In Iga, a few powerful clans were directed by these temples to control the lands on their behalf. They owned lands but needed help administering and protecting them. This area was significant since it was close to Nara and Kyoto, the center of political power, very accessible and easier to gather information.ДЇrom the Nara period (710-784) stretching into the Muromachi era (1336-1573) there were six main temples wielding considerable power and influence. There was also a collection of people from the Seto Inland bay and dissidents displaced by war and other uprisings who established villages and territories in Iga. These people brought with them advanced techniques in agriculture, metal work and other important skills and knowledge. вЂњThere are historic relics from the Jomon and Yayoi era (14,000 BCE-250 ACE) that indicate immigrants from present day Korea and China settled in the hills of Iga (hour and half outside Kyoto). He now learns and practices Iga-Koka ryu style of ninjitsu. However, based on an educated guess, Izo-san was born and raised in Iga and the existence of the scroll stating Nidennomaki taught ninjitsu to legendary Tateoka Dojyun, indicates Izo-san is a descendent of ninja. To be clear, there is no direct line of ninja connected to Izo-san. Although itвЂ™s supposition, there is a strong possibility IвЂ™m the descendant of the ninja, Ichikawa Nidennomaki.вЂќ Today, my family is the only one with the name Ichikawa and the only family that lived and continues to live in the north Iga area. Tateoka lived in the village next to Ichikawa NidennomakiвЂ™s village. The scroll he has states my ancestor, Ichikawa Nidennomaki, taught ninjitsu to the famous ninja Tateoka Dojyun. He is the Iga-Koga ryu soke or head of Iga-Koka ninjitsu style. Many ninjitsu styles and schools existed but stopped passing down their ninjitsu teachings around the beginning of the Meiji era (1868-1912), My master however, is the only person to have continued to receive direct ninjitsu teachings from his family. Where it gets very interesting is when I was told about a scroll with information about ninja that mentioned the name Ichikawa Nidennomaki, an ancestor of mine. If you look at the family register, you can trace back my family name, Ichikawa, to at least six generations. He lived in Tsuge, a village in north Iga, a renowned area ninja lived over countless centuries.

However, in my familyвЂ™s case, six generations ago, one of my ancestors appears to have been a ninja. вЂњNot that many written records about ninja exist.

Ninja village kyoto