Customer Reviews

Togakure Ryu Ninpo Taijutsu; Ten Ryaku, Ten Chi, Jinryaku No Maki. Book of Heaven, Earth, and Human strategies.

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Soke begins this book with gratitude and a sense of sublime respect towards his own teacher, Takamatsu-sensei, and he ends it with the same. In between, we catch a glimpse of Hatsumi-sensei exploring the secrets of his martial art through the printed word and in his own words "...to bare and show budo to the world and in becoming bare finding the resolve to face death."

A book of this nature is very much open to criticisms from those who look for packaged and easily discernible logic. Is this part and parcel of Soke's decision to 'become bare'? Like Soke's recent works, many of the photographs are out of order or come from differing photography sessions. The number of techniques in this book are legion but it is the sense behind each photograph that reveals the nature of what is being presented. Forget about the more common 'one-two-three' approach and absorb the confusion that is part and parcel of Soke's art. After all, it is in this confusion that the value of the written material can be found.

If you are able to read the original Japanese, more power to you. Unfortunately, the English tanslation that accompanies the copy that I have is rather poor but there is more than enough for the discerning reader to grasp, if they have the wherewithal to do so.

The stories and anecdotes that dot this book are quite literally martial treasures but for those weaned on 1970s pop-kung fu mysticsm, the value of these lessons in printed form may not be recognised for what they are and subsequently go unnoticed. This would be a shame really as they contain the correct attitude with which to understand the techniques and movements presented.

Soke began this book with respect towards his teacher and ended it with the same. It would be a good thing indeed if people reading this book could absorb some of this sense and to recognise it's value in understanding the Bujinkan arts.