Bujinkan

Taijutsu

The Bujinkan's curriculum centers on taijutsu (body skills). It also covers ninjutsu tactics and strategy (ninpō) and weapons training, both traditional and modern (happō bikenjutsu), which is drawn from the Bujinkan's branch of Kukishin-ryū.

Taijutsu is the Bujinkan's system of unarmed combat, using strikes, throws, holds, chokes and joint locks. It is divided into four areas, each named after the unarmed art of the schools that specialize in it:

• Koppōjutsu (骨法術, lit. 'bone method art') attacks the opponent's bones. It also exploits skeletal structure, both the practitioner's own and the opponent's. It is the speciality of Kotō-ryū and Gikan-ryū.
• Kosshijutsu (骨指術, lit. 'bone finger art') attacks the muscles and other weak points of the body rather than the bones. It is the speciality of Gyokko-ryū, and Gyokushin-ryū is considered a style of it.
• Jūtaijutsu (柔体術, lit. 'supple body art') covers throwing, joint locks, choking and grappling, and relies on a relaxed, flexible body rather than strength. It is the speciality of Takagi Yōshin-ryū.
• Dakentaijutsu (打拳体術, lit. 'striking fist body art') covers striking, kicking and blocking. It is the speciality of Shinden Fudō-ryū.

The first levels of training, such as leaping, tumbling, breakfalls and body conditioning, form the foundation of taijutsu. Students need them before progressing to unarmed combat and the use of tools and weapons. Once learned, taijutsu techniques can be applied to any situation, armed or unarmed.

The word taijutsu (体術) literally means "body skill". Historically in Japan it was often used interchangeably with jujutsu and similar terms for a range of grappling skills. In aikido, it distinguishes unarmed techniques from armed ones such as stick fighting. In ninjutsu, especially since the rise of ninja films, the term has been used to avoid referring explicitly to "ninja" combat techniques.^{[citation needed]}

Physical conditioning

Jūnan taisō (jūnan meaning "flexible") is a yoga-like method of stretching and breathing that Bujinkan practitioners use to develop and maintain physical condition and well-being. The exercises promote relaxation, circulation, muscle tone and flexibility. They are a core part of every training session, preparing the body for practice. All the major joints are rotated and stretched while the practitioner focuses on breathing and concentration.

Founding and growth

Hatsumi began training under Toshitsugu Takamatsu at the age of 27, travelling every week from Noda to Takamatsu's home in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture. He studied with him for about fifteen years, until Takamatsu's death in 1972, and inherited from him the headship of the nine schools. Hatsumi founded the Bujinkan in his late thirties, to pass these arts on to a new generation; a 2015 profile published by the Cabinet Office gives the year as 1970. Its headquarters (hombu dōjō) is in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, near Atago Station.

The Bujinkan became known outside Japan in the late 1970s and 1980s. Western students such as Stephen K. Hayes, who trained with Hatsumi in Japan in the 1970s and wrote a series of books on ninjutsu in the 1980s, introduced his art abroad at a time when ninja films were highly popular. Hatsumi first taught in the United States in the early 1980s. He began teaching abroad in his fifties, and over the following 25 years travelled to more than 50 countries.

By the 2000s, the Bujinkan had about 100,000 practitioners worldwide, and most of the students training at the Noda dōjō were foreigners. Hatsumi has said he does not know how many students he has had; estimates of former and current students run from 300,000 to 500,000. Senior instructors (dai-shihan) teach in many countries, so many practitioners are students of Hatsumi's students rather than of Hatsumi himself. Hatsumi has been made an honorary citizen of Los Angeles, Atlanta and other cities.

Several of Hatsumi's senior students later founded their own organizations. Shoto Tanemura founded the Genbukan in 1984, Fumio Manaka founded the Jinenkan in 1996, and Hayes developed To-Shin Do in 1997.

In December 2019, around his 88th birthday, Hatsumi appointed separate heads for each of the nine schools (see Schools).

