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Staying Alive: Japan Report Three 令和7年

I’m staying alive for my third Japan report from my recent trip. I had some rank paperwork to submit for my students, so I made the walk to Hatsumi Sensei’s house. To my surprise, when I walked past the 大黒天 Daikokuten statue , some workers were in the process of demolishing the house. They are building the 新武神館本部事務所 new Bujinkan honbu office and exhibition space to open in 2027. It hit me hard right in my nostalgia 急所 kyūsho. I have so many memories of my visits to Soke’s house. Many afternoons drinking tea, listening to his stories and jokes while hanging out with his dogs (and so many cats!). I guess the only constant is change. As they say,「十年一昔、」even ten years ago seems like ancient history. Staying Alive with 古田先生 Furuta Sensei I had time to ponder my nostalgia on the walk to the Honbu Dojo for class with 古田先生 Furuta Sensei. He started class from 天略宇宙合掌 Ten Ryaku Uchū Gasshō and evolved from there into 虚空 Kokū. He really emphasized the cross step footwork and unwinding in...
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Tiny Insects: Japan Report Two 令和7年

When I travel to Japan it seems like I race from class to class. Or, I race from train to train through Tokyo to explore the historic sites of Japan and our Bujinkan art. But here I stopped the race to enjoy training with Nagase Sensei and think about tiny insects. Video here: https://www.rojodojo.com/tiny-insects-japan-report-two-reiwa7/ I slowed down for 考え事 kangaegoto with deep thoughts about a class I had with Hatsumi Sensei. He demonstrated evading an attack to the outside. Then Soke used his shoulders to support the attack briefly before dropping them. This allowed him to secretly take 子殺 ko goroshi. The opponent never saw it, but he yelped in pain. Tiny Insects Hatsumi Sensei then shared a lesson about あも一寸の玉 虫 amo issun no tama  mushi. This is a a gokui found in 高木揚心流 Takagi Yoshin Ryū. It has to do with the relationship of the strong and weak. The strong seek to control through strength. But Soke suggests we control lightly so we don’t get “stung.” The concept of...
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Memories of Jesse

I don’t know what to say. Last week I got terrible news. One of my senior students and friends passed away. He had been an integral member of our dojo since around 2009 when he started as a white belt.  I watched him and his son grow as they trained with us. Now his son is a smart young man in college who has lost his best friend and role model. We are empty with grief. I quickly went through my personal photo collection and video archive to find some images that reflected Jesse’s time as my friend. But I can’t get everything he meant to me from those images or into these words. がんばって Jesse…
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Tiny Insects: Japan Report Two 令和7年

When I travel to Japan it seems like I race from class to class. Or, I race from train to train through Tokyo to explore the historic sites of Japan and our Bujinkan art. But here I stopped the race to enjoy training with Nagase Sensei and think about tiny insects. I slowed down for 考え事 kangaegoto with deep thoughts about a class I had with Hatsumi Sensei. He demonstrated evading an attack to the outside. Then Soke used his shoulders to support the attack briefly before dropping them. This allowed him to secretly take 子殺 ko goroshi. The opponent never saw it, but he yelped in pain. Tiny Insects Hatsumi Sensei then shared a lesson about あも一寸の玉 虫 amo issun no tama  mushi. This is a a gokui found in 高木揚心流 Takagi Yoshin Ryū. It has to do with the relationship of the strong and weak. The strong seek to control through strength. But Soke suggests we control lightly so we don’t get “stung.” あも一寸の玉 虫 painting by Hatsumi Sensei The concept of even tiny insects having a...
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Born to Fly: Japan Report One 令和7年

I titled this post Born to Fly because I sometimes feel like I am compelled to fly to Japan. It feels like a second home. But I also benefit from all of the wonderful Bujinkan training, friends and teachers there. This latest Japan Report video is accompanied by「Born to fly」from アキ SONGBIRD . When I arrived in Noda-shi for a class with Furuta Sensei, I noticed some changes. I walked to my quick bird watching spot in さざんか公園. And I saw the pedestrian bridge over 県道3号 was closed for repair or demolition. Also the パチンコマルキン (pachinko Marukin) is no more.   Class with Furuta Sensei Furuta Sensei began with a type of 打払型 uchi harai gata. He struck the opponent in 朝霞 asagasumi. But there was a hidden, hooking finger strike down into the throat. During this exchange he focused on changing levels. He used cross steps to enter and occupy space. And the “body lean” to occupy the gaps in the opponent’s kamae. He had the attacker deliver a second punch. And Furuta Sensei ...
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Ittō-ryū Extra: Japan Report Twelve 令和6年

The days and nights have become cold and crisp out in Noda. The founder of Ittō-ryū was in my thoughts during my brisk walk to the Bujinkan Honbu dojo for a class with Sakasai-san. For now, I pulled my thin jacket tight around my shoulders. There were only three of us in the dojo. Ueki-san, myself, and Rich from Florida. Sakasai said it would be his last class for the year and he would resume on the 19th of January. Despite this, tonight he covered a lot of ideas with us.  He began with 一文字 ichimonji, 十文字 jūmonji, and 飛鳥 hichō. But he combined them all into one response to the opponent’s attack. Then he did something similar using 五行の型 gogyō no kata. The attack was two punches, and then he adapted chi, sui, ka, fu, and ku to break the opponent down little by little. Next he used 生音 Seion to explore some very subtle angle shifts. No striking, and he did it without the 外掛け soto gake. He wanted us to throw through positioning alone. I found it very difficult because people...
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Good Gasshō: Japan Report Eleven 令和6年

Before I got to Gasshō, I began my morning commuting to 菊川駅 Kikukawa station. I was on my way to visit 井上刃物 Inoue Hamono. I had some questions to ask and maybe some items to purchase.  At the shop they sell Japanese woodworking tools. Their business has been around since the Meiji era. It is currently run by third and fourth generation family members 井上 時 夫 Inoue Tokio, and 井上 真 俊 Inoue Masatoshi. Some tools they sell include: 鉋 kan’na (planes); 彫刻鑿 chokoku nomi (carving chisels); 玄能 Gen’nō (hammers); 鋸 nokogiri (hand saws); and all variety of 刃物 hamono for specific use cases. They even had 尺 shaku and 寸 sun measuring squares. They also displayed a collection of cute 源氏鶴亀 墨壺 genji tsurukame sumitsubo (turtle and crane ink pots). These are used like the chalk lines that I grew up using in construction to snap lines on lumber. After running some more errands, I ended up walking to 両国駅 Ryōgoku Station. I caught the train from there all the way to Nodashi. It was...
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