Why is Dr. masaaki Hatsumi soke considered the last ninja?
May 6, 2010 by soke
Filed under Soke hatsumi
Since He has like thousands of bujinkan students? Do they mean they have to become as experinced as him or greater?
May 6, 2010 by soke
Filed under Soke hatsumi
Since He has like thousands of bujinkan students? Do they mean they have to become as experinced as him or greater?
He’s not considered “the last ninja” (they say this on TV for sensationalism). Toshitsugu Takamatsu sensei, was considered “the last service ninja” by Hatsumi sensei.
No bujinkan students are ninja. Though many strive to live the life of a ninja (which is a lot more like being healthy of mind and body, and less about shuriken and sommersaults). The ninja are technically extinct. It would be like calling yourself a Samurai if you studied Iaido. It’s ridiculous.
Exactly what Renyo said. I study Bujinkan Ninjutsu – not to become a ninja but to learn about the history and culture of a fascinating nation. I also strive to take home the discipline and humility taught to me and apply it to my normal western life to create stronger mentality and focus. Also, as Renyo said, there are many aspects to the art that teach healthier ways of living. I believe this is invaluable teaching in a society where the ‘fastest and easiest’ option is considered the best regardless of the nutritional or physiological value.
My personal opinion of learning the art is that it teaches a person how to become a more balanced individual both through physiological movement and strength of mind and heart.
In reference to your question: it is simply a continuation of historical teachings, just as we learn history at school lest the knowledge be lost. It doesn’t mean those learning are of the same mind set of 1000 years ago!
Great answers above, but to expand a little;
Hatsumi soke’s teacher was the last service ninja, as Renyo said. Hatsumi was trained fully but he has adapted the style he was taught and has stripped out certain elements to make the art more accessible but less than what a full “ninja” would be taught. Because of this it is said that he is the last ninja, even though there are thousands of students still studying under him.
Right on renyo and Kit…..
studying Ninjutsu to become a Ninja is like studying history to become a roman emperor. You can know the moves and the history but it does not make you a ninja.
I studied Togakure Ryu when I was a teenager in Dayton, Ohio under Stephen Hayes. Over the many years I attended their seminars I began to lose interest. Not because the system was not good or interesting, but because they began focusing on who is what rank and the other things. They also began charging super high prices for seminars, classes and ranks promotions. I liked it better when they were not well known. Today I would have a problem training under anyone claiming to be a 15th degree black belt or even a 10th degree and under the age of 65…I am not sure why he would be called the last ninja but I can definitely say that he has made millions of dollars on teaching and his books which is not wrong but to claim ranking such as a 15th degree is not only absurd but also ridiculous.
Renyo makes some good points… I’ll just point out a few things… Takamatsu Toshitsugu was Saigo no Jissen Ninja (Saigo – last; Jissen – “real fighting”, combat)
Soke (as far as I’m aware) has never referred to himself as ninja, but has been referred to as it in media, as well as compared himself to them in some of his early writings (I point this out as he seemed careful in his wording).
It’s not a case of the ninja being “extinct” with the permanence of, perhaps, an ethnic group might be extinct. Ninja was a way of life, therefore being ninja would mean living that same life under those same circumstances. There has been some discussion in the past, in view of changing political climates the world over, whether or not the time of the ninja is yet to come, and in what form.
I will continue to point out that what most people know about ninja couldn’t fill a sake cup. But still people in the Bujinkan profess to teach ninjutsu (a horrible mistake in my opinion). We study taijutsu, and the skills that stem from it. If you’re lucky, you might learn hints of ninjutsu, just as someone studying Kashima Shinto Ryu might learn hints of it (there are some teachings in their densho).
I’ll point out one last thing, and maybe this will help put some things into perspective… What other people call you isn’t what you are. I’m a performer and mind reader, and, when I do a mind reading performance for someone, I’m often called a psychic, which I promptly have to assure them I’m not, as such a thing doesn’t exist (though many dishonest people claim to be them). So here are people insisting that I’m something that never existed, whereas Soke is someone others insist is something that did at one time exist. Neither of us is what other people say, but people continue (and will continue) to say it anyway.
Edit:
One last thing: Hatsumi Soke has asked that people stop referring to him as “Doctor”. Apparently there was something to do with his diploma being from an unrecognized school or something, and on finding out he renounced the title. (The videos referring to him as Dr. predate the incident).