Togakushi Soba Matsuri: Noodles and Ninja

In the heart of a cedar forest in Nagano prefecture lies one of the best places to get soba in Japan: Togakushi. Togakushi has more soba shops in its village than any other type of business. The little hamlet is so renowned for its soba, it has its own Soba Festival once a year.

Soba are buckwheat noodles which come in a variety of sizes and are defined by how much buckwheat flour is used in their creation. At least 30% buckwheat flour must be used in order for noodles to gain the moniker of soba. Higher buckwheat content makes soba much more desirable to the discerning public.

2007 marks the 38th year of the festival, which is held during the fall equinox, Shūbun no hi. This time also celebrates the buckwheat harvest, without which there would be no soba.

However, it was more than just tasty noodles which drew hundreds of visitors this year to this quite section of Nagano. This year, during the annual Togakushi Soba Matsuri, a ninjutsu demonstration was held to commemorate Togakushi as the birthplace of the Togakure Ryu Ninpo; a school of ninjutsu founded eight hundred years ago by Daisuke Nishina, who was born in the village. Daisuke became the first Soke (family head) of one of the arts now known as ninjutsu.

The demonstration took place in front of one of three area shrines; Togakushi nakasha, or “middle shrine”. This shrine sits atop a large, steep hill and can only be reached by foot. The purpose for setting the shrine atop such a hill was to wear worshipers out, physically, and leave them open to miracles.

Members of the Togakure Ryu, also known as the Bujinkan Dojo (Divine Warrior Training Hall), came from all over the world this year to participate in and to watch the embu (demonstration). The current Soke of the Bujinkan and 34th Grandmaster of the school, Hatsumi Masaaki Sensei, also made an appearance at the embukai.

Dressed in black and wearing oni (demon) masks, practitioners of all skill levels demonstrated an art many people think is either dead or mythical. Both women and men took turns wielding traditional weapons in battle. Such weapons included the naginata (halberd), bo (staff), and hanbo (half bo). Hand to hand combat (taijutsu) was also demonstrated to the crowd.

The Bujinkan performed this year at the request of the clergymen who take care of the local shrine and the Bujinkan will continue to perform at the shrine caretakers’ request.

So how is it that ninjutsu is not only an actual, viable art, but has survived, and thrived, for nearly 850 years? Not just that, but why are ninja publicly demonstrating an art that’s considered secretive?

The word “nin” has many meanings, but one of the many which the Bujinkan have agreed upon in reference to their art is “endurance“. The art of nin is the art of endurance, which perhaps can account for how ninja and ninjutsu have survived when they and their art were no longer needed by the shoguns and generals who used them.

Hatsumi Sensei is the first Soke, ever, to teach his art of ninpo to Westerners. If ninjutsu was half as secretive as popular culture has depicted it to be, it’s doubtful the art would have ever left Japan.

Many, many conceptions of the ninja are either slanted or just plain wrong. Most of the ideas and ideals applied to ninja by Americans can be traced back to the action films of the 1980’s. It was in these films that ninja were first portrayed as sneaky, underhanded, black clad assassins who were armed to kill with an impressive array of shuriken, aka, throwing stars.

In the late 1990’s, the current Soke changed the name of the art from Bujinkan Ninjutsu- previously known as Bujinkan Ninpo- to Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. Hatsumi Sensei wanted to emphasize that the art went beyond ninjutsu and also encompasses the samurai skill set. Mental and spiritual training, as well as physical training, are also emphasized with the name change.

However, ninjutsu and its wild stereotypes are still alive and well in modern Japanese pop culture in the form of manga and anime. The latest and most popular portrayal of ninja is by the manga and anime series, Naruto. Naruto, though, is not the only anime/ manga to make use of this fertile subject. The Ninja Scroll franchise has also used the draw of ninjutsu to create a popular series and two movies. Basilisk is also a manga/ anime series based off ninja, and tells the tale of the feuding ninja families, Kouga and Iga.

The internet is another haven of misinformation. Typing the word “ninja” into Google yields over sixty seven million hits. The first entry is for Wikipedia, which eventually links back to Budo Taijutsu, but the second and third can hardly be taken as serious guides to the art.

With conflicting information being fed to the general public through various media as to the veracity of ninja techniques and stereotypes, it’s hard to discern the crap from the credible. Ninjutsu today, though, is still a true, vibrant art and is expressing its true essence by hiding in plain sight.