Lineage of the schools

Almost all of the Bujinkan's schools are listed, with their historical lineages, in the Bugei Ryūha Daijiten (Encyclopedia of Martial Art Schools). It was compiled by Watatani Kiyoshi and Yamada Tadashi and first published in 1963. Since 1968, four years before Takamatsu's death, the encyclopedia has included Hatsumi after Takamatsu in these lineages.

Several Bujinkan ryūha are mentioned in the Kakutōgi no Rekishi (History of Fighting Arts). Without going into detail, it says that "there are several schools that are well-known for being 'effective arts' (jitsuryoku ha)". The schools it lists in this section include Gyokko-ryū, Gikan-ryū, Gyokushin-ryū, Kukishin-ryū and Takagi Yōshin-ryū. It also lists Asayama Ichiden-ryū, which is not one of the Bujinkan's nine schools but which Hatsumi studied under Takashi Ueno.

Several of the samurai schools taught by Hatsumi, such as Kukishinden-ryū and Takagi Yōshin-ryū, have well-documented lineages, and other branches of these arts survive under their own sōke. Ninjutsu is different. Although the activities of the ninja are well documented, the nature of the art and its historical context mean that no written records of ninjutsu teachings survive from before 1676. Some researchers therefore argue that the oral lineage of the Togakure-ryū tradition cannot be independently verified.

The Bugei Ryūha Daijiten gives the full lineage of Togakure-ryū as follows: "The succession is an oral tradition from Toda Shinryūken. Toda Shinryūken Masamitsu died in 1908 at the age of 90 years. According to the lineage, Ikai originated the school, and in the Yōwa period (1181–1182), it separated from Hakuun Dōshi of Hakuun-ryū and became the Kōga and Iga schools of ninjutsu. The lineage passed through Momochi Sandayū and entered into the Natori-ryū of Kishū domain. From the time of Toda Nobutsuna, the tradition was passed on to the Toda family. This genealogy refers to dates and kuden (orally transmitted stories/lessons) about people implying that these people were older than written records would suggest."

Its entry on Gyokko-ryū reads: "Receiving the tradition of Gyokko-ryū Shitojutsu from Sakagami Taro Kunishige of the Tenbun era, Toda Sakyo Ishinsai established Gyokko-ryū Kosshijutsu as well as Kotō-ryū Koppōjutsu, passing them on to Momochi Sandayu, bringing them within the traditions of Iga-ryū Ninjutsu of Toda Shinryuken who lived during the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It is said that Toda Shinryuken died in the 14th year of the Meiji Emperor (1881) at the age of 90 years."

Its entry on Kotō-ryū reads: "The genesis of koppōjutsu is said to have been in ancient China. Kotō-ryū was brought to our country by a Chan Bushou of Korea, after this it was brought within the traditions of Iga-ryū Ninjutsu, and its revitalization in the Tenbun era is said to have been from Momochi Sandayu inheriting the tradition from Toda Sakyo Ishinsai (oral tradition from Toda Shinryuken)."

Yearly themes

Since 1988, Hatsumi has given his teaching a particular theme each year, which he announces at the Daikōmyōsai. The theme is usually a particular ryū, or a set of techniques drawn from a particular ryū. Students who trained in Japan in different years may therefore emphasize different material. This is one reason the techniques of different Bujinkan teachers often differ noticeably. Although ninpō taijutsu is an overarching theme of the Bujinkan, 2008 was the first year in which one of the ninpō schools was the focus. Before founding the Bujinkan and teaching the nine schools together, Hatsumi awarded rank certificates in individual schools. The themes have been:

No single school or weapon was announced for 2009. Instead, Hatsumi spoke about three qualities important to a martial artist, which he said would become something of a theme for the following year: sainō (talent), kokoro (heart) and utsuwa (capacity). Soon afterward, he proposed replacing kokoro with tamashii (soul). He reasoned that the heart is constantly changing, whereas the soul is permanent and unchanging and therefore "essential to the person".

