Samurai and Ninja: The Real Story Behind the Japanese Warrior Myth That Shatters the Bushido Mystique

by Antony Cummins

  The lord listened to this and said:

  “If you have an intention to take the side of the enemy then you would have not shown me this letter. If a generational retainer such as you should change their allegiance then it shows that a general’s luck is at an end. If you were false-hearted, then I would fall no matter how much I try to defend myself against it. Also, secret communication from the enemy is not only to gain your allegiance but it is also sent to split a lord from his retainers, and to develop suspicion between them. You will not desert me, of this I have no doubts, therefore you must engage in such necessary measures to gain victory.”

  Saying this he showed no sign of coldness in his voice. At this, the retainer built a suspended false fence at the gate where his men were guarding. There he waited for the enemy to come on their night attack. At the arranged time, as expected, 100 men from the enemy approached in secret, relying on the secret communications that they had engaged in. When the suspended rope was cut, stones and wood were thrown at them, along with a volley of arrows and musket fire. As it was dark it made it hard for them to withdraw, so the enemy tried to move into the castle, but a double fence had been prepared. They were all shot through the gun ports with projectile weapons. None of the allied force had to move outside of the castle. All of the attackers were killed in the event. A later rumor said that the lord of the besieging side was not really of a tactical mind; he was easily deceived. Also the retainer was righteous, his family was in the third generation of service. How did [the enemy general even] think that with such secret communications [a generational retainer] would take the side of an enemy? Kiichi’s tradition* says:

  “An ill thought-out stratagem will ruin your allies.”

  Tactics should be prepared [appropriately] dependent on the time and the enemy. In conducting this you should use [the enemy’s] sense of justice, benefits, sex, money and countless other means; and should not believe that you have succeeded without evidence of such. Also do not assume that you have fully captured the enemy [in your tactics] if the enemy shows a sign of indecisiveness. Thus there is doubt about the saying that “a plan [carried out] without any regrets will win.”

  危働を凶むべき事

  Ayauki Hataraki wo Imubeki Koto

  Avoiding risky conflicts

  Concerning those who serve as shinobi:

  When events change to a time of turbulence there will be no time for those who are shinobi to rest. They are busy moving back and forth to the enemy province. This is especially so just before a lord leaves for war. They have to move around to know the geography of the enemy province and the boundaries of the area, to listen to the rumors taking place; to observe and listen, gathering the information on the enemy tactics. During battles they even infiltrate through arrow and gun ports in enemy castles and move around in all directions [on the battlefield]. Sometimes they remain within the enemy and at other times they go back to their allies. They go forth and return without being noticed, even by their own allies. They deceive the enemy in various ways, and when their own forces move on a night attack, they go ahead of the troops guiding them along the way. At times they will steal the enemy’s weapons, deceive the enemy, pass through their checkpoints and do this without sparing their own lives. They will have no concern for any disgrace that they may receive. Even though a Bushi warrior should put the highest priority on loyalty over their disgrace, there are many tasks that carry humiliation in the job of shinobi. It is often the case that people who are not exclusively hired for this job, really do not like to accept such tasks. Sometimes miners, carpenters, blacksmiths and so on are attached to shinobi. The miners are used for digging holes. They make good judgements on where water is to be found. The blacksmiths and the carpenters are used for building watchtowers (or besieging constructions). They also enable the climbing of heights and the flattening of lower places.

  Building watchtowers, constructing besieging engines, knowing where the enemy is not strictly defended (to facilitate an upcoming attack), are all measures that should be conducted based on the judgments of the shinobi—remember to be resourceful. These points also apply when building a temporary fort that faces an enemy castle.

  進退心得之事

  Shindai Kokoroe no Koto

  Things to keep in mind when advancing and retreating:

  ♦ During a night attack shinobi infiltrate from steep areas.

  ♦ When defending a castle and the besieging enemy withdraw, you should not end your defense or let your guard down while the enemy are still within a distance of twenty ri. Send shinobi to follow them until there are no doubts left.

