Iga Ninja
For hundreds of years the Iga Ninja groups were the major force in Ninjutsu. Smaller groups existed in other parts of Japan, but in the Sengoku era Ninja groups rose up throughout Japan. Within these groups of spies, saboteurs and assassins, there developed two super groups, the Iga of Mie prefecture and the Koga of Shiga prefecture.
Shinobi of Koka and Iga Ryu Ninjutsu
Most of the Koga Ninja and Iga Ninja were descendents from the Yamabushi; Mountain Priest Warriors that settled in the region. Ikai, a General in the Chinese military, brought Kosshijutsu to Japan after fleeing China's war during the battle of the Kitan and Xia dynasty against King Jinso during (1040-1050). This man had many legendary teachings from The Art of War (SunTzu) and was responsible for introducing these teachings to the Japanese.
Other Iga and Koga groups consisted of wandering Ronin, who were master-less Samurai, similar to modern mercenaries, who took home in the same region. The Koga Ninja were capable of forming false groups within the same area in apparent opposition to one another. This threw off suspicions and allowed the Ninja (Koga) to hide their numbers and to be hired by both sides of any dispute in the region. In that way they acted as triple agents, working not only for both sides, but for themselves as well. The Koga Ninja organizations were most likely shadows of themselves and it is probably the reason the Koga Ninja consisted of 53-family groups within their own region. They remained unobtrusive and less centralized; therefore, they were harder to ferret out and destroy-unlike their Iga counterparts. From among the warlords, came great generals Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga, and last Tokugawa Ieyasu who gradually unified Japan with a complex spy network. These leaders used the Ninja spy network to control the forth comings of such areas of land and power throughout Japan.
Other Iga and Koga groups consisted of wandering Ronin, who were master-less Samurai, similar to modern mercenaries, who took home in the same region. The Koga Ninja were capable of forming false groups within the same area in apparent opposition to one another. This threw off suspicions and allowed the Ninja (Koga) to hide their numbers and to be hired by both sides of any dispute in the region. In that way they acted as triple agents, working not only for both sides, but for themselves as well. The Koga Ninja organizations were most likely shadows of themselves and it is probably the reason the Koga Ninja consisted of 53-family groups within their own region. They remained unobtrusive and less centralized; therefore, they were harder to ferret out and destroy-unlike their Iga counterparts. From among the warlords, came great generals Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga, and last Tokugawa Ieyasu who gradually unified Japan with a complex spy network. These leaders used the Ninja spy network to control the forth comings of such areas of land and power throughout Japan.
History of Iga-ryu Ninjutsu 伊賀流忍術
In the mountains of Iga (present day Mie Prefecture) existed a group of Ninja known as the Iga-ryu. As one of the original users of Ninjutsu, Iga-ryu, along with its older, lesser known counterpart Koga-ryu were the two most famous Ninja ryu of Japan. Being a secret society where stealth was, above all other, the most valued skill, Iga Ninja's origins are completely wrapped in mystery. No one can trace any sort of evedince tied them. Some theories that a foreign influence (such as China) contributated in Ninjutsu’s origins, while some others speculate about fallen soldiers who withdrew to the mountains adopting survival techniques.
It was during the early period known as Muromachi, when people from Iga became independent from their feudal lords due to crimes committed against their Buddhist monasteries and established a kind of little republic in its region. The republic was called the Iga Sokoku Ikki (伊賀惣国一揆; the Iga Republic) in Japanese. The Ninja of Iga were on many occasions under the service of the Imperial Family, affording them much recognition. Unfortunately, the attention they've gained also earned them the ire of many samurai clans, if you didn't know samurias and ninjas were enimes, especially the Oda clan.
In 1579, Oda Nobukatsu, son of the Owari daimyo and infamous Sixth Devil King (第六天魔王Dairoku Tenma-Oh), iniciated an attack on the Iga Republic with about ten thousand well-armed and trained samurai. This attack was repelled by local troops and the Iga ninja suffered little to almost no victims and using their formidable techniques, strategies and their undetectable stealth. Nobunaga couldn’t let his son remain defeated by a group of Ninja, so in 1581 he launched a massive invasion of Iga attacking from six different directions with an army's worth about 40.000 to 60.000 of samurai, resulting in what is chronicled as the Tensho Iga no Ran (天正伊賀の乱; Tenshou Iga Rebellion). The Iga people fought with courage and cunning unfortunately, their territory was soon reduced to only two castles, the Hattori and the Momochi, one being the Iga Ninja fortress. Although compared to the number of Ninja fallen, the Oda clan Samurai were completely eliminated, yet the Iga Ninja suffered a considerable number of victims. Having suffered so many casualties on both sides, and afraid of losing his entire army, Oda Nobunaga negotiated with the Ninja and ordered a cease-fire, a temporary truce. The Iga Ryu Shinobi who survived relinquished their castles to the warlord.