Gyokushin-ryū Ninpō

Gyokushin-ryū Ninpō ("The Jeweled Heart School") is taught by the Bujinkan martial arts organization. According to the Bujinkan, Gyokushin Ryu has sutemi waza techniques and is focused more on the art and techniques of espionage than on fighting. Its most prominent weapon is the lasso (nagenawa). The Bugei Ryuha Daijiten states that Takamatsu Toshitsugu transferred the Gyokushin-ryū Ninpō to Hatsumi in the middle of the 20th century, making Hatsumi its 21st sōke. Gyokushin-ryū Ninpō is taught today in the Bujinkan organization. According to the Bujinkan martial arts organization, Gyokushin-ryū was founded in the mid-16th century by Sasaki Goeman Teruyoshi, who was also sōke of Gyokko-ryū, which explains the similarities between the two styles. Gyokushin-ryū is considered a style of koshi jutsu.

Togakure-ryū

According to Bujinkan members, Ninja Jūhakkei (the eighteen disciplines) were first identified in the scrolls of Togakure-ryū (戸隠流), or the "School of the Hidden Door", founded during the Oho period (1161–62) by one Daisuke Nishina (Togakure), who learned a life view and techniques (ninjutsu) from Kagakure Doshi. Togakure-ryū Ninjutsu Hidenshō is a manuscript in Hatsumi's possession that is said to document Togakure-ryū.^{[citation needed]} It is the purported origin of the "18 skills of Ninjutsu".^{[citation needed]}

Ninja jūhakkei was often studied along with bugei jūhappan (the 18 samurai fighting art skills). Though some techniques were used in the same way by both samurai and ninja, others were used differently by the two groups. The 18 disciplines are:

Kyū levels

The Bujinkan has a series of kyū grades below shodan (first dan). New students start unranked (mukyū, "without grade") and progress from kukyū (9th kyū), the lowest grade, to ikkyū (1st kyū), the highest. Unranked students wear white belts, kyū-grade students wear green belts (men) or red belts (women), and those of shodan and above wear black belts. In some dojos, especially in children's classes, kyū-grade students wear other colored belts, with the colors varying from place to place.

In Japan it was once customary for men below shodan to wear green belts over a black training uniform (ninjutsugi), and for women to wear red belts over a purple one. The purple uniform has largely been abandoned. In most dojos, men and women now both wear black uniforms, with green or red belts respectively. On their feet they usually wear tabi: soft-soled tabi for indoor training and jika-tabi for outdoor training.

Dan levels

There are ten dan grades in the Bujinkan, and the tenth (jūdan) is divided into five further levels. Apart from fifth dan (see below), there are no fixed criteria for promotion. Each dojo takes its own approach, shaped by the local culture and the instructor's preferences.

Progression from 9th kyū to shodan is typically guided by the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki ("Scrolls of Heaven, Earth and Man"), which cover all the fundamental techniques needed for later study. Up to fourth dan, students are expected to build strong foundations and perfect their form. From fifth dan, the focus shifts to responding naturally in dynamic and increasingly challenging situations.

To reach fifth dan (godan), a fourth-dan practitioner must pass the sakki test (also called the godan test) before the sōke. The test establishes whether they can sense danger and evade it, which is considered a fundamental survival skill. A practitioner who passes is considered to be under the protection of the Bujin (guiding spirits) and may apply for a teaching license (shidōshi menkyo). A shidōshi (士道師) may open their own Bujinkan dōjō and grade students up to fourth dan. A practitioner between first and fourth dan may become a licensed assistant instructor (shidōshi-ho) if backed by, and working under the supervision of, a shidōshi. Practitioners of tenth dan and above are often called shihan.

A practitioner's rank is shown by the color of the Bujinkan emblem, the wappen (ワッペン), which bears the kanji bu (武) and jin (神). There are four kinds of wappen: for kyū grades, for 1st–4th dan, for 5th–9th dan, and for 10th dan and above. Some are supplemented with up to four silver, gold or white stars (hoshi) above or around the emblem to mark individual ranks. The five levels above 10th dan are named chi, sui, ka, fū and kū.

Besides the kyū/dan system, a few practitioners hold menkyo kaiden ("license of complete transmission") in individual schools or specific areas of study. It certifies that the holder has learned everything there is to learn in that lineage or subject. Whereas kyū and dan ranks are often made public, holders of menkyo kaiden rarely disclose it, and are sometimes reluctant even to tell outsiders their dan rank.