Читать книгу Ninjutsu. Facts, Legends, and Techniques онлайн

5 страница из 32

THE GREATEST NINJA BATTLE

The largest recorded gathering of ninja took place on November 3, 1581 when Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful clan leader of the time, led an army of 40,000 warriors against approximately 4,000 Iga ninja in the mountains of Iga province. Only a few of the Iga ninja escaped with their lives.

A short time later, Oda was assassinated by one of his own aides. Oda's leading general, Ieyasu Tokugawa, immediately began moving to consolidate power in his own hands. He retained the famous ninja leader Hattori and his men to escort him back to his headquarters Okazaki. Later Ieyasu employed the Hattori ninja as his personal bodyguard, giving them the cover of gardeners on the castle grounds.

In a further move to protect himself and the Shogunate he founded, Ieyasu employed large numbers of the Koga ninja clan in his own secret service. Shortly after this he also brought ninja from other family-clans into the new Shogunate security forces.

As part of his far-reaching plan to solidify and perpetuate the Tokugawa Shogunate, Ieyasu then banned all ninja training camps except those that were to serve the Shogunate, and even prohibited the mention of the deadly secret agents in any public reference.