Samurai and Ninja: The Real Story Behind the Japanese Warrior Myth That Shatters the Bushido Mystique (28 page)

Step two:

♦
Camphor – 12 momme

Step three:

♦
Pine resin – 1 momme 8 bu

♦
Ground tea – 1 momme 5 bu

♦
Mouse droppings – 1 momme 7 bu

Step four:

♦
Sawdust from pine tree knots – 3 momme

♦
Cattle dung – 3 momme

Mix each set first and then combine them all together. Ram the mixture into a bamboo cylinder and shave the outer layer of the bamboo until it is thin. Next, cut the bamboo in two; apply two layers of paper over the freshly cut ends and then wrap the whole thing again. Then it is ready to use.

If you put out the fire after igniting this torch, just swing it, and the flames will sprout up again. Stub it against a fence or on the ground and it will just smoke. In ancient times, when [Soga] Sukenari committed a night attack, Tokimune carried this torch.

Written on the second day of the third month of 1690.

Volume Three

小物見ハ一騎二騎或ハ三騎馬連て可出也是ハ地形の善悪路次の遠近敵の虚實 人数の多寡備の無惣進む敵可退く敵可戦を討敵可討ぬ敵可陣取敵可陣取ぬ敵 可勢の益敵可益ぬ敵可固る敵可別るゝ敵可襲敵可降敵可弱き敵可強き敵可川 を渡る敵可渡さぬ敵可敗るゝ敵可敗られぬ敵可抔能 見分ケ候事也尤川の浅 深堀の廣狭伏兵の有と無とハ様能可心得也

Ko-monomi
—small scouting groups—should ride horses and venture out together in mounted groups of one, two or three. They should know the following:

♦
If the topography is positive or negative

♦
The distance of the route

♦
If the enemy is substantial or insubstantial

♦
If the enemy’s force is large or small

♦
If the enemy is prepared or unprepared

♦
If the enemy will advance or retreat

♦
If the enemy will attack or not

♦
If the enemy is going to encamp or not

♦
If the enemy momentum is on the increase or not

♦
If the enemy are formed together or formed separately

♦
If the enemy will assault or surrender

♦
If the enemy is weak or strong

♦
If the enemy should be allowed to cross over a river or not

♦
If the enemy can be defeated or not

Also, they should have a good judgement on how to know the depth in a river, how wide and narrow a moat is, and if there are ambushes or not.

惣して物見使番等立返り御返事申陣尓行時ハ相圖の小旗を用候也馬を強く乗 候へハ必乗倒春事ある也

When monomi scouts and the lord’s messengers return to their camp with information, they use a small flag as a signal. This is done because if they ride too hard they may fall [from their horses] from time to time.

相験ハたとへハ布を一尺程尓切て風と云字を書て鎧の袖尓可付抔兼てより多 く可拵置也

An example of an identifying mark is:

Cut cloth one shaku in length and write an ideogram upon it, for example,
風
kaze
for wind; put these on the sleeve of your armor, etc. You should make a lot of such signs in advance.

相詞定る事敵可と問ハヽ討と答へよ花可と問ハヽ月と答へよ山かと問ハヽ谷 と答へよ墨かと問ハヽ硯と答へよ抔と兼て云安き言葉を多く拵へ夜 尓可改 易也

You should make passwords as follows:

♦
When someone says “
Teki
” (enemy), you should answer “
Ute
” (attack)

♦
When someone says “
Hana
” (flower), you should answer “
Tsuki
” (moon)

♦
When someone says “
Yama
” (mountain), you should answer “
Tani
” (valley)

♦
When someone says “
Sumi
” (black ink), you should answer “
Suzuri
” (ink stone)

Prepare many such word combinations that are easy to say, do this in advance, and change them every night.

惣して夜討尓出候時松明抔不可持鉄砲ハ火縄を袋尓可入也

When you venture on a night raid, do not carry a lit torch and put your lit musket fuse into a pouch.

惣して夜討尓出候事月の夜ハ白く闇の夜ハ黒く可出立也

Concerning night attacks, you should wear white when it is a moonlit night. You should wear black when it is dark night.

夜討尓可出尓ハ前の夜より忍の者を入置相圖の剋馬を放ち或火を放ち敵の躁 動する尓乗て可討也

When you venture on a night attack, send shinobi no mono the night before the night raid. They should let horses go or use fire as a signal of attack, then attack the enemy by taking advantage of their panic.

相圖の手縄ハ敵の城戸口より忍者を段々尓付ケ縄を引て次第 尓可令知也是 敵夜討抔尓出候を可知ため也

The skill of signalling by rope involves positioning shinobi no mono at intervals from a [enemy] castle entrance and for commands to be sent back by pulling on the rope that that they have in hand. This is in order to inform people of when the enemy venture out on a night raid.

