In front of a gate in a castle wall, three hooded ninja train: one kindles a straw fire on the ground, one thrusts with a spear, and one throws blades at a wooden post.
The eight gates of training

Ninja no Hachimon

Eight gates decide whether a Ryū is a ninja art. What the ninja no hachimon requires, and why six of the nine Bujinkan schools are warrior Ryū.

Chapter
8, Rules & Philosophy
Sections
1
Reading time
1 min

The Eight Gates of the Ninja

A ninja Ryū must teach eight fields to truly be a ninja art. This definition is called the ninja no hachimon, the eight gates of the ninja.

In front of a gate in a castle wall, three hooded ninja train: one kindles a straw fire on the ground, one thrusts with a spear, and one throws blades at a wooden post.
The eight gates of training
  1. Ninja no kiai jutsu: energy discharge
  2. Ninja no taijutsu: body art
  3. Ninja no ken: sword fighting
  4. Ninja no yari: spear fighting
  5. Shurikenjutsu: blade throwing
  6. Ka jutsu 火術: fire, smoke, and explosives
  7. Kyomon: observation, common sense
  8. Yūgei: social arts such as the tea ceremony or ikebana
In a plain tatami room, a man in a blue kimono kneels and prepares tea; a guest sits across from him, and a flower arrangement stands in a vase in the alcove.
Yūgei, the social arts

Ninja Ryū and Warrior Ryū

It follows that many arts that claim to be ninja arts are in fact warrior Ryū. In the Bujinkan (武神館), three ryūha 流派 are pure ninja Ryū: the Togakure-Ryū (戸隠流) Ninpō, the Gyokushin-Ryū (玉心流) Ninpō, and the Kumogakure-Ryū (雲隠流) Ninpō.

The other six ryūha are warrior Ryū. That does not make them any less effective. Even in earlier times, ninja learned other ryūha to improve their skills.

Many famous ninja, such as Hattori Hanzō, were respected warriors in their region. Only a few people knew that they were also ninja.

This article is also a chapter of the book.The book as an ebook and PDF