This secrecy in part explains why little factual information exists about the ninja, giving rise to lots of stereotyping of them both within and outside of Japan.Īs early as the 11th century, the inhabitants of Iga and Koka gained a reputation for their skills in unconventional warfare. Ninjutsu was passed down through generations within families or directly from teacher to a selected one or few disciples. The diverse range of skills practiced by the ninja is called ninjutsu - the art of stealth - and includes training in armed combat, weapon techniques, military strategy, meteorology, geometry and breathing synthesis. Experiences include: Ninja training, ninja show, ninja blow gun, ninja stars and ninja lessons. Interactive history museum in Kyoto with various ninja experiences. Kyoto Samurai & Ninja Museum with Experience Due to their unorthodox methods which contradicted the way of the warrior (bushido), the ninja were not credited with the same honor as the samurai. Ninja employed deception and forgery tactics to take opponents out by surprise. Another way of calling them is "shinobi", meaning "those who act in stealth".
Thus, Ieyasu became the eternal deified ruler of Edo.Ninja (忍者) were a type of warrior who specialized in unconventional warfare such as infiltration, sabotage and assassination during the age of the samurai. Nikko sits almost exactly north of Tokyo, which is the direction of the North Star, which symbolizes the ruler of the universe. After the death of Ieyasu, Tenkai chose Nikko (now a popular tourist destination) as a place to deify Ieyasu, and he built Nikko Tosho-gu. He advised Ieyasu to build Kanei-ji (Kanei Temple) and Hie Jinja (Hie Shrine) to guard the two “Kimon (bad directions)” to protect Edo. Upon building this grand design, Ieyasu got to know a very trusted Feng Shui master, priest Tenkai, who belonged to the Tendai clan of Buddhism. This is why Edo is said to be a Feng Shui city. This monumental effort built the infrastructure of the city, which supported the Tokugawa dynasty. To fund this project, Ieyasu mobilized all territorial lords to contribute. He even relocated Tonegawa (Tone river) which opened into Tokyo bay, to pour emerge at the Pacific, mainly to allow the plan of the city to take a lucky form according to Feng Shui.This construction project lasted for 60 years. Then he began a huge project to build a canal network around it. Fuji, which had been worshipped as a divinity, and was long-regarded as a source of positive ‘Qi’.Ĭombining the power of the East with the Qi from Mt.Fuji, Ieyasu imagined Edo flourishing.įirst, Ieyasu established Edo castle as the center of his new capital. From the ancient times, the Japanese believed East is the direction where new energy is born, as it is the direction where the sun rises.
It seems that one of the reasons Ieyasu chose Edo was its favorable situation according to Feng Shui. At that time, Edo was a just a deserted fishing village when Ieyasu chose it. Until then, the capital of Japan had always been in the west of the country, apart from rather brief spell during the Kamakura period. He immediately made plans to build a new capital in Edo. So what makes Edo/Tokyo this vibrant and successful?Īfter the Battle of Sekigahara, the most successful territorial Lord Ieyasu Tokugawa was appointed Shogun by the Emperor. Today, the population of Tokyo prefecture has reached 13 million, growing to 16 million during the working day. Edo was renamed Tokyo when the Tokugawa dynasty fell in 1867 after 300 years of reign. While Edo had a population of one million, London had 700,000 and Paris just 500,000. It is a little known fact that Edo was one of the biggest cities in the world in the 18th Century. It is a historic name, rather like Lutecia for Paris or Constantinople for Istanbul.
Edo is the old name of the city now called Tokyo.