  君臣たる人ハ侫者に近つくべからざる事

  Kunshin Taru Hito wa Neisha ni Chikazuku Bekarazaru Koto

  The lord and his retainers should not surround themselves with evil-minded people

  In war, shinobi should be sent, and/or monomi are sent out to scout to discover the enemy’s intention. They observe the topography of the land before any orders are given to a force. Likewise, in times of peace yokome (“investigators”) should be used to investigate the talk and behavior of those of other provinces before any judgement in governing is decided.

  Indeed, victory in war is secured by the ability of these shinobi and monomi. It rests on their ability to identify [the truth of a situation]. Also if they harbor no evil intentions then the lord’s tactics will unfold positively and they will fulfil a complete victory. If they are lacking in the power of observation, and their minds are not righteous, then these tactics will fail. Ruin will immediately follow.

  窃盗の者嗜みの事

  Shinobi no mono Tashinami no Koto

  Shinobi no mono should maintain discretion

  As a Bushi warrior, you should harshly restrict yourself from falling into evil-mindedness. This applies especially to those who have mastered shinobi ways and conduct various tactics. All of which are justified no matter what tactics are deployed, as long as they are done for loyalty. If you achieve loyalty with such skills, luck will follow and you will gain honor. Alternatively, if you plot with evil intent and have a mind to your own desires, then you will ruin yourself and become a notorious enemy. Therefore, study the correct way of bu—“the path of the samurai.”

  Generally it is more than fair for a samurai to be prepared with any kind of art. If the art of the shinobi is mastered, it is no way a bad thing. Knowledge of shinobi ways can be used as a defense against shinobi or at times it has to be used in tactics to fulfil loyalty. Military skills should not be turned to majutsu—“skills of evil magic.” Even those who are known to have mastered the shinobi arts, if they used these arts for their own desires, severe punishments will find them. If a common person uses shinobi no jutsu—“the skills of the shinobi”—for evil intent, then their sins will be tenfold over those who exclusively perform shinobi skills as a profession. Therefore, maintain your discretion.

  修身を以て成忠孝事

  Mi wo Osamuru wo Motte Chuko to Narubeki Koto

  Truly honing yourself perfects loyalty and fidelity

  … Therefore, in any art, even if it does not look so wondrous, it should have some virtue if it truly has value. For example, [it is said] those who do shinobi tasks can even transform themselves to mice or birds, which should be no way believable. However, in the saying “they do such wonders,” there should be something beneficial to be found. Thus, birds can fly with excellence and mice can pass narrow paths with ease. Therefore, there should be excellent benefits found in human skills. Those who guard should keep their eyes wide open and their minds active; never let their guards down so that shinobi will not be able to do any harm, no matter what exquisite skills they use. Even if enemy shinobi come to see your camp or castle while scouting, and if they see or listen how well-prepared your allies are, it will turn out advantageous for you in the end. This is because if your allies band together as one, and if you are well disciplined, holding fast to the given role of lord and retainers, the enem
y shinobi will find this outstanding. In turn, they will report it back to their own side. Doing this makes the enemy fear and become drawn to your side with respect, or even to communicate with you secretly, from such there will only be desirable effects. Nothing that would make them despise or hate you. Thus it seems that the enemy shinobi can bring you an advantage. Be fully aware of this and make sure to continue in the fulfilment of your own duties.

  The above translation is a formidable window into early shinobi writings and leads us directly on to another, presumably early, writing.

  The general samurai community were well aware of the name Fukushima Masanori, but few were aware of his connection to the shinobi.

