by NBK Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:58 am
Interesting but leaves questions.
That's not Ohtake sensei of Katori Shinto ryu - that's one of his deshi, a gent from Chiba whose name escapes me. Ohtake sensei is a much older gent.
The producers found two of the great PR seekers of 'kobudo' in Japan, prolific gents who've made a living by ... no one is quite sure. Hatsumi sensei is a genial old gent that caught the nascent ninja wave and built it into a global enterprise.
After watching their claims to antiquity demolished in detail, the 'ninjer' crowd now typically points out that a couple of the heiden (subsumed martial arts) have an historic presence and are quite old (but nowhere near '800 years'). The questionable link is how Hatsumi, an aikido student with a degree in theater IIRC, becomes the ninja master. His master was one of a couple of gents in the postwar era that showed up and claimed unbroken lineage back to undocumented antiquity; one was the genial fraud and genuine martial artist and prolific historian Fujita Seiko, the other was Takamatsu Toshitsugu. The Japanese historians who have looked at this note too many documentary and temporal discrepancies for the histories of unbroken transmission, which is a core interest and source of legitimacy in kobudo.
But to further confuse the issue, as CK pointed out, ninjutsu (usually called ninpō - the way of the shinobi) is separate from the ninja - the shinobi warrior. Ninpō was cited by most sources as one of the 18 martial arts of the complete samurai - meaning, when stealth is called for, use stealth. While the last, and one of the few modern government mentions of ninpō is in a curriculum for the Nakano intelligence school, where ninpō was taught to Japanese intelligence operatives / spies.
Japanese tourism has capitalized on the modern interest in ninja, particularly the isolated towns of Iga and Togakure ('hidden door', a lovely little town in the mountains of Nagano), modifying shrines into 'ninja shrines', ninja museums, etc.
To me ninjutsu practice is a typical example of way too many tools in the box - there are so many disparate techniques that most folks don't master the basics of body control, but want more and more novelty and techniques. But certainly there are accomplished athletes that can use the techniques effectively, and people who have been inspired to build considerable athleticism through the practice of ninjutsu. Good on them... just don't insult my intelligence by claiming an unbroken 800 yr old inheritance without proof.
Kohno Yoshinori, the swordsman who taught the basketball team, is a prolific writer that cranks out book after book. Clearly fast as lightning, he turns up everywhere. Doesn't seem to have a single authenticated link to kobudo, which is the basis of his persona.
Dr. Alex Bennett is a great guy. College prof, editor of Kendo World, translator of multiple books (latest is a new and highly acclaimed translation of Hagakure), real kendo 7 dan IIRC, highly ranked in naginata, frequent lecturer and member of the Japanese Academy of Martial Arts. Kendo World Books
He also translated "Jigoro Kano and the Kodokan: An Innovative Response to Modernisation", a great introduction to the Kodokan.
But given the flashy demos of ninjutsu and swordsmanship versus the focused practice of naginata, how many recruits will be enticed to one or the other?
NBK