Samurai and Ninja: The Real Story Behind the Japanese Warrior Myth That Shatters the Bushido Mystique (37 page)

Mr. Yamada of Sekiguchi-Ryu Battojutsu and their scrolls.

The deepest secrets of Sekiguchi-Ryu presented by Yamada Toshiyasu:

軍中忍松明之伝

Gunchu Shinobi Taimatsu no Tsutae

The tradition of the military shinobi torch

Part 1:

Saltpeter – 20 momme

Sulfur – 14 momme

Ash – 10 momme

Part 2:

Camphor – 12 momme

Part 3:

Pine resin – 1 momme 8 bu

Ground tea – 5 bu

Mouse droppings – 1 momme 7 bu

Part 4:

Cattle dung – 2 momme

Mix each of the above recipes and then mix together; now firmly ram it into a bamboo cylinder. Scrape the surface [of the bamboo thinly] with a knife. If it is extinguished, it will flare up again if it is swung. If you want to put it out, stub it against a wall or the ground and the fire will immediately go out. This torch is a tradition used by Soga brothers
^*
from ages past.

鶏卵ニテ敵一時殺之法

Keiran nite Teki Ichiji Korosu no Ho

The art of temporarily killing an enemy with an “egg”

Remove the contents of an egg, clean [the inside] with shochu liquor and fill with the poison [below]. Twist paper [into a string] with gunpowder wrapped within it [and put it into the hole of the egg] then ignite around the hole.

The recipe of the powder is as below:

Mix equal amounts of:

♦
Saltpeter

♦
Lime

♦
Pine resin

♦
Sulfur

Mix the above and powder it finely. Put it into the said egg and throw it at the enemy after igniting the fuse; this will shoot out poison and all your enemies will be “killed” [fall unconscious] for a while. To protect yourself from this, keep 3 bu of crystal sugar in your mouth, applying the oil of the Japanese anise tree onto the nine openings of the body.

眼昧之法

Ganmai no Ho

The art of blinding the eyes

Char the livers of boars and moles and powder it down.
^†
Mix these two ingredients and powder them finely. Wrap with silk cloth or paper and carry it in your kimono at all the times. [When needs arise] blow it over the enemy or throw it. Make sure to do it very quickly.

毒酒茶水知法

Doku Sake Cha Mizu Siru Ho

The art of detecting poison in your sake, tea or water

Look at the reflection of yourself in the sake, tea or water. If it has poison in it, you cannot see your reflection. Know [if it is poisonous] with this method.

修利法之口伝

Shuri Ho no Kuden

The oral tradition of on the way Shuri

This is about a paper cylinder.

♦
Alum – 2 momme 5 bu

♦
White lead – 1 momme 3 bu

♦
Marble [“smooth stone”] – 2 momme 1 bu

Powder the above finely and mix it with starch of the “devil’s tongue” plant. [Apply this and] wrap the paper [into a cylinder] so that there is a hole in the center. This is also called
harideppo
—the paper musket.

The bullet should be made of rice bran. Shoot it at the face of the enemy [to render them helpless].

聴中三日火縄之事

Chochu Mikka Hinawa

The chochu three day fuse

♦
Sweet hydrangea (Amacha) – 20 momme

♦
Camphor – 8 momme

♦
Moxa 120 momme

♦
Alum 10 momme

Powder the above and add it to a roll of sugihara paper, then glue it to secure it. Use rice glue with alum mixed in to make this fuse.

水鉄砲ヲ以テ敵ヲ生捕事

Mizudeppo wo Motte Teki wo Ikedoru Koto

The art of capturing the enemy with the water musket

♦
Saltpeter

♦
Ground tea

Use an appropriate amount of each.

Put an appropriate amount of water in a cylinder and shoot at the enemy.

If the caliber of a musket is a 3-momme bullet, use 3 momme of the two ingredients. For all amounts, apply this ratio. Shoot it at the enemy’s eyes and while the enemy is unconscious, capture them alive.

走時息之切ヌ法

Hashiru Toki Iki no Kirenu Ho

The way of not losing your breath when running

There is a secret skill orally transmitted.

Say the word “kuma” (bear) three times when running. Keeping ginseng in your mouth should also work.

竹松明之事

Taketaimatsu no Koto

Bamboo torch

There is an oral tradition for this.

Scrape the surface skin of bamboo that is 6 or 7 sun in diameter.

Mix camphor with oil and apply it onto the surface of the bamboo. Next put paper around it and use it as a torch. If it is lit, it will not go out, no matter how windy it is.

夜歩行之法

Yoru Hoko no Ho

The method of walking at night

This is an oral tradition.

