伊賀衆 Iga ninja
Iga Ueno City is located in the mountain range, 50 km in straight line, 66km along the Highway from Kyoto. There is a folklore that the people from overseas, especially from China and Korea moved to Iga and Koka Area. Iga and Koka area’s land was very infertile and belonging to the private estate of Kofukuji and Todaiji (those temples were built at Nara Age, both temple are famous World Heritage).
So, the local people worked for rebuilt those temple and supplied lumber with regional ties. And also those areas were famous for the Emperor hunting ground and collect plant place.
The people of these area have been made the unique and original local community named Sokoku in which the jointed group with rice farmer and country samurai had the power of self-government without feudal lord by the exclusion of an external enemy. Iga ninja system had 3 divided classes, Upper class ninja (Jonin), Middle class ninja (Chunin), and Low class ninja (Genin). Jonin ruled Chunin and Genin and dominated by three Jonin families; Momochi, Fujibayasi and Hattori.
3 divided classes
They were living by ninja staff agency according the request of many countries Daimyo. Jonin family makes the children of Genin and got pool farmer’s children hard ninja training then after dispatched ninja to the countries for Daimyo. This ninja training must be harder than the one of Medalist in Olympic, started at around 3-4years old age and there was a few Genin that finished and survived the training.
The Daimyo’s asking content for ninja work is as follow; at before battle period, getting about marching information for road map, distance, risk for road trouble, passing possibility route for big army and the defensive position’s information for castle, location of well, reserved rice quantity. At the battle period, ninja worked for Guerilla war tactics, a night attack and smuggled ninja-self into an enemy castle for destroy enemy power.
Wakayama Prefecture is on the west of Mie Prefecture. Wakayama Prefecture is famous region for Sokoku for Saika group also and prospered with a foreign trade.
It is believed that guns were first introduced to Tanegashima, Japan in September, 1543.
Negoro groups which dominated South-West area of Kii Peninsula as Sokoku trained gun smithery and started to manufacture the firearm production.
The Saika group which could imported a gunpowder from abroad, and then became famous mercenary armed with a gun jointed to the Negoro group.In Iga and Koka the Same thing happened, especially Koka introduced guns skill to ninja art and Iga developed ninja art using gun powder as original ninja skill.
Iga group had also the mercenary armed with a gun and had invincible so far. This group almost beat the Oda army and Oda Nobunaga in the battle of Mount Hiei temple. After that Iga region was invaded and crushed completely by Oda army. Tokugawa Ieyasu (founder for Edo government) knew a real talent of ninja,so he employed Jyounin ninja from Hattori family. He was saved his life in Honnō-ji incident by ninja Hattori which made arranged safe guard for escape from (Ii mountain)Iiyama nearby Kyoto to very risky cross Iga Mountains with the help of Iga and Koka group. Then Ieyasu could go back to his home Suruga (Shizuoka) with boat from Shirako beach. When he ruled over the whole country, many ninja in Iga and Koka were incorporated to Tokugawa government as a vassal.
