The spell had been written in blood, and I didn't know if it was that, or how I knew that, which disturbed me the most. I peered closely at the writing, covering my nose and mouth with my hand to prevent my breath from clouding the glass between me and the paper the spell was written on. The Japanese Kanji (calligraphy) was indecipherable to me as I had been in the country less than a week, but I recognised the end phrase from several visits to China. It was a common ending to Taoist spells and official ending to documents in the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) and translated as “May my command be carried out at once!”

At the time it was written in 17th Century Japan this spell was probably regarded as ‘ancient powerful magick’ in the same way that some modern Pagans and Ritual Magicians view the Grimoires compiled in medieval times. In this case the spell had been written in the blood of the person using it. “Spell used by Ninja to help them see in the dark” was the information typed on the card in English that was pinned underneath it. What it didn’t say, but that I knew from my studies, was that the nine line grid character incorporated into the spell was symbolic of the Kuji-kiri, or ‘Nine Symbolic Cuts”. This was a technique developed from Shingon Mikkyō a branch of Buddhism that incorporated Taoism, and the indigenous Japanese spiritual paths of Shinto and Sangaku-shinkō both of which connected with the land, sacred energies and entities.

In this context the Kuji-Kiri were uses to invoke and connect with specific states of mind and magickal energies, both for spiritual development and producing results in shared reality. They also had corresponding hand mudra (sacred hand positions and finger placing) that showed some of the magickal influences from the Indian subcontinent. This made sense as in Japan the Ninja were known for their skill at magick and being part of the forces of nature than in the West where their skills at martial arts and stealth were glorified. The gallery I was standing in at the Iga Ninja Museum was dedicated to the science and magick used by the Ninja over several hundred years. Other areas of the museum were dedicated to the tools, weapons, and other items used by the historical Ninja.

The museum was the first place I had visited in Japan after getting settled at an apartment in Tokyo. I had arrived in the country only a couple of days earlier with the plan of both training in Ninpo, the modern incarnation of Ninjitsu, and learning more about the culture and areas where the art developed. Thus the Iga Ninja Museum at Iga-Ueno in Mie Prefecture seemed a good place to start despite the trek it would involve from Tokyo. In the eras when the Ninja were best known for taking an active part in affairs the capital of Japan was Kyoto, and the Iga region was only a day or so’s journey away, depending on the weather and the season. Now the only tourist draws were the Ninja Museum and that Ueno was the birthplace of the poet Matsuo Bashō. I had been practising Ninpo since 1984 and had done a lot of background reading on the art. During this, as with Paganism and magick, it quickly became apparent that there was a lot of misinformation passing as fact. Something I was glad to see the museum was trying hard to dispel.
Many of the books available in the West, such as ‘Ninjutsu: The Art of Invisibility’ by Donn F Draeger, and ‘Ninja: The Invisible Assassins’ by Andrew Adams had included the sort of misinformation that the museum was working hard to dismiss. I suspect that this wasn’t deliberate as much as the result of the sources available to the authors at the time when they wrote their books. In the 1980’s – the time that I was visiting Japan – a lot of the scrolls available on Ninjitsu were referencing plays and dramas involving Ninja during a rise in their popularity during the 1700’s making it hard to tell fact from fiction. Even Sax Rohmer, the creator of Fu Manchu and possibly a member of Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, might have been referencing these scrolls in his Fu Manchu books. Especially the distinct devices used by the good Doctor including a type of hang glider, and the use of esoteric potions.

Since then accurate information about historical Ninja has increased substantially. Both because of the number of people who practice the art digging into its background, and the appliance of science to sorting out the genuine antique technique scrolls from the fake or entertainment ones. Also the rise of experimental archaeology, actually testing out tools and techniques mentioned in the scrolls has given new insights into how they might actually have worked. Today there are plans to open a Ninja Museum in Tokyo itself!

However, when I visited in 1989 the Iga Museum was the only one available, as it is at the time of writing and it was very informative. The science behind many of the illusions the Ninja used was explained in detail, such as when being pursued a Ninja would jump into a pre-prepared pit filled with dark ash from burning a particular type of wood and blending in with the dark volcanic soil. The light mass of the ash was such that they could completely immerse themselves in the pit without the ash changing shape or colour, and breathe through a cloth over their face. A little extra refinement was to have a trigger wire set up so that as the person went into the pit it released an animal from a cage or just set off the signal for a trained animal to start running or flying. Thus giving the impression of a person shapeshifting into an animal almost in front of the people chasing them.

The tools and weapons used by the historical Ninja were familiar to me from my training and background reading. They were the stuff of James Bond’s ‘Q’ department dream, and reminded me of how I had first learned about the existence of the Ninja when reading Ian Fleming’s book “You Only Live Twice”. From watertight travelling trunks that clipped together into a modular boat, special rations not unlike the pemmican that I used later on in my travels, to innocent looking wooden staffs that could produce blades, chains or blinding powder if manipulated correctly. All were categorised and explained by the museum and helped me start to connect with the energies and experiences I had come to Japan to find.

After I had spent the morning exploring the museum itself I headed out into the grounds to find the “Ninja Farmhouse” with its secret passages, hidden stairways and special rooms that purported to show some of the ways the Ninja had of protecting themselves from attack. As you will see in the next article it was well worth the visit!