The ninjutsu ryu of the Togakure family was not formalised until three generations after Daisuke Togakure began to develop it. Allied with a clan that was defeated in a series of battles against superior forces, Daisuke lost all, including his samurai status, and escaped to the mountain wilderness south east of Kyoto. Wandering among the pine forests and marshes of the Ku Peninsula in A.D. 1162, he met the warrior monk Kain Doshi, who had fled to Japan from the political and military upheaval in China.

There in the mountain caves of Iga Province (within present day Mie Prefecture), Daisuke studied with this mystic, learning new concepts of warfare and personal accomplishment based on Chinese and Tibetan ideas about the order of the universe. Daisuke was taught the practical applications of the balance of the elements in diet, in combat, in thought and emotion, and in utilising the forces and cycles of nature to his advantage. Thus, away from the limiting conventions of samurai conduct that he had never thought to question, He discovered a completely new way of working his will. It was Daisuke's descendants that developed and refined these notions into the Togakure ryu of ninjutsu, and came to be called by the name ninja.

The Togakure-ryu's secret was the shuko, a spiked iron band worn around the hand, enabling the ninja to stop sword blades or climb trees and walls like a cat. Another device utilised by the Tokakure ninja was the tetsubishi, a small spiked weapon used to slow pursuers or protect doorways. Made with spikes sticking out in all directions, the tetsubishi were scattered on the ground to be stepped on by the unsuspecting.

They also used and kept secret the use of the senban shuriken or four pointed throwing star, originally made from a metal building washer, it looked so innocuous as to be ignored by samurai soldiers. Most important to our training today is the Togakure ryu ninpo taijutsu, or unarmed methods of moving the body with subtle rather than forceful movements which controls the actions of the attacker and allows the ninja to win whilst expending minimum energy and exposure to the least amount of danger.

Formal Techniques of Togakure Ryu

• Ninpo Taijutsu
  • Kurai Dori (The postures of Togakure ryu, unarmed or with shuko)
    • example, Hachimonji no kamae (Yes, hachimonji not ichimonji): A posture that has the Ninja prepared to throw blinding powder.
  • Ukemi Gata (Methods of using the shuko)
    • example, Ittoh dori: This is a method of catching a sword with the shuko.
  • Shinobi Gaeshi (Includes methods of moving undetected, and methods of escaping in the case of discovery)
    • example, Shige gaeshi: While lying on top of a van (Could be any horizantal surface that is raised above the ground) the Ninja is spotted, he throws blinding powder and maybe shuriken, then rolls (In a particular way) to the side opposite the enemy and runs off or finds a better hiding place.
  • Santo Tonko no Kata (Vanishing forms, makes use of blinding powder, shuriken etc; these are also used in the case of discovery but this time the opponent attacks)
    • example, 'Happo kiri gakure gata': The Ninja is surrounded by swordsmen, the Ninja throws Shuriken at the front attackers and blinding powder to the rear, then when surrounded by "fog" he/she vanishes (Runs off).
• Ninja Bikenjutsu (Methods of using the Ninja sword, which was shorter than the Katana)
  • Kurai Dori (Sword 'postures', there are also five methods of attaching the sword to the body.)
    • example, Totoku hyoshi: A posture for deflecting projectiles
  • Iaijutsu (Sword drawing)
    • example, Katate nuki: Drawing the sword with one hand in a particular way.
  • Biken Kata (Sword forms, the Ninja method of using the sword is unusual.)
    • example, Itto ryu dan: The sword is thrown at the enemy/enemies, the Ninja would either retrieve the sword or just run off, depending on whether the enemy was dead or not, they might even steal the enemy's weapons (As most Ninja were poor, the sword they had in the first place was probably stolen).
• Sakkijutsu (Training to develop the ability to sense intentions; this isn't an entire sub-discipline however, it was developed by training in the other disciplines.)

The Kyoketsu Shoge had no formal techniques.