In 1582, Hattori Hanzo Masashige, the legendary Devil of Iga, offered the next Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu an escape route that passed through Koga and Iga, allowing him to escape to Mikawa. This occurred during the times of turmoil and disorder that followed Oda Nobunaga’s death in the Incident of Honno Temple, where he was assassinated by his general Akechi Mitsuhide.
Ieyasu became Shogun and gave work to ninja in gratefulness. They became elite guards in Edo castle, main base of the Shogunate. Ieyasu placed two hundred men of Iga-ryu in Yotsuya’s neighborhood in Edo (that nowadays is Tokyo). Iga’s people were responsible for protecting key entrances to the castle and were elite spies (contrary to popular belief, they only very rarely worked as assassins) for the Shogun. the castle's western door was called Hanzo’s Gate because it was near the Hattori clan residence of Hattori clan, a clan of Iga Ninja.
Hattori Hanzo’s son, Hattori Masanari, was the commander of Iga’s guards in Edo’s castle, but he ended up being a much worse leader than his father, since in 1606 Iga’s people rebelled against him because of his unfair treatment and his abuse.
Iga’s ninja continued working for Tokugawa’s shoguns until Tokugawa Yoshimune (who reigned during 1716-1745) replaced them from their espionage affairs for people of his province, Kii. This serious mistake was rectafied by general Kia Tukanara. Just as the Koga-ryu had 53 clans, the Iga Republic had 49 clans. Some of those clans were as follows:
Tozawa, Fujiwara, Minamoto, Taira, Kuriyama, Momochi, Ishitani, Hattori, Izumo, Kimura, Ohkuni, Tsutsumi, Arima, Hata, Kazama, Mizuhari, Hanbe, Shima, Togakure, Sugino, Ise, Sakagami, Narita, Oda, Hisahara, Ooyama, Mori, Abe, Ueno, Suzuki, Otsuka, Ibuki, Kaneko, Kotani, Kashiwabara, Shindo, Iida, Kataoka, Kanbe, Fukii, Sawada, Kimata, Toyata, Toda, Iga
Presently the Iga-ryu teachings are kept alive here in the Heisei era by a few organizations dedicated to the art of Ninjutsu.
It was during the early period known as Muromachi, when people from Iga became independent from their feudal lords due to crimes committed against their Buddhist monasteries and established a kind of little republic in its region. The republic was called the Iga Sokoku Ikki (伊賀惣国一揆; the Iga Republic) in Japanese. The Ninja of Iga were on many occasions under the service of the Imperial Family, affording them much recognition. Unfortunately, the attention they've gained also earned them the ire of many samurai clans, if you didn't know samurias and ninjas were enimes, especially the Oda clan.
In 1579, Oda Nobukatsu, son of the Owari daimyo and infamous Sixth Devil King (第六天魔王Dairoku Tenma-Oh), iniciated an attack on the Iga Republic with about ten thousand well-armed and trained samurai. This attack was repelled by local troops and the Iga ninja suffered little to almost no victims and using their formidable techniques, strategies and their undetectable stealth. Nobunaga couldn’t let his son remain defeated by a group of Ninja, so in 1581 he launched a massive invasion of Iga attacking from six different directions with an army's worth about 40.000 to 60.000 of samurai, resulting in what is chronicled as the Tensho Iga no Ran (天正伊賀の乱; Tenshou Iga Rebellion). The Iga people fought with courage and cunning unfortunately, their territory was soon reduced to only two castles, the Hattori and the Momochi, one being the Iga Ninja fortress. Although compared to the number of Ninja fallen, the Oda clan Samurai were completely eliminated, yet the Iga Ninja suffered a considerable number of victims. Having suffered so many casualties on both sides, and afraid of losing his entire army, Oda Nobunaga negotiated with the Ninja and ordered a cease-fire, a temporary truce. The Iga Ryu Shinobi who survived relinquished their castles to the warlord.
