Bujinkan Dojo

 

"Takamatsu Sensei often told me that the essence of ninjutsu is the recognition of things and that one must have martial virtue as a human - to be resolved with sutemi jihi (sacrifice and compassion) so that one may assimilate god's recognition.  That is why I named my dojo 'Bujinkan'．" - Hatsumi Masaaki Sensei in Togakure No Ninja 

OVERVIEW.  The Bujinkan Dojo 武神館道場, or "Warrior God Training Hall," was organized in the early 1970's by Hatsumi Masaaki Sensei. This organization is comprised of nine distinct schools of ancient Japanese martial arts, with traceable histories from the ninth century and earlier. Hatsumi Sensei inherited these ryu ha from his teacher, the late Takamatsu Toshitsugu in 1972. The nine schools of the Bujinkan are listed below.

 

The Bujinkan martial arts emphasizes natural and relaxed body movement to generate power. Taijutsu (unarmed) "body skill" uses the entire body in a natural way to harmonize and amplify simple movements, rather than relying solely on brute force or speed. The subtle destruction of the attacker's balance and rhythm and proper control of distance and timing are the primary focus of Bujinkan Taijutsu. These principles allow even smaller persons to effectively defeat larger and more powerful opponents. The fighting skills of the Bujinkan Dojo were tested exhaustively in combat by the legendary ninja and samurai of Warring States Japan.

The International Bujinkan Dojo is directly supervised by Hatsumi Massaki Soke. Presently, Hatsumi Sensei still lives and trains in Noda City, Japan. He actively teaches every week at the Ayase Budokan in northern Tokyo and at the Bujinkan Honbu Dojo in Noda. Hatsumi Sensei is recognized as one of the premiere martial artists of today and is well known worldwide. The Bujinkan Dojo is truly international, with hundreds of Bujinkan schools and training groups scattered about the globe.

 

HATSUMI MASAAKI.  Hatsumi Masaaki 初見良昭 (originally Yoshiaki) Sensei was born on December 2, 1931 in Chiba Prefecture Japan. He studied Asian and Western martial arts (judo, karate, and boxing), fine arts, soccer, gymnastics, acting, and dancing. He began studying the martial arts traditions taught by Takamatsu Toshitsugu at the age of 27 (approximately 1958). As his last and only "true" student, Hatsumi Sensei succeeded to Takamatsu Sensei's nine schools of ancient Japanese martial arts in 1972. He founded the Bujinkan Dojo, where he teaches the martial art derived from these traditions called "Budo Taijutsu".

Hatsumi Sensei received a doctorate degree (USA) of philosophy after he submitted his study entitled "Find that Bushido is to Die". He also received the title of Knight from the German government in May of 1994, confirming his abilities to teach budo extensively. He also starred in many Japanese television action dramas such as "Jiraiya", "Ninja-boy-Fujimaru", and "Ninja Nights". Hatsumi Sensei's list of titles and awards includes: Blackbelt Magazine's Instructor of the Year (1986),

Knight (Germany), Doctor of Philosophy (USA), Doctor of Human Science (USA), Texas State Honorary Citizen, Honorary Texas Ranger, Los Angeles Honorary Citizen, Atlanta Honorary Citizen, Dublin Honorary Citizen, etc.

On November 22nd, 1999, Hatsumi Sensei was awarded the prestigious International Culture Award by the Japanese government. The highest honor given for cultural exchange, the award was presented to Hatsumi Sensei by a representative of the Imperial Household. In May of 2001 he was also presented with an award from Pope John Paul II for his achievements in promoting kind relations among the world's people - the first time such an award was given to a martial artist.

Hatsumi Sensei continues to transmit his unique spirit and inexhaustible energy to the Bujinkan community through annual Daikomyosai seminars in Japan, videos, and densho written teachings. The Bujinkan densho Sanmyaku ("Mountain Range") is available to practitioners in the United States through Sanmyaku (P.O. Box 30338 Stockton, CA 95213). Hatsumi Sensei encourages everyone to capture the essence of the Bujinkan bufu ("martial wind") through Sanmyaku.

 

TAKAMATSU TOSHITSUGU.  Takamatsu Toshitsugu 高松寿嗣 was born on March 10, 1889 in Hyogo Prefecture Japan. At the age of nine he began studying the martial arts, and mastered the various styles from his grandfather Toda Shinryuken, Ishitani Matsutaro, and Mizuta Yoshitaro Tadafusa. Takamatsu Sensei was already an accomplished budoka by the time he was a teenager, having won challenge matches against other martial artists and sumotori. As a young man in his twenties he retreated to the mountains of Kobe to continue his rigorous physical and spiritual practice. After leaving the mountains he soon moved to China, and for the following 10 years he encountered many life and death situations in true fighting. He reportedly fought many strong Chinese martial artists in mortal combat and used his budo to defend himself against even wild animals. 

In 1919, after mastering the combat arts, Takamatsu Sensei returned to Japan in order to master spiritual studies.  He became the head monk at a mountain temple of esoteric Buddhism in the Yamato district. In the 1950's he taught martial arts in Nara prefecture; in 1957 he met Hatsumi Yoshiaki and groomed the young man to become the successor to his rich martial arts legacy. Referred by HatsumiSensei as the "last true combat ninja," the venerable Takamatsu Toshitsugu passed away in May of 1972, at the age of 84 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bujinkan Honbu Dojo

 636 Noda, Noda-shi,

 Chiba-ken, 278-8691

 Japan

 

 

 

 

 

 

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