In Search of the Niinja (48 page)

XIII

As these traditions are kept so secret, it is often the case that they are discontinued or passed down in a very wrong way because of their very secrecy.

Considering the above thirteen reasons, it can be safely said that there is a huge difference in skill levels found within those who call themselves
Koka Shinobi no mono
and the main differences can be seen between those who are above 50 years old and under 50 years old, but this has always been the case.
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Eventually, in the future it will turn out that only one of every 10,000 people can serve well when any emergency arises. Those Daimyo who keep
shinobi no mono
will only retain them for the name of Koka and for them simply being from Koka. Those who are employed only for that reason are doing nothing more than selling the name of Koka and when an emergency arises, they will not be able to serve in any way. And, if at such a critical point they cannot perform, it will result in not only his ruin but it could also lead to serious danger for that province. Alongside this, such an event would be a great dishonour for the traditions of Koka and cause the decline of the line itself.

Therefore, those who receive my teachings should be aware of the above reasons before anything and keep training without deviating from the ways or principles of the ancient traditions of this school and should achieve great feats.

Therefore, I here leave these articles recorded to give a warning to those in our school and for the consideration of the future prospects [of Koka ninja].

This document was written on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the period of Kyoho 4 (1719). Also, all the important points from Hara Yuken Yoshifusa’s [ninja] scroll and the associated oral traditions have been passed on and have all been given, together with a certificate of qualification [to me, Chikamatsu the transcriber of these words].

On this very day mentioned above, my Master dictated this Future Account and I wrote down every word he said, word for word with due respect. On the sixteenth day of the month, I visited my Master to thank him for this and he again told me to record his words which are about a further two matters and are placed here in the following text. This also I wrote down word for word without any difference. These are all essential points of the school and should not be neglected in any way.

Employing or being employed

Those who employ [shinobi] are tacticians or lords whilst those who are employed are
shinobi no mono
and even today there are only 10 out of 100 who can truly serve [as ninja]. Alongside this, there might be only one good tactician or lord out of a multitude who is able to utilise his agents very well and this is because good tacticians or lords need to be well versed in military skills and have a grasp of the subtle essence required in employing spies, and should also have a good knowledge of the specific skills of the shinobi. If this is not the case, they cannot judge exactly if a certain action is feasible or not when using shinobi, because of this factor, just under five out of out of ten [missions] will fail to be successful. [Usually] those [people] who are capable and can determine if a plan is reliable or not do not hold the authority to actually utilise such skills. Thus it can be said that there are only one in a multitude of lords or tacticians who have the understanding needed in this area. Also, if they use [
shinobi no mono
] in a wrong way, it could threaten the survival of a country or cause the destruction of an entire army. But all that the
shinobi no mono
can do when used in any way is to perform the best they can to fulfil the orders given to them by their superior.

Being a shinobi appears to be difficult but it is in fact not as difficult as it seems, for if his life is endangered, nothing other than his life will be lost. All throughout the history of Japan and China, the lords who used [shinobi] very well were Jinbei, Masamoto, and later on, the late Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu (Toshogu). These are the only three [good lords] throughout Japan and China who actually used [ninja] well but there are a countless number of lords who were defeated and killed as they could not use their agents properly. At the Battle of Sekigahara, from the beginning and right through to the end, the spies who served Toshogu did very well and fulfilled their aims each and every time, so that many of their secret ways or skills have been passed down in our traditions, whilst the shinobi who served Lord Ishida Mitsunari [Tokugawa’s opponent] used the arts wrongly and could not succeed at every point so they were defeated and ruined. This art [of using shinobi] seems to have been the only point that mattered and was integral to Mitsunari’s outcome and was the deciding factor as to whether he should win or lose the Battle of Sekigahara.

[As you can see from the above] if the person who uses [shinobi] are not proficient then it is useless and is exactly as the saying, ‘A horse who could run 1000 Ri cannot be found without a man who can recognise talent (Hakuraku).’ This is exactly the case with a good shinobi, if there is nobody who can use him very well.

Be sure to remember this saying, ‘Hawks and musha-warriors will perform dependent upon the person who uses them.’

[Postscript by Chikamatsu]

For your information, during the Battle of Sekigahara, there were secret episodes which utilised the traditions of Koka and it was prohibited for anyone to write these episodes down, so as to not give them away them to others, including the written records about the battle which were spread throughout the country afterwards. Fortunately, my Master has been given the tradition and sometimes he taught these exploits by mouth and from time to time in a series of lectures which ran for three years.

[Returning to Master Kimura’s words]

The incomparable and indispensable essence found within military ways

In military tactics the shinobi arts are incomparable and indispensable to its essence. It might sound as if I am promoting my own interests and should be reproached for self admiration; however, this is simply not the case and neither is it simply my personal opinion. For proof that these arts are the deepest secrets, you should investigate the thirteenth chapter of
The Art of War
by Sun Tzu. After describing all kinds of military techniques, he discusses the matter of using spies and ends his writing, saying:

‘It is the enlightened ruler and the capable general who are able to use the most intelligent ones from within their ranks to be deployed as spies and secret agents so as to achieve the greatest and complete victories in war. Secret operations and espionage activities form an integral part of any military campaign as the planning of strategies and the movement of troops depend heavily upon them.’