In 1582, Hattori Hanzo Masashige, the legendary Devil of Iga, offered the next Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu an escape route that passed through Koga and Iga, allowing him to escape to Mikawa. This occurred during the times of turmoil and disorder that followed Oda Nobunaga’s death in the Incident of Honno Temple, where he was assassinated by his general Akechi Mitsuhide.
Ieyasu became Shogun and gave work to ninja in gratefulness. They became elite guards in Edo castle, main base of the Shogunate. Ieyasu placed two hundred men of Iga-ryu in Yotsuya’s neighborhood in Edo (that nowadays is Tokyo). Iga’s people were responsible for protecting key entrances to the castle and were elite spies (contrary to popular belief, they only very rarely worked as assassins) for the Shogun. the castle's western door was called Hanzo’s Gate because it was near the Hattori clan residence of Hattori clan, a clan of Iga Ninja.
Hattori Hanzo’s son, Hattori Masanari, was the commander of Iga’s guards in Edo’s castle, but he ended up being a much worse leader than his father, since in 1606 Iga’s people rebelled against him because of his unfair treatment and his abuse.
Iga’s ninja continued working for Tokugawa’s shoguns until Tokugawa Yoshimune (who reigned during 1716-1745) replaced them from their espionage affairs for people of his province, Kii. This serious mistake was rectafied by general Kia Tukanara. Just as the Koga-ryu had 53 clans, the Iga Republic had 49 clans. Some of those clans were as follows:
Tozawa, Fujiwara, Minamoto, Taira, Kuriyama, Momochi, Ishitani, Hattori, Izumo, Kimura, Ohkuni, Tsutsumi, Arima, Hata, Kazama, Mizuhari, Hanbe, Shima, Togakure, Sugino, Ise, Sakagami, Narita, Oda, Hisahara, Ooyama, Mori, Abe, Ueno, Suzuki, Otsuka, Ibuki, Kaneko, Kotani, Kashiwabara, Shindo, Iida, Kataoka, Kanbe, Fukii, Sawada, Kimata, Toyata, Toda, Iga
Presently the Iga-ryu teachings are kept alive here in the Heisei era by a few organizations dedicated to the art of Ninjutsu.
History of the Koka Ninja 甲賀忍者
The ancient system of Koka Ryu Ninjutsu began in the Tengyo Era (938-946 AD) in an area southwest of Omi Province, when Mochizuki Saburo Kaneie, the third son of Suwa Saemon Minamoto Shigeyori triumphed in battle over Taira-no-Masakado, who led an uprising in the name of the Taira clan. For his proven valor and heroism in battle, Kaniei was awarded part of the Omi Province by the Japanese Imperial Family, and changed his name to Koka-Oni-no-Kami-Kaneie. His son, Ieichika, would study the art of Genjutsu from the Yamabushi Tatsumaki Hoshi. Giving birth to what would be the Koka-ryu Shinobijutsu.
The system of Koka-ryu was transimitted to 53 families of Jizamurai (地侍;local samurai) when they were joined by the troops who had fought with them against the Ashikaga during the Nanboku-cho War (1335-1395).
This unity of clans that fought during the Nanboku Wars became known as the Koka Gojusanke (甲賀流五十三家; the 53 Clans of Koka-Ryu). During the Muromachi Period (1336-1573) the 53 clans developed a method of Ninjutsu native to their region exclusively to their clans, carrying out clandestine actvities.
Eight families took up little by little the leadership of Koka-Ryu. The eight clans were Koga, Mochizuki, Ugai, Naikii, Akutagawa, Ueno, Ban, and Nakano.
Groups in the Koga ryu such as Hiryu-gumi, Kakuryu-gumi, Tachibana Hachi-Tengu-gumi, and Kawachi-Yon Tengu-gumi had their own Ninjutsu masters of high renown. During the Hokuto period (1441-1451), the leading heirs were Koka Saburo, Mochizuki Goro, Ugai Ryuhoshi, Naiki Fujibe, and Akutagawa Kazuma. Koka Saburo II, Mochizuki Yaijiro, Ugai Chiaki, Naiki Gohei and Akutagawa Tenoei, were hired by the Sasaki family, who was the Daimyo in that area, to lead their troops against Ashikaga Yoshizawa during the Bunmei period (1469-1487). One hundred years later the Sasaki family again hired Ninjas from both the Koka and Iga (as well as Samurai) in 1570, with the hopes of destroying Oda Nobunaga. Even though the Samurai were trained rigorously as ordered by the Koga and Iga Jonin, General Nobunaga still defeated them.
