“The Bansenshukai Back to Life”「甦る萬川集海：萬川集海の忍術を検証する」要旨

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.

忍術萬川集海の各巻から代表的あるいは興味深い術や道具を取り上げて解説・検証した試み。偵察や謀略の術のいくつかを視覚的に説明し、また海外の忍術ファンによる萬川集海にある道具の再現や実験を動画で紹介した。さらに萬川集海の術や道具について一般的に広まっている通説を様々な角度から検討し真偽を検証した。特に手に足をのせて歩く歩法と思われている“深草の兎歩”は実は“真草（正式および略式）の㝢歩（うほ：古代中国を起源とする呪術的な歩法）”であった可能性があることを論証した。また水器“水蜘蛛”は足にはくものでも沼を渡る道具でもなく、“水掻”という道具を足につけながら川や堀を渡る浮き具であることを江戸時代の版本や実験動画などを使って検証した。

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