The Bujinkan is an international martial arts organisation founded by Masaaki Hatsumi to preserve and transmit the teachings of nine classical Japanese martial schools (ryū-ha) inherited from Toshitsugu Takamatsu.
The name Bujinkan (武神館) is commonly translated as “Hall of the Divine Warrior.” Unlike modern combat sports, training is not based on competition or sporting rules. Instead, students study the principles of traditional Japanese martial arts through natural movement, balance, timing, distance, awareness, adaptability, and efficient body mechanics.
The Bujinkan is widely recognised for preserving the historic tradition of Togakure Ryū Ninpō Taijutsu, one of Japan’s classical ninjutsu schools. However, the Bujinkan encompasses far more than ninjutsu alone, preserving a complete system of traditional Japanese martial arts that includes unarmed combat, classical weapons, strategy, and philosophy.
Today, the Bujinkan Hombu Dōjō is located in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, and affiliated dōjō can be found throughout the world.
Training gradually moves beyond simply reproducing techniques towards understanding the principles that give rise to them. As experience develops, students learn to respond naturally and appropriately to changing situations rather than relying on fixed patterns or predetermined responses.
The Nine Ryūha
The Bujinkan preserves the teachings of the following nine classical Japanese martial schools:
• 神伝不動流打拳体術 Shinden Fudō Ryū Daken Taijutsu
• 玉虎流骨指術 Gyokko Ryū Kosshi-Jutsu
• 虎倒流骨法術 Kotō Ryū Koppō-Jutsu
• 戸隠流忍法体術 Togakure Ryū Ninpō Taijutsu
• 九鬼神伝流八法秘剣術 Kuki Shinden Ryū Happō Biken-Jutsu
• 高木揚心流柔体術 Takagi Yōshin Ryū Jūtai-Jutsu
• 義鑑流骨法術 Gikan Ryū Koppō-Jutsu
• 玉心流骨法術 Gyokushin Ryū Ninpō / Koppō-Jutsu
• 雲隠流忍法体術 Kumogakure Ryū Ninpō Taijutsu
Together these traditions preserve a comprehensive body of Japanese martial knowledge, including striking, grappling, throwing, joint locking, traditional weapons, battlefield strategy, and the principles of movement that unite the schools.
初見良昭 Masaaki Hatsumi Sensei
Masaaki Hatsumi (born 1931) is the founder of the Bujinkan and the successor to the nine martial traditions inherited from Toshitsugu Takamatsu.
From a young age he studied a variety of martial arts, including Jūdō, Karate, Kendō, Aikidō, and Western boxing.
After the Second World War, Hatsumi Sensei taught Jūdō at an American military base near Tokyo. It was here that he realised that, since the Japanese martial arts had modernised into competitive sports, the larger and more athletic Americans could achieve in a very short time what would take the smaller Japanese years of study. It was then that Hatsumi-sensei set himself to search for the true Japanese martial arts of ancient Japan.
His search led him to Toshitsugu Takamatsu, a renowned martial artist and inheritor of several classical Japanese martial traditions.
Beginning in his late twenties, Hatsumi Sensei travelled regularly to study with Takamatsu Sensei, making the journey each week for many years. Under Takamatsu’s guidance, he received instruction in the nine traditions that would later form the foundation of the Bujinkan.
Following Takamatsu Sensei’s passing in 1972, Hatsumi Sensei established the Bujinkan Dōjō and dedicated his life to teaching and sharing these traditions internationally.
Hatsumi-sensei retired from active training in 2020 at the age of 88.