Sun Tzu emphasises his point by saying ‘heavily’ or ‘complete’ as it is of great importance.

As is mentioned in the traditions of ‘Niso Daigo’
, everything originates from ears and eyes and this is exactly what shinobi do as they travel thousands of Ri across mountains and rivers, serving as ears and eyes and report all they see and hear [to the lord]. Whoever the great generals of all ages were, how could they have gained this intelligence without sending out shinobi? Shinobi are the ears and eyes of the entire army and so ‘the movement of troops depends heavily upon them.’ Therefore, it can be said this is the deepest essence of warfare, more important than any other arts.

People from most military schools in Japan are barely literate and can not read
The Art of War
in very fine detail, therefore, they are not aware of what it means and do not think that using spies is essential or important, they even think it is no better then shinobi-stealing
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, which is actually in complete contradiction to what Sun Tzu teaches in his work, and for this reason you should try to understand fully the subtle meaning of what Sun Tzu’s work means and build the basis for the success of your entire army from that chapter. Those who do not understand the true and deepest of secrets of military warfare should know that they can all be found in Sun Tzu’s
The Art of War
and those who do not know this are not worth conversing on the topic of warfare with.

[Postscript by Chikamatsu]

I write here for your information, that the lectures on the chapter of using spies in the Art of War has been complied into a series of ten lectures and were recorded with commentary.

This future account and the above two important matters were both dictated and checked by my Master, and copied on the third day of second lunar month and in the year of the Kinoto-Boar in Bishu (Owari province) and transcribed by me Nogen (Chikamatsu) of the Renpeido soldier training complex.

Further transcribed in the year of Kinoto-Ox in the eighth month of 1805 in Osaka by Suzuki Sadayoshi, a warrior of Bishu and given to Mizu no Gentadamichi.

The following are small extracts from the military manual
Things Heard About Military Ways
, written in the fourth daimyo of the province of Tosa (1641–1700) concerning the arts of war in Japan. The author, Yamauchi Toyomasa, makes an interesting point about the use of
Suppa
and
shinobi
.
Suppa
is often considered to be an alternative word for ninja. It is difficult here to ascertain if the author is using them together to demonstrate that they are in fact identical in skill or if he is using them in such a manner because they have differing roles.

Question:

When you build a battle camp, it is an established formula to have a twelve Ken distance between the outer bamboo fences and the barracks; however, this can be reduced to a distance of between five and seven Ken according to the situation. On what grounds is this done?

Answer:

If a night attack comes, the enemy will have shinobi hide beside the fence, and they will light a signal fire, light torches, make war cries for their allies etc., all with the intention to cause confusion among the camp. If your men see a signal fire sent out, all in the camp will think that they are about to fall victim to a night attack and will fall into confusion. The enemy will take advantage of this confusion. However, if there is enough space between the fence and the camp quarters, you will be able to assemble a formation inside the camp or you will not have too much confusion if you get out of the barracks and into such a space immediately. If there is not enough space between the quarters and the fence, and if you are under a night attack, it will make the confusion even worse, therefore, the distance should be twelve Ken. Generally it is desirable to have enough vacant space within a camp.

Question:

Is there any difference between performing a night raid upon a castle from one made against a battle camp? Also are there any cases where a night raid ended up in failure? If so, what are the details?

Answer:

There have been so many cases where night raids ended up in failure, for example, the case of Umijiri castle, [where the Murakami clan were raiding and the Takeda clan defended, 1540] or the case of Miterao of Joshu [where the army of Koshu made night raids but failed and ended up withdrawing in 1548]. Also, there was the case of Kushunoki Masashige when he raided Heguri castle.

Taking the above in to consideration, there are also other cases of night attacks on castles, such as when Suyama and Komiyama night attacked the palace of Kasagi, when Iwakikumaru night attacked Yoshino castle [where Prince Morinaga of the southern court defended], or the case of Yoshitsune attacking Ichinodani, where he attacked from the direction the enemy least expected.

As mentioned in the volume of
Gunpo
, you should send
Suppa
to an area where you require a thorough investigation and do this in advance to help you decide. After this, you should have shinobi infiltrate and set fires whilst you take advantage of the confusion which is caused because of them and attack from outside. Even if the castle is not very large, you will not be able to obtain fruitful results unless you send in shinobi after investigating what the land is like thoroughly. This should be done almost in the same manner as when deciding where your
Suppa
should be positioned. You will never be able to attack a castle successfully without having shinobi infiltrate and set fires. When Mitsuuji attacked Umijiri castle, they could not succeed in setting fires by sending shinobi and were trying to take any advantage of a gap found within the castle.