Takamatsu Sensei – Ninjutsu: Saigo no Jissen Ninja Takamatsu Toshitsugu

This 70-minute DVD offers around 40 minutes of narrated black-and-white video of the “last living real ninja” practicing his techniques.
Subtitled in English and Japanese.
Takamatsu Toshitsugu Saigo no Jissen Ninja
WOW! Sensei Takamatsu Live and Active! Soke Hatsumi discusses his relationship with his illustrious master.
Examine authentic video training footage of Takamatsu and Hatsumi.
There are a lot of never-before-seen photographs! School-based teaching licenses
Soke displays a stack of personal letters from Takamatsu! Everyone in the Ninjutsu Arts is enthusiastic about the release of maybe the best martial arts DVD of all time (yes, we are!).
Watch how the last remaining Ninja teaches Soke Hatsumi the Kihon Happo and much more.
Takamatsu, O’Sensei
TOSHITSUGU TAKAMATSU “The last living real Ninja,” according to the 33rd Soke of Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu. O’Sensei Takamatsu was born in Akashi, Hyogo province, on March 10, 1887, in the 23rd year of Meiji.
Hisatsugu was his given name, but he subsequently altered it to Toshitsugu (using the same kanji letters but different pronunciation).
O’Sensei Takamatsu was regarded as one of the finest martial artists of all time.
He didn’t only practice his craft… he lived it and defeated countless adversaries in death matches.
He began training at a young age.
Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu, his grandpa, maintained a bone clinic and a Budo Dojo in Kobe.
He was the Soke of the Shindenfudo Ryu combat system in this Dojo.
Toda was a Samurai by birth and originated from Iga province.
Takamatsu’s ancestors had migrated from Takao, a hilly region near Iga.
A placard over the dojo’s door stated “Shindenfudo Ryu Jutaijutsu.”
Shinden Koto Ryu Karate (later modified to Koto Ryu Koppojutsu), Gyokko Ryu Kosshijutsu, Kumogakure Ryu Ninpo, Gyokushin Ryu Ninpo, and Togakure Ryu Ninpo Taijutsu were also taught by Toda.
Grandfather Toda also taught at a military institution in Nakano and was a senior instructor at Bikenshin Ryu Kenjutsu, a school that educated the Tokugawa shoguns.
Takamatsu had mastered the school’s skills by the age of 13.
This meant he would become a licensee of the school, which had been a regular procedure in the past.
Toda taught him the Koto Ryu and subsequently the Togakure Ryu after he learnt Shindenfudo Ryu.
He enjoyed the Koto Ryu, but he was uninterested in the Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu training.
Koto Ryu training entailed pounding little stones with the tips of one’s fingers.
The blood would stream down the nails and fingers, causing excruciating discomfort.
As the pupil advanced, he would graduate to rocks and so on.
O’Sensei Takamatsu left high school in the spring of 1900, when he was 13 years old, to attend English School and the Chinese School of Classics in his hometown of Kobe.
While he was here, he joined the Takagi Yoshin Ryu, of whom Mizuta Yoshitaro Tadafusa was the 15th Soke.
He practiced every day at this Dojo, and when he was 17, Mizuta handed him the Menkyo Kaiden to the Takagi Yoshin Ryu.
When O’Sensei Takamatsu was 17, an elderly man named Ishitani Matsutaro Takekage visited Takamatsu’s father’s match factory.
Ishitani was well-known across Japan for his martial arts skills.
He was strolling with an antique wood bokken as a walking stick.
Takamatsu’s father hired Ishitani as a security guard and granted him a tiny section of the factory to use as a Dojo.
Takamatsu jumped at the chance to learn from the old guy.
He learnt the “Kuki Happo Biken no Jutsu” from him.
Ishitani also learned in numerous parts of Ninjutsu and taught young Takamatsu aspects from several other systems, including his own.
Hon Tai Takagi Yoshin Ryu (which Takamatsu was already studying with Mizuta), Gikan Ryu Koppojutsu, and Shinden Muso Ryu were among them.
On one occasion, the match factory workers’ sleeping quarters caught fire.
While everyone else was shouting, Takamatsu was seen enjoying a cigar and observing the flames.
He then took one of the heavy gi training jackets, drenched it in water, and donned it.
He grabbed a hanbo (3ft stick) and ran inside the flaming section, using the hanbo to smash down the sliding walls.
The crumbling walls assisted in extinguishing the flames, so preserving the rest of the factory.
Ishitani is said to have seen Takamatsu as he went around breaking down walls and stated that he was a true martial artist.
