Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi was born in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture Japan on December 2, 1931. He graduated from Meiji University in Tokyo and was director of his own chiropractic clinic before retiring to teach his martial tradition full time. Dr Hatsumi is an author, and accomplished artist. His work is praised around the globe. In his youth Soke Hatsumi studied the martial arts from many instructors and styles, obtaining black belt in several; Aikido, Judo, Karate, and Jujitsu. It wasn’t until the mid-50’s that young Hatsumi discovered his Hatsumi and his teachermentor and grandmaster of the nine ryu (families) that make up the Ninjutsu tradition. Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s Dr. Hatsumi continuously traveled across Japan to study with Toshitsugu Takamatsu. He eventually obtained head of the nine families becoming the 34th soke of Togakure ryu. Dr. Hatsumi continues to teach and travel the world sharing his art with members of his Bujinkan Dojo network.

A word about the art from Grandmaster Hatsumi:

I believe that ninpo, the higher order of ninjutsu, should be offered to the world as a guiding influence for all martial artists. The physical and spiritual survival methods eventually immortalized by Japan’s ninja were in fact one of the sources of Japanese martial arts. Without complete and total tHatsumiraining in all aspects of the combative arts, today’s martial artist cannot hope to progress any futher than mere proficiency in the limited set of muscular skills that make up his or her training system. Personal enlightenment can only come about through total immersion in the martial tradition as a way of living. By experiencing the confrontation of danger, the transcendence of fear or injury or death, and a working knowledge of individual personal powers and limitations, the practitioner of ninjutsu can gain the strength and invincibility that permit enjoyment of the flowers moving in the wind, appreciation of the love of others, and contentment with the presence of peace in society.

The attainment of this enlightenment is characterized by the development of the jihi no kokoro, or “benevolent heart.” Stronger than love itself, the benevolent heart is capable of encompassing all that constitutes universal justice and all that finds expression in the unfolding of the universal scheme. Born of the insight attained from repeated exposure to the very brink between life and death, ninpo’s benevolent heart is the key to finding harmony and understanding in the realms of the spiritual and natural material worlds.

After so many generations of obscurity in the shadowy recesses of history, the life philosophy of the ninja is now once again emerging, because once again, it is the time in human destiny in which ninpo is needed. May peace prevail so that mankind may continue to grow and evolve into the next great plateau.