After the death of Taira no Masakado in 940 CE, the Iborō clan members that followed Iborō Daijirō escaped to the west while dodging the imperial soldiers that were hunting for the remnants of Masakado’s forces, including the Iborō people. Then they joined up with their colleagues who were covertly collecting information in the capital, […]

In my previous post I mentioned that the next time the Iborō people appear in history is at the battle of Tengyo no Ran in the early to mid-10th century. But if you are not aware of Taira no Masakado you will not be able to understand the actions and thinking of the Iborō people.

It is usually said that the roots of the various ryū or “schools” of ninjutsu are in Iga or Koka (Koga), but when it comes to the ninja tactics of the Fuma clan and the ninjutsu employed at Toda Gassan Castle by the Hachiya-Shu of the Amago and Toda clan, they come from neither. This