Samurai and Ninja: The Real Story Behind the Japanese Warrior Myth That Shatters the Bushido Mystique (34 page)

咽乾ヌ薬

Nodo Kawakanu Kusuri

Thirst pills

♦
Unripe green plum which has been processed to become “frost plum”
^‡
– 1 [measurement]

♦
Toboshi—Unhulled mocha rice – 12 [measurements]

Powder equal amounts of the above and make pellets the size of soya beans [to keep thirst at bay]; take one pellet with some water.

Nodo no Kawakanu Kusuri
—the ingredient “Toboshi” is
taito mochi
^§
rice in its husk and you should take this every morning. It is advisable to take this before you go into combat.

中ノ大ヲ迯術

Naka no dai wo Nogaruru Jutsu

A skill to escape a crisis on your journey
Bow three times in the direction you intend to travel. It is written [that you should use the following spell]:

武士ノ腰ニ差タル鍔刀事ノツマツキアラセ給ナ
Bushi no Koshi ni Sashitaru Tsuba Katana Koto no Tsumazuki Arase Tamona
May there be no failure or disaster [through or with my] hilt [and] katana that I wear as a bushi warrior

Naka no dai wo nogaruru koto
—cut the kuji grid, cut to the left and the right.

人ノ宅エ入事

Hito no Yaka e Iru Koto

Infiltrating a person’s house

Remove both the eyes of a dog, be it still alive or dead. Then string them on the hair from a horse’s tail and apply a layer of mercury.
^*
Next soak it in lacquer and dry in the shade for 100 days. Carry this in a crimson bag [when you infiltrate]. There are oral traditions to follow.

Hito no yaka e iru koto
—This is the way in which a shinobi
^†
protects himself from being detected by people. Move in with the crimson bag attached to your forehead. This will allow you to see an enemy clearly while the enemy cannot see you.

綱朽之事

Tsuna Kuchiru no Koto

Ruining rope

♦
Mica (Unmo)

♦
Mercury

♦
Oil of hanzaki—ray fish

Apply this mixture to rope and the rope will immediately decay.

Tsunakuchi no koto
—This is a substance that rots through rope and rope-like things. The ingredient “unmo” is kirara-mica. Also the ingredient “oil of hasaka/hansaki” means “oil of the ray fish.”

夜物ノ躰ヲ知事

Yoru Mono no Tei wo Shiru Koto

Observing what something truly is during the night

The following has been recorded:

ヒトフタミヨイツムユナヽヤコヽノタリモヽチヨロツ
^*
Hito futa mi mi yo itsu muyu nana ya kokono tari momo chi yorozu
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1000, 10000

Chant the above three times and then put both hands together in prayer—there is something that needs to be done at this point [which is explained below]. Next, move your hands into “diamond”
^†
position and observe what is there by looking [through your hands].

Yoru mono no tei wo shiru koto
is to know what something truly is at night. To put your hands together means
gassho
(“putting your hands together in prayer”). Then open out your palms to make a diamond shape—if you look through this gap then any excitement you have will calm down, allowing you to become more settled. When a person is settled then a proper understanding will follow, leading to a deeper judgment. Chant the poem in the text three times.

太刀落ス之事

Tachi Otosu no koto

Disempowering a tachi sword

♦
Collect 33 “Dairyo” spiders, put them in a cylinder, starve them until they die.
^‡

♦
The blood of a newt

♦
Fruit of the Shikunshi—Chinese honeysuckle

Mix the above together [and apply it to your hands]—in this way your hands will not be cut. This is also called
Shiraha Dori
—“to receive a blade with the hands.”

Tachi otoshi no koto
—“shikunshi” is an ingredient used in medicine and can also be called
toronashi
.

鬼ト見スル術

Oni to Misuru Jutsu

The art of becoming the demon

♦
Capture fireflies and toads on the seventh day of the seventh month.

♦
On the fifth day of the fifth month, extract “oil of the rat”
^*
and harvest the liver of bats.

Make pills with this mixture and consume them, in this way you will make yourself look like a demon for the period of a night.

Oni to misuru jutsu
is a way to help you and your mind avoid cowardice.

太刀燃ル術

Tachi Moyuru Jutsu

The skill of the “glowing” longsword
^†

Mix oil of cocklebur with water and apply it to [the sword].

Tachi moyuru jutsu
is about applying a substance to your tachi sword. This makes the facing enemy
think
that your sword is “glowing”—the purpose of this is to take away their spirit. This is made from cocklebur.

門出之大事

Kadode no Daiji

The principle of departing through a gate

丑未戌辰分テ行ク何カシ神ノ子ナレハ方ハ嫌ハシ
Ushi hitsuji inu tatsu wakete iku nanigashi kami no ko nareba hou ha kirawaji
Choosing the direction of Ox, Ram, Dog, or Dragon, whichever god protects whichever direction—no direction should be shunned

Chant the above three times.

Next, draw the ideogram for “victory”
勝
in your left palm three times with your [right] finger and then close it into a fist. When you have journeyed two or three ken from the gate then open your palm again, saying:

サカキバニヱウトリシデヽ打佛ヒ道ニケカレヤ雲キリモナシ
^*
Sakakiba ni Yutori shide de uchiharai michini kegareya kumo kiri mo nashi
If you attach cotton shide
^†
onto the branch of
Cleyara japonica
and use it for purification, there will be no impurity, no clouds and no mist in your way

Chant the above three times.

Kadode no daiji
is to not look back behind you until you have ventured two or three ken, at which point open your clenched fist and lick your palm.

秘極之薬之事

Higoku no Kusuri no Koto

The deepest and most secret medicine

♦
Soak a large amount of the root of the Japanese rush (
Acorus gramineus
) in sake

♦
Gather a medium amount of the peel of a Satsuma (
Citrus unshiu
)

♦
Soak a medium amount of
Sapium japonicum
in water

♦
A medium amount of fire-roasted Asiatic ginseng

Powder the above and make pills.

If you drink alcohol then make pills by using sake; if you are a non-drinker then use tea or water; and in war [make pills] by using the stickiness of rice broth.

The above medicine should be used in battle or any other important situation. In addition to this it works for all diseases, especially as a restorative or as a stimulant.

Higoku no kusuri
—
sekishobu
from the text means
daisegishobu
—greater
sekishobu
.

第三之巻

Dai san no maki

Part Three

息ノキレヌ薬̶人
^*

Iki no Kirenu Kusuri—Hito

Medicine for shortness of breath—person

Iki no kirenu kusuri
is to apply “oil of human” or “oil of toad” to your lips; alternatively you can hold toad skin in your mouth.

夜物音ヲ聞事̶風

Yoru Monooto wo Kiku Koto—Kaze

Listening to sounds at night—wind

Yoru monooto wo kiku koto
is to listen by crouching downwind. It is difficult to hear from a windward position.

忍入時之事̶八

Shinobi Iru Toki no Koto—Yatsu

Times to infiltrate—eight

Shinobi iru toki no koto
is done in the eighth hour of the night
^†
as people will sleep deeply at this time. During the day the eighth hour
^‡
is when meals are served and is a period of quiet—therefore infiltrate at the eighth hour.

Also for the above—infiltration can be done during the hour of the animal sign of the year that the [enemy] lord-commander was born. The hour of the sign of the year that the lord-commander was born has an element of the insubstantial and therefore, if the enemy lord-commander was born in the
year
of the Rat then infiltrate at the
hour
of the Rat.