伊賀甲賀の忍者ハ敵の城内へ忍ひ入て具尓見候て返る事罕䝘？也城中よりも出 多る忍者尓對面して堅き誓言尓て互尓語合候と那り

Iga and Koka shinobi no mono do not always precisely observe and infiltrate castles. Instead they sometimes meet other shinobi no mono that have come from the castle. They often get information from each other by the use of strong oaths.

火事狼煙等の方角を可見知尓ハ常尓其方角を能見定矢倉勢楼尓上り刻（キザ） を付置候或ハ竹を四方尓立て縄を張り結目を付ケ方角遠近を可知也

To identify exactly which direction a fire or signal fire is positioned, you should mark out the correct directions by making notches upstairs in a turret or in a watch tower. Alternatively you should mark them out by standing four bamboo posts in a square and stretch rope around them with knots to show the direction or the distance [of the fires].

飛脚（ヒキヤク）燧(違う写本では飛脚かがり)狼煙（ノロシ）或ハ玉火流星等を所 高山抔尓備へ置相圖の儀ある時其次 の火を見て遠国まて一時尓知候也

Prepare
hikyakukagari
(“express fire messenger”),
noroshi
(“signal fires”),
tamabi
(“ball fires”) or
ryusei
(“rocket flares”), etc., and place them here and there on high mountains in advance. When the need to send a signal arises, the signal will be relayed from position to position so that people in the distant place will know of it immediately.

一陰府陰約ハ皆相府相詞作り文字或ハ通音或ハ白文等を以て書札を認メ衣の 内尓納或ハ脇指の鞘尓収メ或ハ切破笠の緒尓拵へ或ハ鞋の裏尓蔵或ハ魚鳥 の腹尓蔵し或ハ竹の筒尓込ミ或ハ心尓銘し或ハ五體を破て其内尓蔵抔して餘 方の味方尓通る事也其外髪の中肌の帯等を吟味する事也

Secret marks or secret arrangements are ways to communicate with allies in a different place by the use of identifying marks or passwords that have been pre-arranged. Do this by writing in letters using secret code or invisible ink; by hiding the writing in your clothes; in the scabbard of your wakizashi; by cutting it into pieces and making strings of them and using them as cords for a straw hat; on the sole of a straw sandal; in a belly of a bird or fish; in a bamboo cylinder; by memorizing it; or cutting open somewhere on your body and inserting it into the wound, and so on.

Apart from these, check the inside of hair and loincloths to discover them.

色府ハ五色の紙を以て餘所の味方へ意趣を通る事也白ハ請加勢ヲ青ハ請兵糧 ヲ黒ハ殺敵将ヲ黄ハ敵（テキ）強（ツヨク）紫（ムラサキ）ハ請玉薬ノ類也

Color marks are used to inform your side of who is stationed in another place and to transmit intentions. For this, use five different colored papers. For example:

1. White: asking for reinforcements

2. Blue: asking for food

3. Black: to kill the enemy’s general

4. Yellow: to say the enemy is strong

5. Purple: to ask for gun powder

惣して敵国へ入らハ必物見を幾重尓も出須事也敵間近き処へ物見を出し候時 ハ足軽の一組も二組も跡より可出也

When you enter the enemy’s land, send monomi out repeatedly. When you are near the enemy’s position and send monomi in, have one or even two troops of ashigaru follow them.

伏蟠（カマリ）可有と思ふ処をハ先へ乗抜敵の道筋尓心を付物鉄砲抔少掛見 候者也

To know if an enemy ambush is laying in wait in an area where you expect them to be, [go around and] pass on after that area and move deeper [into enemy territory] then examine the route that the enemy may have taken [to identify if there are any signs of their passing]. Also shoot muskets to discover [if they are there].

伏蟠（カマリ）可有処を探り候尓ハ先風下へ廻り物音を可聞定也捨火縄見せ旗 作り人形抔有之者也第一地響尓心を付候者也

To check a place you expect ambushes to be laid, move downwind first and listen for any noise. You may find abandoned fuses and fake flags and also fake figures. You should mainly pay attention to if there are any vibrations in the ground.

物見の習とハ第一人数積第二備の立様第三足場の善悪第四町間第五旗の有所 右無御尋候ても可申上也

The teachings of the scout:

♦
Estimate how many people there are

♦
Observe what [the enemy] formation is like

♦
Check if the footing is good or bad

♦
Distance

♦
The position of battle flags

If the general does not ask about the above you should still report it to him.

