Samurai and Ninja: The Real Story Behind the Japanese Warrior Myth That Shatters the Bushido Mystique (33 page)

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.

To remedy this trouble, chant the following poem and then dig up and recover the buried items:

逢坂ヤ八坂坂中鯖一差行基ニクレテ駒ハイサナン
Osaka ya Yasaka Sakanaka Saba Hitosashi Gyoki ni kurete Koma wa Isanan
In the middle of Osaka or Yasaka hill, give Gyoki a bundle of mackerel and the horse will become spirited

At this the horse will immediately recover.

村雨明松

Murasame Taimatsu

The rain shower torch

♦
“Flower”
花
– 10 momme

♦
Sho (camphor) – 7 momme

♦
Pine [resin] – 10 momme 5 bu

Murasame Taimatsu
—this is a rainproof torch. “Flower” here means the Japanese anise tree. Soak this wood in water for one hundred days before you powder it. “Pine” means pine saturated in resin, but I would say that this is simply resin?
^*
“Sho” is camphor. Finely powder the above three and put the mixture into a paper bag and then wrap it in six or seven layers of paper—this is done so that the fire will not be extinguished.

打明松

Uchitaimatsu

The attack torch

♦
Camphor – 10 momme

♦
Saltpeter – 9 momme

♦
Sulphur – 3 momme

♦
“Flower”
花
– 10 Momme

Uchi Taimatsu
– Camphor 10 momme, saltpeter 9 momme, sulphur 3 momme, “flower” [as described in the previous tool] 10 momme soaked in water for 100 days; also, include pine, resin 9 momme 1 bu. Prepare this in the same manner as the above Murasame taimatsu torch. If you insert [horseshoe shaped] needles in a cross form and throw it, it will come to land correctly and burn well.

タ〃ミ橋

Tatamibashi

Folding ladder
^*

The
Tatamibashi
is used when crossing over a moat and the like. It should be construed so that it can be folded, making it less cumbersome. Place hinges so that it can be extended and have metal latches with
tsuku
[forked shaped fasteners in place]. Attach a thin rope to the end which has a three pronged grapple tied to it and use it to ascend.

鋸

Nokogiri

Saw

Nokogiri
are multi-purpose and there are many points within oral tradition.

錐

Kiri

Drill

第二之巻

Dai ni no maki

Part Two

露之印

Tsuyu no In

Mudra of Dewdrops
^*

This is used with muskets.

Tsuyu no in
is a musket without a bullet and has the purpose of catching an enemy alive. First insert gunpowder and then add a good amount of ash on top of that. Shoot with careful timing so that the enemy will be blinded and disoriented.
^†

明破
^‡

Meiha

Gate breaking

This has three bullets.

Monyaburi
—[this works] the same as a fuse burns with saltpeter. Make the bullets and insert the fuse through these three bullets while positioning gunpowder between the balls. Firmly wrap the bamboo cylinder and secure the outside with bamboo rings, like in the construction of a bucket. Place the above balls inside. When in a position close to the enemy, ignite the fuse from behind the cylinder so that they are expelled with a blast, one by one. This is also called
rendama deppo
—“successive musket bullets.”

城エ入事

Shiroe Iru Koto

Infiltrating castles

♦
Crossing steep areas

♦
Concerning shinobi-gaeshi—“spiked defenses”

♦
Moving into the horse stables

These images were placed in the original scroll as memory hooks; one image is of a sword and the other is a basic image of
shinobi-gaeshi
(“defensive spikes”).

Shiroe iru koto
means to infiltrate an enemy castle. Enter through the rubbish shute, or, alternatively, cross over the
shinobi-gaeshi
(“defensive spikes”).
If you are going to cross over a wall, take advantage of these places. When inside the castle move into the stable—in this way you can know if the horses have been prepared, which will allow you to immediately confirm if a night raid is about to commence. When in the stable stay behind mounds of grass or straw—it is a transmitted teaching to stay in those places mentioned above.

Shinobi-gaeshi wo koshiyo
is about shinobi-gaeshi that are on the top of an outer wall. Throw the sageo cord of your sword over the shinobi-gaeshi spikes, then hold on to the cord and cross over. Make sure to use the hilt of your sword as a foothold.

源氏入黒
^*

Genji no Irezumi

The tattoo of the Genji Clan

Use the oil of Namomi—cocklebur

Genji no Irezumi
is to take “oil of cocklebur” and apply it on to a cane or other such things so that when you strike with it, it will break through anything.
^†

矢打留様

Yauchi Tomeyo

To stop arrows striking

This is made of bamboo.

Using a large wheel made of bamboo is
Yauchi tomeyo
, this is like the wheel of a
kinawa no hikiguruma
—pulling cart. Put a hole at the hub of the “wheel” and insert a cane, then rotate the wheel so that using it will stop arrows.