For centuries, both the Iga and the Koka ninja groups continued training themselves to be amongst the best warriors the world has ever seen. They continued in relative quietness until the twentieth century, when they started to export their teachings to others that they conscidered worthy outside the homeland. After the hostilities of WWII ended, the world was open to the Ninja. Free to travel and to coexist amongst all peoples, they continued passing their secrets from master to student, and father to son. Their own country had placed restrictions and hindered the Ninja arts to flourish, even more than it did decades ago. In the early 1960's a small group of Ninjas (Koga) immigrated to the western nations of Canada and the United States. Others traveled to countries that belonged to NATO, with the U.S.A. as it's founding leader. Many of these Koga Ninjas were businessmen and professionals looking to blend in within the confines of their new homes, and intentionally prepared for the passing of all the secrets of the ninja arts to any who they found worthy to study.
In the several years since then, it is speculated that the Koga-ryu Ninja have died out after the death of Fujita Seiko, 14th Soke of the Koga-ryu Wada-Ha of Ninjutsu.
As for the Koga-ryu Ban clan of Ninjutsu, it is maintained by 21st Soke Kawakami Jinichi, curator of the Iga ryu Museum and his head student Kiyomoto Yasushi; president of the Banke Shinobi-no-Den Kenshujo. Even though the bloodlines have faded away into the mists of time, their priciples and arts remain alive in the few practicioners to this day.
The system of Koka-ryu was transimitted to 53 families of Jizamurai (地侍;local samurai) when they were joined by the troops who had fought with them against the Ashikaga during the Nanboku-cho War (1335-1395).
This unity of clans that fought during the Nanboku Wars became known as the Koka Gojusanke (甲賀流五十三家; the 53 Clans of Koka-Ryu). During the Muromachi Period (1336-1573) the 53 clans developed a method of Ninjutsu native to their region exclusively to their clans, carrying out clandestine actvities.
Eight families took up little by little the leadership of Koka-Ryu. The eight clans were Koga, Mochizuki, Ugai, Naikii, Akutagawa, Ueno, Ban, and Nakano.
Groups in the Koga ryu such as Hiryu-gumi, Kakuryu-gumi, Tachibana Hachi-Tengu-gumi, and Kawachi-Yon Tengu-gumi had their own Ninjutsu masters of high renown. During the Hokuto period (1441-1451), the leading heirs were Koka Saburo, Mochizuki Goro, Ugai Ryuhoshi, Naiki Fujibe, and Akutagawa Kazuma. Koka Saburo II, Mochizuki Yaijiro, Ugai Chiaki, Naiki Gohei and Akutagawa Tenoei, were hired by the Sasaki family, who was the Daimyo in that area, to lead their troops against Ashikaga Yoshizawa during the Bunmei period (1469-1487). One hundred years later the Sasaki family again hired Ninjas from both the Koka and Iga (as well as Samurai) in 1570, with the hopes of destroying Oda Nobunaga. Even though the Samurai were trained rigorously as ordered by the Koga and Iga Jonin, General Nobunaga still defeated them.
For centuries, both the Iga and the Koka ninja groups continued training themselves to be amongst the best warriors the world has ever seen. They continued in relative quietness until the twentieth century, when they started to export their teachings to others that they conscidered worthy outside the homeland. After the hostilities of WWII ended, the world was open to the Ninja. Free to travel and to coexist amongst all peoples, they continued passing their secrets from master to student, and father to son. Their own country had placed restrictions and hindered the Ninja arts to flourish, even more than it did decades ago. In the early 1960's a small group of Ninjas (Koga) immigrated to the western nations of Canada and the United States. Others traveled to countries that belonged to NATO, with the U.S.A. as it's founding leader. Many of these Koga Ninjas were businessmen and professionals looking to blend in within the confines of their new homes, and intentionally prepared for the passing of all the secrets of the ninja arts to any who they found worthy to study.
In the several years since then, it is speculated that the Koga-ryu Ninja have died out after the death of Fujita Seiko, 14th Soke of the Koga-ryu Wada-Ha of Ninjutsu.
As for the Koga-ryu Ban clan of Ninjutsu, it is maintained by 21st Soke Kawakami Jinichi, curator of the Iga ryu Museum and his head student Kiyomoto Yasushi; president of the Banke Shinobi-no-Den Kenshujo. Even though the bloodlines have faded away into the mists of time, their priciples and arts remain alive in the few practicioners to this day.