The relationship between the historical ninja or shinobi and gunpowder is very deep and complex.

Many
ninja manuscripts even convey skills of fire as the only art of their school of ninjutsu.

Since the ninja lived in an era without electricity, telephones, lights, etc., a means for a warrior to inform
his men of an attack at the outskirts of the land was of great importance. Another need was a method to
inform his men of a change in the battle plan, battle formation or the type of attack as soon as possible,
fireworks, firebombs, and other such skills were necessary for night activities and raids. Torches were
always a necessary item for the ninja in battle.

Takeda Shingen, one of Japans most well-known Shoguns, set up a smoke signal relay station system in
his territory and when an abnormality happened in another territory such as an attack or a revolt he could
receive the message at his location in Kofu within a few hours.

Smoke can be used as a signal and there are many ways and methods to variate the way that it goes up,
the color, the density, etc. These are all due to the various ingredients and raw materials that are used to
create the smoke. These variations allow the communicators to communicate using smoke as a
cryptographic cipher. It was not an easy task and required great skill. Depending on the weather it could
go left or right, or even rain could affect the smoke. There was ninja who were specialists in dealing with
coded smoke signals in all kinds of weather.

In 1543 it is recorded that western gunpowder and rifles were introduced to Japan. The ninja were quick
to take these items and include them in their ninjutsu arsenal. In 1546 the village of Aburahi (),
now present day Kokamachi () had a gunpowder production facility in operation. That is less than
3 years since it was introduced to the Shoguns regime.

The Ohara family of Kokamachi (a famous Koka ninja family) was known for compiling manuscripts and
secret documents related to gunpowder production. Depending on how the gunpowder is used, one can
make Nagareboshi () or shooting stars. These are said to be the precursors to todays fireworks
called bottle rockets but with a bit more kick to them. When gunpowder made it into the hands of
the ninja, smoke signal techniques improved and evolved at a very high pace.

Around Sakata-Gun in Shiga prefecture the Nagareboshi ( ) or shooting star style fireworks
production techniques are still handed down in the villages along the ancient Nakasendo (a major highway
even today). These traditions are preserved as the prefectures intangible folk culture. Nagareboshi are
now usually enjoyed as high school and college graduation party favors and on other days of celebration.

Now, throughout the world it has become popular to see the big parasol fireworks burst open and light
up the sky like a flower of fire. But the origins these came from the battle of Sekigahara when Ishida
Mitsunari used a wave type pattern of explosion and smoke to inform Sawayama Castle the chosen battle
formation and form of attack.

These Nagareboshi () are 5 meters in length and are made from a bamboo shaft with a tip
attachment called a Kotsupoke. This attachment along with Kazekiri or wind cutting feathers allows
the gunpowder recipe to propel this pre-cursor to the modern rocket into the sky at a height of up to 300
meters. These traditional recipes, per the local people of these villages, were passed on to their ancestors
by the ninja of old.
In the famous manuscript, the Bansenshukai, these Nagareboshi type of fireworks are illustrated and
categorized as firearms termed Uchihiko () and Tobihiko (). These only required
saltpeter, yellow Sulphur and ash from hemp plants to manufacture. But to this basic recipe the ninja
added other ingredients such as Camphor wood dust, pine needles, ground pine, various types of dried
animal feces, iron dust, etc. to create various types of signal flares and smoke trails.

One thing that is interesting about the Bansenshukai is that it puts firearms and explosives in the last few
volumes of the book towards the end, while in the Ninpiden the great ninja leader Hattori Hanzo included
firearms and explosives at the beginning. It seems that depending on the school or Ryu that the ninja
came from, gunpowder, firearms and explosives varied in importance.

Ninjutsu is made up of three main components or three hearts. The first is Ninpo (), the second
is Ningi (), and the last Ninki (). Respectively, the way or the code of the ninja, ninja
techniques of stealth, and ninja stealth equipment. When compared to other military strategies and
martial arts, the area where Ninjutsu is far ahead is in the production and use of equipment and tools.
The ninja were quite technologically advanced in all areas.

In the Bansenshukai it is also written that using the arts of fire to attack in battle was a bad plan. According
to the great Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, it is maybe a bit low class. Therefore, the author of the
former left it towards the back of his book. But we know historically that gunpowder and explosives played
the largest role in the future outcome of the future of the country as it had in many other places around
the world. Maybe this is the reason why Hattori Hanzo put it in the front of his book.

In summary, as soon as Japan started to trade with the west for firearms, Japans remote mountain ninja
starting developing their fire skills to include firearms, smoke bombs, light-flash bombs, percussion
explosion devices, land mines, etc. all at an amazing rate. This led to new types of skills for the ninja such
as Hyuakurai Shisajutsu () a flash-bomb type of Intonjutsu or escape and evasion technique.

When Hattori Hanzo brought several hundred ninja families with him under his command to Edo (modern
day Tokyo) he brought many well-trained sharpshooters with him. One group from Iga and another from
Koka (Koga). Ruins and remnants of these groups can be found today in Hyakunin-Cho Shinjuku, Okubo
Yotsuya and Chihaya.

Sean Askew

Bujinkan Kokusai Renkoumyo

8/22/2017