TSU -- A field study on the way of the ninja was held Friday deep in the mountains of Iga, Mie Prefecture. Five graduate students majoring in the study of ninja and ninjutsu at Mie University received hands-on lessons from Jinichi Kawakami, a master of the Koga ninjutsu style.
The lessons, which took place that morning amid the ruins of a mountain castle, were the second of a three-part class offering firsthand experience in the ninja arts. Students learned breathing techniques and practiced moving through the forest with a lowered center of gravity and in unison with their breathing.
"People can easily spot something moving at a consistent speed. So to avoid being detected, you should move at varying paces," Kawakami told his students.
In the afternoon, the students were given more difficult tasks such as climbing trees and scaling cliffs.
"It's beyond amazing that I got to train the way ninja used to in my very first lesson," one of the students said.
The third and final lesson is scheduled for Dec. 11 at the university's satellite facility in the city's Yumegaoka district. It will focus on aburidashi -- a technique ninja used in sending classified information.
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