the mainland kingdoms that had employed them fell, generals and commanders such as Ikai, Cho Busho, and Cho Gyokko found themselves hunted men, and so sought sanctuary across the narrow sea on the islands of Japan. Their teachings found receptive ears and blended with the indigenous attitudes and approaches to warfare.
As well as Chinese military tactics there came the closely related teachings of Chinese mysticism, developed from the esoteric knowledge of India and Tibet. Chinese monks and shamans came to dwell in the forests and caves of the Kii Peninsula beginning about A.D. 1024. They expounded systems of integrated mind-body awareness, based on personal understanding of the order of the universe, which were taken up by the Japanese yamabushi (mountain warrior-priests), and sennin and gyoja (warrior-ascetics of the wilderness). Chinese mystic priests such as Kain Doshi, Gamon Doshi, and Kasumikage Doshi, as well as their Japanese disciples, are said to have been the. teachers of the original ninja families. These beliefs remained closely associated with the ninja even after they became codified into the mikkyo (esoteric doctrine) sect of Buddhism in later years.
Ninjutsu coalesced gradually from a mixture of these Chinese and native Japanese elements; unlike most Oriental religions and martial arts, it was never actually founded at any one specific point in history. The basic body of knowledge that was later called ninjutsu was at first considered merely an unconventional way of looking at situations and accomplishing things. What went on to eventually become a highly systematic method of combat and espionage began as a shadowy counterculture, a reaction against the mainstream of Japanese political and social tradition.
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4, 5. Old books explaining ninja tactics and symbolism.
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6. Instructions for making torches and other lighting apparatus.
For example, the ninjutsu ryu (tradition or school) of the Togakure family was not formalized until three generations after Daisuke Togakure began to develop it. Allied with a clan that was defeated in a series of battles against superior forces, Daisuke lost all, including his samurai status, and escaped to the mountainous wilderness southeast of Kyoto. Wandering among the pine forests and marshes of the Kii Peninsula in 1162, he met the warrior monk Kain Doshi, who had fled to Japan from the political and military upheaval in China. There in the mountain caves of Iga Province (within present-day Mie Prefecture), Daisuke studied with this mystic, learning new concepts of warfare and personal accomplishment based on Chinese and Tibetan ideas about the order of the universe. Daisuke was taught the practical applications of the balance of the elements in diet, in combat, in thought and emotion, and in utilizing the forces and cycles of nature to advantage. Thus, away from the limiting conventions of samurai conduct that he had never thought to question, he discovered a completely new way of working his will. It was Daisuke’s descendants ants that developed and refined these notions into the Togakure-ryu of ninjutsu, and came to be called by the name of ninja.
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7. Old book showing ninja weapons.
Most of the ryu of ninjutsu grew up in the mountains of south central Honshu island, including the two largest ones: the Iga-ryu and the Koga-ryu. The Iga-ryu, which like the Togakure-ryu operated in Iga Province, was under the control of the Momochi, Hattori, and Fujibayashi clans. The Koga-ryu, located in Koga Province (in modern Shiga Prefecture), took in 53 lesser-known families, including the Mochizuki, Ukai, Nakai, and many that adopted the name Koga.
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8. Shuriken.
There were also many smaller schools of ninjutsu, each with its own specialities, and each handed down through the members of a family that guarded its secrets with their lives. For example, the Koto-ryu specialized in techniques of bone breaking known as koppojutsu, which later evolved into jujutsu and karate. The Fudo-ryu relied heavily on shuriken (steel throwing blades) to hinder adversaries. A vast network of spies was maintained by the Kusunoki-ryu to gather and pass along information. The Kukishin-ryu developed many unorthodox methods of utilizing standard weapons of the period. The specialty of the Gyokko-ryu was the use of koshijutsu, the attacking of nerve centers with pinching or striking finger-drives. The Togakure-ryu’s secret was the shuko, a spiked iron band worn around the hand, enabling the ninja to stop sword blades or climb trees and walls like a cat. Another device utilized by the Togakure ninja was the tetsubishi, a small spiked weapon used to slow pursuers or protect doorways. Made with spikes sticking out in all directions, the tetsubishi were scattered on the ground to be stepped on by the unsuspecting. In addition to these, dozens of other families such as the Taira, Izumo, Toda, Kashihara, Abe, Sakaue, and Mori were active in the secret arts collectively known as ninjutsu.
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9. Shuko.
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10. Tetsubishi.
11. Wearing the shuko.
As ninjutsu took form, the ninja developed an organizational system designed to preserve the essential element of secrecy. Three distinct ranks were established within the ryu, each rank with a specific type of work to do and specific responsibilities.
At the head of each ryu was a commander in chief known as a jonin (high man). The jonin controlled the activities of the ninja organization, and made the decisions about whom his ninja would aid and at what price. In the larger ryu, the jonin was a wise man who was well informed on all events in his area. His decisions were based on a philosophical understanding of the scheme of totality, and he was prompted to aid others by a concern for the righ’t and the fitting. The true jonin was a maintainer of harmony, aiding the underdog faced with hopeless odds and no honorable recourse.
The jonin reduced his vulnerability by remaining anonymous to most of his agents. This made it impossible for the agents to reveal his identity under torture or in selling out to rival organizations. Furthermore, the jonin could assign several agents to the same mission without their knowledge, to prevent a double cross. By receiving bits of information from all of these agents, he became the only one with a complete picture of the situation. This system of invisible command is popular among many modern criminal organizations for much the same reasons.
Working for the jonin was a group of officers known as chunin (middle men). To this group fell the duties of actually organizing the operation decided on by the jonin. The chunin knew how to get the job done and which agents to assign to particular tasks. He also served as a buffer, carrying orders from the jonin to the field and thereby insuring the leader’s safety and anonymity.
As an officer class, the chunin rarely took active roles as agents. Their training included some of the ninja’s fighting techniques and espionage tactics, but strategy and effective management were the prime areas of concern.
The field agent was known as a genin (low man). He had the responsibility of carrying out the plans and operations of his superiors. It was this genin that inspired all the fantastic legends connected with the exploits of the ninja.
When not engaged in espionage, genin lived with their families in remote, secret villages, almost always located in hard-to-reach mountainous areas. Appearing to be farmers, the ninja could live and train without constantly being on guard. Because of the insulated system of organization, two groups of genin often had no idea that they were working for