  Fukushima Masanori

  The “Lost” Shinobi Scroll of Fukushima-Ryu

  The next scroll to be translated has an elusive history. During my research I found myself in Tokyo at the Japanese National Diet Library (NDL) many times. Inside the NDL collection listings is the name of a Fukushima-Ryu shinobi scroll. After ordering a viewing of the manuscript, Yoshie Minami and myself sat in the waiting area with excitement. The clerk, a Japanese gentleman in standard shirt and tie, reported back to us. He informed us that the scroll has been missing for over fifty years and that there is no copy available. So, down but not out, I continued the search. A search that led me back to the same place it normally does, the Iga Ueno Museum (home to the largest collection of shinobi scrolls in the world). That line was a dead end. Then, time passed and a few years later, a gentleman by the name of Rein de Rooij contacted me. Rein told me that he had heard of my research and that he had been at the above museum in the early 1990s, visiting the late Mr. Okuse, the Mayor of Iga. He very kindly offered to allow me to see scrolls that he had copied during his visit, and as I looked through the list, a spark of excitement lit within me again. In the list was a copy of the missing Fukushima-Ryu shinobi scroll. Copied in classic 1990s photostat, I had the scroll re-transcribed by Mieko, my trusted helper and friend. Excitedly, translation was under way.

  The scroll is broken into two sections. The first section is the original scroll and the second an annotated addendum, the latter being dated to 1797.

  They are listed as:

  Part One

  福嶌流忍術之書

  Fukushima-Ryu Shinobi-jutsu no Sho

  Part One—the alternative title used in the text

  福嶋流忍之巻

  Fukuashima-Ryu Shinobi no Maki

  Part Two—the annotated scroll

  福島流忍之注書第一

  Fukushima-Ryu Shinobi no Chusho Daiichi

  The above sections have been amalgamated in this translation to make one solid and complete scroll. Originally the first scroll simply had a skill name and at points a very limited explanation—or memory hook. The second scroll with its annotations has been placed below each relevant section. These annotations are all below each title and can be identified by the repeat of the skill title. These have been placed in italics to show the start of the annotations.

  The scroll claims to be the collected shinobi skills of a well-known Sengoku Period warlord called Fukushima Masanori, skills which were recorded by a samurai called Nojiri Narimasa. If Fukushima Masanori did indeed collect these shinobi skills—and there is little reason to think he did not—then it makes the skills old, indeed, when thinking in terms of shinobi records.

  Fukushima Masanori (1560–1624) was born in the Owari province and was a renowned warrior of the Sengoku Period. He served under Lord Hideyoshi and then Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu. Fukushima Masanori rose to fame during the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583 as one of the Seven Spears of Shizugatake. It was this battle that earned him a celebrated status. After campaigning with Lord Hideyoshi he was granted Iyo province and took part in the invasion of Korea. He performed sieges on the holy mountain Koya-san and also later became the lord of Kiyosu region in Owari. During his career he gained the Nojiri family as retainers—of whom Nojiri Narimasa was the author of the following shinobi manual. Fukushima Masanori then went on to serve Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu and was both at the legendary Battle of Sekigahara and the Siege of Osaka. He was a famed warlord and general, and for many years the name Fukushima has always been associated with these above deeds. However in “ninja circles,” the name Fukushima, Nojiri, and the school Inko-Ryu all cry out the image “shinobi.” Fukushima Masanori died in 1624.

  The scroll itself should be seen like any other shinobi scroll, not as a full school but as a shinobi supplement to another school’s art. The Fukushima and Nojiri samurai were just that—samurai trained in the arts of war. Their education also included the addition of deep, secretive shinobi no jutsu—“the skills of the shinobi.” The scroll itself is one of the more difficult for a modern reader to “digest” as it is arranged in an apparently random format. It is quite an eclectic skill set. It can jump from skills for climbing over a fence to the mutilation of dogs (in performing spells of invisibility). It even includes substances that will make a shinobi believe he is a demon in the night—bloody terrifying stuff. As stated above, this scroll should be tempered by the knowledge that the skills were considered deep and ancient. These arts of infiltration were used by the very experienced samurai descendants of the Fukushima clan, and their retainers.

