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Bansenshukai, Iga, Mie Prefecture.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nA facility where you can enjoy authentic Iga-ryu ninja experiences. At the adjacent hidden inn, you can taste the sensation of stepping into a ninja’s hideout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Reviving the Ninjutsu Manual “Bansenshukai” in Modern Times. 45 Types of “Wisdom for Survival”<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u2014 Thank you very much for the valuable experience today. I was overwhelmed by how the whole town of Iga is redefining the “ninja” by weaving together history and modern times. First, please tell us about the core concept of this facility.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> Thank you. The name of our facility, “Bansenshukai,” is taken from an actual ninjutsu manual written in the 4th year of Enpo (1676). This is a crystallization of wisdom from 350 years ago, compiled for future generations by the ninjas of Iga and Koka who feared that the skills and wisdom they had cultivated over many years would fade away. Our mission is to correctly convey the “real ninjutsu” recorded in this document, rather than the fictional, manga-like ninjas overflowing in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2014 What specific differences are there in “real” ninjutsu as opposed to fiction?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> The essence of ninjutsu does not lie in flashy swordplay or combat. At its core is the survival wisdom of how to “survive” under severe conditions, as well as sophisticated stealth techniques to vanish and complete a mission. At this facility, we extracted 45 types of techniques from the text, structuring the experience so visitors can learn through physical sensation the “survival arts” relied upon by those who lived in the shadows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>The Development Story Behind Experts Pooling Their Wisdom<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u2014 When I stepped into “Makenkutsu,” the stage for the experience, I was surprised by the complexity of its structure. It goes far beyond the framework of a simple attraction.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> Makenkutsu is a vertical cave space penetrating through an atrium from the 1st to the 4th floor. Inside, several hidden rooms are arranged, structured so that you experience a different ninjutsu technique with every step. To realize this space, professional designers, individuals with management experience in ninja facilities, and curators well-versed in “Bansenshukai” gathered together and engaged in discussions over an immense amount of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2014 There must have been considerable hardship until completion.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> Exactly. In addition to the construction period coinciding with global price inflation, adapting this complex, bizarre three-dimensional structure to legal standards was an extraordinarily difficult task. Redesigning time and again, it is a space that could be called the “crystallization of tenacity,” finally reached with the cooperation of many business operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Bo-Shuriken and “Direction Arts” Sensing the Earth<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u2014 Among the 45 types of techniques, please tell us about the particularly popular experiences.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> First is the “shuriken throwing,” but at our facility, we handle “bo-shuriken” (stick-shaped shuriken), which can rarely be experienced elsewhere. And what particularly surprises overseas guests is the “direction art” (Hogaku-jutsu).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2014 “Direction art”… what kind of experience is that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> It is an extremely scientific art of floating a needle on water to find north by using the Earth’s magnetic force. These are not merely explanations of gimmicks. A “shihan” (master instructor) accompanies as a guide, explaining the historical background of how the ninjas of those days read the laws of nature and utilized the power of the Earth itself to perform covert operations as you proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Daily Lives and Training of the Instructors. The Resolve to Inherit and Transmit Knowledge<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u2014 I was also impressed by the demeanors and deep explanations of the master instructors guiding us.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> Thank you. Under the thorough guidance of curators, our master instructors devote themselves to daily study and practice. They take pride in being “inheritors of knowledge” who not only demonstrate techniques but also accurately convey ninja history and spirituality. Their passion for embodying “what a real ninja is” through daily training\u2014including acquiring knowledge as well as mastering ninja movements and concealing their presence\u2014supports the quality of this facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>The “Hidden Inn” Soothed by Custom-made Clay Pots and Local Sake<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u2014 The lodging facility “Onmyojuku,” designed to cool down the excitement of the ninja experience, also has a wonderful atmosphere.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> The concept is literally a “hidden inn.” We paid particular attention to a complex design like a ninja’s hideout, where you cannot tell where the entrance is when viewed from the outside. It is a place to soothe a comfortably tired body from the experience with Iga’s rich food and hot spring baths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2014 The food presentation was particularly impressive.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> Food is the pride of Iga. We feature Iga beef, Iga rice, and rich local sake. What we were particularly meticulous about was the “original clay pot” custom-ordered from an Iga-ware pottery kiln together with our advisors. We want guests to spend time immersing themselves in Iga through all five senses\u2014liberating mind and body in the sauna or open-air bath while feeling the warmth of Iga’s earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>An Emigrant from Okayama Speaks on Iga’s Charm and Future Outlook<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u2014 We heard you moved here from Okayama, Mr. Yoshitsuna. Please tell us about your feelings toward this project.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> The company I belong to has been deeply involved in this project since the proposal stage of the PFI project. We have been consistently involved from planning to operation, and I fell in love with the streetscape of this beautiful castle town and decided to relocate. Being someone from the outside, I am constantly thinking about how to polish the one-and-only charm of Iga that is visible precisely because of my perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2014 How do you envision the future outlook?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYoshitsuna:<\/strong> Going forward, I want to pursue an even deeper “enthusiast depth.” Beyond language barriers, I want to make this the world’s sole sacred site where people can understand the essence of the ninja through physical experiences. Rather than superficial consumption of ninjas, we will continue to convey new regional value from this place where Iga’s history, culture, and the modern beauty of Sakakura architecture converge.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe modernist architecture “Hokusen,” left by Junzo Sakakura, was protected by citizens and combined with the historical wisdom of “Bansenshukai.” Beyond the framework of a mere tourist facility, this project was a “crystallization of public-private partnership” to connect the region’s soul to the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. Yoshitsuna’s passion for relocating from Okayama and entrusting his life to the beauty of Iga. And the pride of curators and master instructors who value historical facts. These overlap like the complex structure of “Makenkutsu,” engraving a new legend in the land of Iga. Real ninjutsu is about survival. The experience of learning that wisdom will surely serve as a clear guiding light for us living in the modern era as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\nInterviewer:<\/strong> Yohei Osaki<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iga City, Mie Prefecture. In this land that once engraved its name in history as the homeland of the ninja, a new life is being breathed into the area through a public-private partnership. The core of this effort is the “Iga City Lively Ninja Corridor Development Project (PFI Project),” and born as its iconic base is the Iga-ryu Ninja Experience Facility “Bansenshukai.” This project is a grand endeavor to create town-wide strollability by reviving the former city hall (a municipally designated cultural property designed by master architect Junzo Sakakura) as “Hokusen (North Building)”\u2014which houses a library, the hotel “Hakusen,” and a tourist information center\u2014and connecting it with the newly established ninja experience facility. Notably, the library reading room in “Hokusen” retains a “ship bottom” design utilizing the former city council chamber, creating a space where modernist architecture intersects with co<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5351,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"blog_author_id":0},"area":[165],"r-journal-category":[137],"r-journal-tag":[144,159,147],"class_list":["post-5350","r-journal","type-r-journal","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","area-iga","r-journal-category-interview","r-journal-tag-1-night-trip","r-journal-tag-explore-history","r-journal-tag-extreme-experiences"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ryokan-book.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/r-journal\/5350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ryokan-book.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/r-journal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ryokan-book.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/r-journal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ryokan-book.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ryokan-book.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ryokan-book.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ryokan-book.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area?post=5350"},{"taxonomy":"r-journal-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ryokan-book.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/r-journal-category?post=5350"},{"taxonomy":"r-journal-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ryokan-book.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/r-journal-tag?post=5350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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