[Untitled skill]

我是鬼

Trace the above three ideograms on your gate. Then write them again with your right little finger onto your left palm and pray with your hands above your head and then sleep. This works wondrously well, you will not be bewitched by transformed raccoon dogs.

水松明之法

Mizutaimatsu no Ho

The way of the waterproof torch

There is an oral tradition for this.

Skin an eel and put camphor into the [tube of the] skin and secure it with strings. Place sulfur at the ignition end—it will not go out when wet.

人ヲ眠ラス法

Hito wo Nemurasu Ho

The art of making people sleep

There is an oral tradition for this.

Sprinkle whale baleen by crumpling it onto the person’s breast—that person will fall into a deeper sleep. This works divinely.

雨中火縄之事

Uchu Hinawa no Koto

Rainproof fuse

Apply lime onto a bamboo fuse with persimmon tannin. Cut paper to an appropriate length and roll it with two or three layers. Use this fuse for the above “old” water musket.

雨中松明の事法

Uchu Taimatsu no Koto Ho

The art of rainproof torch

♦
Saltpeter – 2 momme

♦
Sulfur – 12 momme

♦
Ash – 2 momme 5 bu

♦
Pine tree knot – 5 momme

♦
Moxa – 3 momme

♦
Pine resin – 2 momme

♦
Camphor – 3 momme

♦
Sawdust – 3 momme

♦
Mouse droppings – 3 momme

霞之佃

Kasumi no Muchi

The rod of mist

The rod of mist is a cane or rod with poison embedded in its tip.

♦
Flowers of a thistle

♦
Powdered whitewash (calcium carbonate)

♦
Iron filings

♦
Unslaked lime

Mix the above and powder finely, then insert the mixture into a rod. Swing and flick the rod towards the enemy while considering the “wind and the wave.”
^*
Use this in war or in combat.

團扇霧霞之法

Uchiwa Kiri Kasumi no Ho

Fan of mist

Tie a maw worm (intestinal parasite) to a branch and above that place a red and white insect/worm—the one which lives in drainage systems and which hide in water and flutter about when human footsteps pass. Catch this worm and place it above the maw worm, tie them by winding with string. Next wait until mushrooms grow around it. The first mushroom should be thrown away; take the second one and dry it in the shade, then powder it down. Next powder Japanese tiger beetles and mix it together. Blow this powder with a fan over your enemy and they will immediately die. The worm is not a leech or the larvae of a mosquito. If a human hand is placed near it, it will submerge.

満地之佃

Manji no Muchi

Rod of Manji

♦
Put arsenious anhydride in half [of the inside of the cane]

♦
Put arsenopyrite in the other side [of the inside of the cane]

Place the two ingredients into the tip of a rod or cane and swing and flick this at the enemy.

Further Shinobi Quotes

The following short selection of quotes from historical manuals will further help to illustrate the shinobi and the tasks that they perform. Each one comes from different backgrounds and purpose but all shed light on the shinobi.

A lord should not try to fulfil his appointed tasks without knowing the job of the shinobi. Lord Takeda Shingen used to make his plans with ease and had complete victory in every battle he ever entered throughout his life. His retainers Baba mino no Kami, Yamagata Saburobei and Yamamoto Kansuke had a secret meeting about [the teachings of the shinobi]. Lord Shin-gen told them to pass on their
suppa
(shinobi) family traditions to others.

Iga-ryu Koka-ryu Shinobi Hidensho

Concerning Having Shinobi Infiltrate—on their Advantages and Disadvantages

Do not fail to have [shinobi] infiltrate before [a night attack] and after they have infiltrated, know that you cannot communicate with them without fire—that is while they are inside and you are outside. Strictly avoid telling the troops of the upcoming night attack about these shinobi; this is because if they know this fact, they will count on this and if they rely on them too much, they will be less inclined towards the task at hand.

While you are waiting for the fire from inside but if no fire ignites, it is most likely because the
shinobi no mono
has been killed or for other reasons, therefore you should still attack directly when the appropriate time comes.

When you get to the bamboo fences and you try to attack the inside of the camp and as you know there are allies on the inside, then know that this gives you momentum and that you should attack as the fire rises on the inside, making the external and internal assault correspond to each other. However, take note: it is not advisable to over rely on shinobi.

Extracts by Hattori Naoyoshi &
Hattori Naofusa of Owari, c. seventeenth century

On Shinobi Horsemanship

It goes without saying that shinobi should detect gaps in the enemy camp. To add to this, sometimes you should send one or two horses with their tongues tied and drive them into the enemy camp to cause confusion within. Also, you should send shinobi to release any horses, no matter what number of horses there are. This is called “close taking.”