Ishitani died a few years later, just as he handed over the scrolls to O’Sensei Takamatsu.
He is claimed to have died with his head in the lap of O’Sensei Takamatsu.
Takamatsu obtained his Menkyo Kaiden from Toda in 1909, at the age of 22.
Toda died on December 6, 1909, the same year.
“Even when faced with death, die laughing,” Toda once advised Takamatsu.
Other bits of wisdom he had offered him included: 1. Smile even when you are facing defeat.
2. Never discuss your expertise because it may go.
Takamatsu moved for China shortly after this.
One of the reasons he stated was that he wanted to put his training to the test, which was no longer feasible in Japan.
Takamatsu traveled to China for the first time via Korea, where he studied under Kim Kei-mei.
He eventually learned eighteen Chinese and Korean martial arts.
He participated in various engagements while in China.
A mounted soldier charged at him during one of these confrontations.
Takamatsu was unarmed at this time, but a sword lay on the ground in front of him.
Takamatsu sprinted forward, executed a diving roll, scooped up the sword, and jumped into the air, chopping off the horseman’s head, just as he was about to pull his pistol and shoot.
Later, he taught his students that it is critical to be able to roll accurately in as many different ways as possible.
Takamatsu taught martial arts to make ends meet in China.
He informed Hatsumi that when he was working at an English school, he had around 1000 students.
Many veteran martial artists gathered to confront him.
In the past, accepting challenges from others was the only way to maintain your reputation as a martial artist and instructor.
He faced every challenger and never lost a fight, despite several being called draws.
According to Takamatsu’s notebook, he fought 12 fights to the death and 7 competitive matches.
Death battles were the consequence of challenges.
All of this had happened by the time he reached the grand old age of 30.
In 1919, Takamatsu returned to Japan.
He traveled to Mt. Tendai’s Tendai temple shortly after this.
Hiei was ordained as a priest in Kyoto.
He later became one of the temple’s abbots.
Though he claimed not to be religious, he was extraordinarily sensitive to spirit and it is probable that he was ordained in three separate faiths.
His wife’s name was Tane, and she was born on June 28, Meiji 30 (1896) on the river bank of Yodo-gawa, in the neighborhood known as Hirakata.
We also know that he served as an adviser on Daiei’s film “Shinobi no mono.”
He taught several of the performers in the film Bojutsu.
Takamatsu later owned a small tea house and motel in Kashiwara, Nara, Japan.
He taught Ninjutsu to a few students here.
Takamatsu accepted a new pupil, Hatsumi Yoshiaki, a young man in his twenties, in the 1950s.
For 15 years, Hatsumi traveled 15 hours practically every weekend to learn with O’Sensei.
Hatsumi stated that when he first met Takamatsu, he was terrified of him, describing him as a forceful and terrifying instructor.
Takamatsu addressed his other students as follows: “I chose to put everything in Hatsumi’s hands.
In martial arts, I believe he is the best candidate.
I can now repay Toda Sensei, Ishitani Sensei, and Mizuta Sensei for their generosity.
I wish to continue my research into nature’s mysteries.” Takamatsu informed Hatsumi a year before his death that he had taught him everything he knew.
Hatsumi afterwards observed Takamatsu stumble and fall to one knee while practicing with him.
Hatsumi Sensei stated that it was at this point that he understood Takamatsu’s life was coming to an end.
Hatsumi brought a group of pupils to meet and train with Takamatsu.
O’Sensei Takamatsu died on April 2, 1972, at the age of 85.
Despite the fact that he had retired from training at the age of 80, he had continued to supervise Hatsumi’s personal training.
O’Sensei was laid to rest in the Kumedra cemetery near Nara, Japan.
Walking and drawing were two of O’Sensei’s favorite pastimes.
He loved to walk for about an hour every day (he claimed to be a terrible timekeeper), covering around 8 kilometers.
He would frequently walk his dogs (he had 20 Spitzes) with him.
He would paint every day for his own enjoyment, simply because he loved it and found it peaceful.
He will be remembered forever…
Hatsumi once received a poem from O’Sensei Takamatsu.
It goes like this…. A long time ago, I was a skilled Koppojutsu warrior.
Even when fighting deadly creatures, I was brave and as passionate as a flame.
I have a heart as wild as the meadow flowers, yet as straight and true as the bamboo.
I am not afraid of ten thousand adversaries.
Who in the world has the ability to sustain the warrior’s will? There you have it.
The Warrior Gods sent me this one (Bujin).
I’ve been waiting for you throughout the years.