物見の心掛ハ口上の立派をも不好武者振をも不作只敵の知愚人数の多少地の 利備の前後の次第押敵可引敵可陣取敵可不取敵可戦を好む敵可不好敵可戦を 待敵可不待敵可川を渡す敵可不渡敵可敗るる敵可堅き敵可人数を分る敵可集 る敵可加る敵可落る敵可抔と其位を能見分ケ無疑様尓思考の通り聢 可申上也

Monomi should not “speak fair with insincere words” nor should he distinguish himself on the field of battle.

Monomi should just identify the following:

♦
If the enemy has wisdom or not

♦
The number of people they have

♦
If the land is tactically beneficial or not

♦
Their preparation to the front and the rear

♦
Observe if the enemy will attack or retreat

♦
Observe if the enemy will encamp or not

♦
Observe if the enemy wishes to fight or not

♦
Observe if the enemy can wait for beneficial timing in battle or not

♦
Observe if the enemy will allow our forces to cross the river or not

♦
Observe if the enemy are grouping their forces together or separating them

♦
Observe if the enemy approach is unified or divided

♦
Observe if the enemy increases or decreases

Monomi should inform on these matters and others, but they should discard their own thoughts and not try to pass on
only
positive information.

民家の焼る煙ハ黒く厚く見へ狼烟ハ細く高く見へ其明ハ大方薄く廣く見ゆる者也

Smoke from private houses that are burning looks black and thick, while signal fire smoke looks thin and reaches high. The light from the fire signal will look vague in color but will still be wide.

夜の物見ハ必忍者を召連て出候者也

When scouting at night, always go with shinobi no mono.

夜の物見尓出候て水の浅深を可知尓ハ細縄の先尓小石を付け所 引破紙を 付弓弭（ユハヅ）尓結付て可知也惣して水を渡り候尓ハ七尺深きも二丈三丈 深きも同し事也

When scouting at night and you wish to know how shallow or deep water is, attach a small stone to the end of a thin rope. Next, splay the rope a little here and there and place paper through it and tie the rope to the horn of a bow [then dip the stone in the water until it hits the bottom]. Use the same method when you cross water even to the depths of seven shaku, two jo, or even up to three jo.

兵の野尓伏候時ハ飛鳥列を亂り月の夜ハ其方必曇と云也

When soldiers are lying in a field, flying birds will break formation. On a moonlit night, the direction [of the ambush] will be cloudy.

野伏の計略尓鳥獣の真似を成し或小鳥抔を持行事有之也

One trick of
nobushi
—bandit samurai—is that they sometimes mimic the sound of birds and beasts or take small birds or other such creatures with them.

矢倉の辺尓ハ伫の口を能包ミ水の不入様尓埋て可置也若シ敵方より地下を鑿 或ハ夜討抔来り候時右の伫の口尓耳を付候へハ其方角能聞へ候也

Stretch [material] over the mouth of an earthenware jar, bury it [up to the rim] in the ground, but do not let water into it. When the enemy are tunneling underground or approaching with a night attack, listen with your ear against the [covered] opening of an earthenware pot. You can clearly hear the direction that the enemy are coming from.

物見の矢倉尓ハ相圖の貝鐘太鼓等必可有之也

In a lookout turret there should always be conch shells, bells and drum, etc., for signaling.

堀の内尓ハ水鳥の羽を切て放し可置也敵の間者来候時羽音躁て味方心付候也

Take a waterfowl that has had its wings clipped and put it on a moat. When the enemy’s spy approaches, the waterfowl will beat its wings and create a fuss. In this way you will know when the enemy is approaching.

Written on the fifth day of the sixth month in 1690.

The Ways of the Hattori Clan and Doson-Ryu

The name Hattori is well known in the world of the shinobi. It is one made famous by the shinobi scroll named
Shinobi Hiden
, supposedly written by Hattori Hanzo (but most likely by his father).
^*
Furthermore, the shinobi scrolls of the military war manual,
Gunpo Jiyoshu
—a staple in the study of shinobi no jutsu—were heavily influenced by a warrior of Iga called Hatori Jibuemon. However, more Hattori manuals do exist and the following translation is of a manual written by Hattori Doson. The scroll is currently in the collection of the Ikedake Bunko in Okayama University Library. The document is in “letter form” and is housed in tandem with another document titled
Gunpo
(“military code”). The shinobi scroll itself is highly interesting and uses various ideograms to represent the different types of shinobi. It even goes as far as to give the ages and social classes of the various types of spy. While a complex matter, it is echoed in other manuals that clandestine, commando-like infiltration is considered the task of younger shinobi-ashigaru (shinobi foot soldiers). The tasks of conspiracy and classic spying are the realm of the older man. The
Bansenshukai
shinobi manual also makes a distinction between the two, but concentrates on a slightly different angle—that those of the samurai class are better suited for classic spying due to their education. However, this is not considered an absolute rule and many shinobi had to undertake both covert commando missions and those of classic spying.