Special Lecture "The Bansenshukai Back to Life"
“The Bansenshukai Back to Life”
Antony Cummins
Antony Cummins with Yoshie minami held a seminar in Iga to promote the importance of the Bansenshukai manual. They repelled some common misconceptions concerning the document and gave a brief introduction before demonstrating a selection of techniques from each chapter. In particular they concentrated on the concept of Shinso no Toho (Deep Grass Rabbit Step) and gave evidence that it should be considered as Shinso no Uho (Formal or Informal Emperor steps) and that ‘Uho’ is a type of ritual step used in Ancient China and also that it was found in medieval Japan. Secondly that the Mizugumo (Water Spider) is not a floating aid that is strapped to the feet in a pair but is in fact a floating seat which is used in conjunction with the ‘flippers’ found in the same section – demonstrations were given for both. In addition, the skills of scouting and deceiving an enemy lord were demonstrated and videos from the ninja enthusiast community were shown, allowing the people of Iga to see the level of interest in the history of their area.
