody from a forie-n country. It is not known e2actly by whom these techniques was introduced& but it is assumed that this 7osshijutsu was de1elo,ed based on @hinese 7em,o.

/lthou-h 7osshijutsu means to be able to knock down an enemy with a fin-er+ it is considered that it rather denotes "the backbone "koshi*+ of martial arts. This >yokko !yu has later become the basis of 1arious martial arts of I-a. Taken from "Hiden =inja Submission" by Hatsumi ;asaaki. To-akure !yu =in,o Taijutsu is a distant branch of the >yokko !yu 7osshijutsu. There is a sayin- in the >yokko !yu "Bushi-okorro wo motte totosho no nasu" - 0the warriors heart is ,recious& and essential0. The school s,ecialiCes in techniques that in1ol1e 7osshijutsu "attacks a-ainst muscles* Shitojutsu "use of thumbs and fin-ers*. The >e !yaku no ;aki is the ;uto )ori 9"e1asion techniques*: of the school and in1ol1es techniques a-ainst swords and s,ears. These are the most difficult and ad1anced within the school. Ty,ical for the >yokko !yu is the ,owerful blocks& and balance takin-. They ,refer to block by hittin- with the knuckles to the muscle areas. The =ine !ules of the >yokko !yu #. The character 0=I=0 means to -uard the nation e1en with one0s life. 6. For-et self& be ,atient& fear not dyin-. ?. In dan-er say or show nothin-. '. /s a stron- enemy comes at you& kee, indominable. %. Ser1e and ,rotect& the master as you must your ,arents. 5. Fices dissa,ate your ,roficiency. G. Bein- drunk affects your jud-ement. E. )estroy the enemies ,ower but lea1e his life. $. To others teach not without the master0s ,ermission. Taken from "Introductory History to..." by aul !ichardson.

Koto Ryu
Knocking down the tiger It is thou-ht that the 7oto !yu came from @hina 1ia 7orea& by @han Busho& a @hinese warrior. It was many -enerations before it was to ,ass to Saka-ami Taro. 9...: The techniques of this !yu was formulated into a ,ro,er !yu-ha by Saka-ami Taro 7unishi-e& in #%'6 who was also a Soke of the >yokko !yu before ;omochi. The second Soke of 7oto !yu was Saka-ami 7otaro& also known as "Bando". he was killed in battle in the later ,art of #%'6. Ahether he took u, com,lete leadershi, of the school before his death is not known. Aith Bando0s death the school ,assed on to So-yokkan !itsushi. So-yokkan was also Soke of >yokko !yu and with him the two schools were brou-ht com,letely to-ether. !e-ardless of this they were tau-ht and ,assed on to the ne2t -eneration as se,erate schools within the same linea-e. These two schools com,lements each other+ 7oto !yu uses short distances between o,,onents - >yokko !uy uses londistances. 7oto !yu techniques are quick and strai-ht to the ,oint - >yokko !yu techniques are more com,le2. 7oto !yu concentrates on strikin- - >yokko !yu on locks and throws. Taken from "Introductory History to..." by aul !ichardson.

Shindenfudo Ryu
School The Immova le Heart The founder of this school& "ICumo"& learnt @hinese 7em,o bo2in-. Today some of this is still noticeable within the techniques. ICumo could also be the founder of 7ukishinden !yu. The $th and #Bth Soke& 7aneko 8insuke <oshikiyo and Tajima >enkuro =ariyoshi were >randmasters of Shindenfudo !yu durin- the 8a,anese ,eriods Shohei and >enchu. In these two ,eriods 8a,an was s,lit by two members of the royal family. (ach called themsel1es the (m,eror of 8a,an and as a result& lar-e battles between the north and the south courts occurred. /s a result of this many distin-uished warriors -ained fame and many schools a,,ears based on the skills that was aquired

on the battlefield. Taken from "Introductory History to..." by aul !ichardson.