  A note on the images:

  The illustrations for this scroll are at times extremely ambiguous and difficult to decipher, while some are straightforward. The versions used here are copied from the manual in the Iga Ueno Museum and have been redrawn by Koizumi Meiko, and while difficult to interpret they have been left in their original form to preserve them.

  福嶌流忍術之書

  Fukushima-Ryu Shinobi-jutsu no Sho

  A Record of Fukushima-Ryu Shinobi Skills

  The annotations say:

  This writing is based on a selection made by Lord Fukushima Saemon-dayu [Masanori].

  Shinobi means kanja (“spy”), and the use of spies is performed in order to obtain information concerning the enemy, so that you can judge if or where an enemy is substantial or insubstantial—this allows you to gain victory in any battle that you fight. Therefore it is regarded as a task of importance. Sun Tzu wrote:

  “Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of [a spy’s] reports. Be subtle! Be subtle! And use your spies for every kind of business.”

  福嶋流忍之巻第一

  Fukuashima-Ryu Shinobi no Maki Dai Ichi

  The Shinobi Scroll of Fukushima-Ryu: Part One

  夢相通

  Musotoshi

  Transmitting dreams

  ♦ On the fourteenth or fifteenth day of the seventh month, collect pine wood charcoal which has been burnt [for illumination] around a grave – 2 momme

  ♦ Take moss from a grave – 5 bu

  ♦ Collect dewdrops that have formed on the leaves of the Taro plant which is growing to the east of your own house

  ♦ Charred meno – newt: there are oral traditions for if [the target] is male or female

  ♦ Your own earwax

  Mix the above into black ink.

  Musotoshi is a writing that makes a target dream as you wish them to dream. Use charcoal of pinewood that has been used to light a grave—any grave will do. The moss from the grave can also be from any grave. To take dewdrops from taro leaves, trace the ideogram 伊 before you take them. Meno means imori, which is a newt, and the oral tradition for this is as follows; depending on the gender of your target, switch the gender of the newt you use. For example, use a female newt for a male target. To know if a newt is male or female, know that male newts have a blue belly while a female newt has a red belly. Concerning the above tradition of the newt, you should capture male and female newts when they are mating and separate them, next put them in a bamboo tube but have them separated by an internal wall joint. Close the openings and leave them for three days; after these three days you will find that they have bitten through, making a hole [in the bamboo joint]. Take them out and you will not
ice that they will be together, joined as one [in copulation]. Divide them again and then char them separately. Whether the target is male or female will determine which one you need to use. To make the ink, powder the above four ingredients listed and then solidify them by mixing in the dewdrops from the Taro leaves. When you rub [the ink stone] to make ink, any pottery can be used, but you must use pure water. The brush should be made from the weeping willow tree [and with this brush] write down the details [of what you wish the target to dream about]. Write the ideogram 伊 on to the weeping willow tree brush before you use it. The way to make the document is the same as a musubijo—“tied letter.” Draw the sign of Seimei pentagram* on the folded knot and then the Doman grid† on the rear.‡ Put the target’s name on the top [of the folded paper] and then put your own name below it. If there is a sea or a river around the gate [of the target], write the ideogram for ship 舟 on the underside. This document should be placed in any graveyard.

  下馬落

  Gebaotoshi

  Dismounting a man from a horse

  [The spell]

  逢坂ヤ八坂サカ中鯖一サシ行基ニクレテ駒ヤハラヤム

  Osaka ya Yasaka Sakanaka Saba Hitosashi Gyoki§ ni Kurete Kuma Yawarayamu

  Gebaotoshi is to cause a horse that an enemy is riding to have trouble.

  Form a toothpick out of the lintel of a Torii gate [from a Shinto shrine], then write the ideogram 伊 for Ise 伊勢 three times. Before writing the poem from the above text, form a paper package as you would form a medicine package. Write the target’s name on the front with the kuji grid, then on the rear draw a pentacle and write your own name. Dig a hole in the hoof prints of the [target enemy] horse and bury the above [talisman] and the toothpick within it. When this is done the horse will keel over and will find itself in trouble.