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I received an inquiry by email asking if I had any reason to believe that the Toda family of the Togakure Ryu had any real historical relationship to the Tozawa family. The question was being raised because Takamatsu Toshitsugu claimed to be a descendant of Tozawa Hakuunasai, the founder of the Gyokko Ryu lineage of ninjutsu. He claims this on his maternal grandfather’s side, via Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu. In my amateur opinion, yes there is enough evidence to suggest that the Tozawa and the Toda clans were Read More

Togakure’s 33 Sacred Shugendo Caves of Antiquity 戸隠の三十三所の聖なる修験道の古窟 When talking about the history and origins of the Togakure Ryū, we must inevitably look at the Hakuun Ryū and the Gyokko Ryū. These three legendary individual lineages of ninjutsu are so closely interrelated that it is often difficult to tell them apart. 戸隠流の歴史や起源を語るとき、必然的に白雲流と玉虎流に目を向けざるを得ない。この3つの伝説的な忍術の系統は、相互に密接に関連しているため、見分けるのが難しいこともあります。 Gyokko Ryū, according to Bujinkan tradition, is the original martial art to be practiced in Read More