Togakure Ryu Chimon

Earth's Gate (Chimon)

  While Tenmon involves the heavenly realm (i.e. meteorology), Chimon deals with the earthly plain. Chimon contains a hodgepodge of miscellaneous skills including topography, scouting, and divination. Scouting or monomi, as it is also known, was an important task in warfare that was sometimes assigned to shinobi, who could carry out the job without the enemy knowing. Sadly, little of this section is available to the public.

Earth (Chi)

1. The type of ground will determine the speed at which troops and horses are able to move. Certain terrains such as rice fields change depending on the season.
2. The amount and types of plant coverage for forests, plains, and fields will determine the amount of cover, concealment, and obstacles that troops might face.
3. Types of formations, like ridge-lines, greatly affect defending and attacking fortifications.
4. If the dirt along a path is salty, then many people have passed over it. However, if it is tasteless, spicy, or sweet, people rarely use it.
5. It is better to be in a full town than in an empty one, because it is easier to escape when there is a crowd.

Water (Mizu)

1. River, lakes, and seashores are obstacles an army will face. Therefore, an army must be prepared for such obstacles.
2. For a river, a shinobi scout must determine the depth, width, and speed of the current.
3. A shinobi also had to be familiar with tides. Using a lunar calendar, the highest tides are from the fourteenth to the eighteenth day and from the twenty-ninth to the third day of the lunar month. Medium tides are from the fourth day to the eighth day and from the twenty-fifth day to the twenty-eighth day. The lowest tides are from the ninth day to the thirteenth day and from the nineteenth day to the twenty-fourth day.
4. Overcoming castle moats was an important skill in ninjutsu. Dark blue or black water in a moat indicates that the water is deep; however, pale blue water with grasses growing in it that moves slightly with the breeze indicates shallow water.

Roads (Michi)

1. The shinobi can determine main roads from minor roads by looking for tracks made by sandals, shoes, horses, and cows as main roads would have an abundance and on minor roads these would be scarce.
2. Lots of horse, cattle, and animal feces also indicate a main road, while a lack indicates a minor road.
3. If the ground is compact and depressed, the road is often traveled. But, if it is more like a mound than fewer people have walked that way.
4. If the soil of a road tastes salty, many people have passed by. But, if it is slightly bitter, then it is a road less traveled.

Houses (Ie)

A method for counting houses: The shinobi needs to prepare four packets - two filled with red beans and two filled with a smaller amount of soybeans. The number of soybeans and red beans should be a predetermined amount. The shinobi would then hide two packets in his left sleeve and two in his right (a red bean and soybean packet in each sleeve). As he walks down a street, he can drop a bean every time he passes a house. If it is a house on his left, he drops a bean from his left sleeve. If it is a house on his right, he drops a bean from his right sleeve. If the house is occupied he drops a red bean. If the house is empty he drops a soybean. In this way, when he returns to a safe place he can count the number of beans remaining, subtract it from the original amount, and determine the number of houses in a specific area.

Hidori Daihi

Hidori Daihi is a type of divination (Ekigaku). It involves methods of determining good and bad luck for days, dates, hours, directions, and actions. The method in Togakure Ryu supposedly uses red, black, and yellow circles. While this is covered extensively in works such as the Bansenshukai, almost nothing is known about the specifics of Togakure Ryu Hidori Daihi.

 

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