Takagi !oshin Ryu

School of the "illow Heart It traces back its ori-ins to the #5th century !in,o Hiden which was studied by Ito 7imori Sachu. This !yu was founded by Taka-i Setsuemon Shi-etoshi. It was also mi2ed later with Sumo wrestlin- techniques and Takenouchi !yu "jujutsu* and others. In the #Gth century& Taka-i >ennoshin Hideoshi held a match with 4hkuni 4nihei Shi-enobu of 7ukishinden !yu and won a match in 8ujutsu. The match subsequently de1elo,ed into a friendshi, between them. Thereafter& Taka-i <oshin !yu has been handed down to-ether with 7ukishinden !yu for -enerations. Taken from "Hiden =inja Submission" by Hatsumi ;asaaki. The Taka-i <oshin !yu uses many techniques similar to 8udo or /ikido& but -oes further in that when the techniques are a,,lied& it is made difficult for the o,,onent to esca,e by rollin- or breakfallin-. These are 1ery close quarter techniques.

Gikan Ryu
School of Truth# $oyalty and Justice The >ikan !yu was founded by Dryu Han-an >ikanbo "#%%E-#%GB*& who was the )aimyo of 7awachi no 7uni "7awachi @astle*. This was the family castle& which was known as Dryujo. It is said that Dryu >ikanbo0s ,unch was so ,owerful& that he once broke a sword0s blade in half. He was also a master of Hichojutsu and Senban =a-e. The #Bth Soke Dryu >ikan had been fi-htin- in the battle now known as "Tenchi-umi no !an". This took ,lace on the #Gth /u-ust #E5?. He was fi-htin- for the em,eror0s army& but was shot in the arm. He still continued to fi-ht with the use of only one arm. Ahen he could he retired to the safety of a nearby tem,le. It was at this tem,le that he was met by Ishitani Takeoi ;asatsu-u& of the 7ukishinden !yu. He told Ishitani that the battle had already finished& so Ishitani then hel,ed him to reco1er and afterwards esca,e to I-a. / friendshi, was then formed& and Ishitani was tau-ht the >ikan !yu and when he attained the required skill le1el& Dryu ,resented him with the ;enkyo 7aiden& and he became the ne2t Soke of the >ikan !yu& addin- this linea-e to two others that he was already the Soke of. These bein- 7ukishinden !yu and Ta-aki <oshin !yu. This !yu contains many s,ecial kicks& ,unches and throws. The dynamic footwork of >ikan !yu is widely used within Bujinkan. Takamatsu first -a1e the ;enkyo 7aiden to >ikan !yu to his best friend and senior student /kimoto Fumio& who became the #'th Soke. /kimoto died from illness around #$56 and he left no successor. Takamatsu therefore trained Hatsumi in >ikan !yu and later ,assed the ;enkyo 7aiden to him. It should be said that this !yu has branched. That ha,,ened because Takamatsu also -a1e ;enkyo 7aiden to Sato 7inbei in >ikan !yu& 7ukishinden !yu and Ta-aki !yu. This man can ri-htly claim to be the #?th Soke of >ikan !yu& just as Hatsumi can claim to be the #%th Soke. Taken from "Introductory History to..." by aul !ichardson.

Gyokushin Ryu
School of the Immovea le Heart It is belie1ed that& the founder& Sasaki >oemon& was ori-inally from the >yokko !yu or that the techniques of >yokushin !yu are based on the >yokko !yu. =ot much is known& in the west& of the combat techniques of >yokushin !yu. The school was s,ecialiCed in the es,iona-e as,ect of ninjutsu. This school was ke,t

secret and unmi2ed with other schools until it ,assed to Toda =obutsuna "#56'#5''*. Taken from "Introductory History to..." by aul !ichardson.

Kumogakure Ryu
School of Hiding in the %louds The 7omu-akure !yu may ha1e been created by the Toda family "also of the To-akure !yu* in the #5BB0s as a =injutsu school of thou-ht& centerin- its techniques on the non-1iolent side of =injutsu. S,ecialties of this !yu include the 7amayari "a hooked s,ear*. It was ori-inally used for climbin- u, the sides of shi,s. It is also used a-ainst swordsmen. /lso used was the )emon ;ask& sometimes worn by the members of the !yu& for maskin- their faces and for shockin- the enemy. It may from here that the 7ikaku 7en strike "")emon Horn strike"* has ori-inated. Inter,reted from "Introductory History to..." by aul !ichardson.