Masaaki Hatsumi

Masaaki Hatsumi (born 1931) is the founder of the Bujinkan organisation and the 34th Soke (grandmaster) of Togakure-ryu Ninjutsu - the most widely practised authentic Ninjutsu lineage in the world. A student of the legendary Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Hatsumi inherited nine classical Japanese martial arts schools (ryu-ha) upon Takamatsu's death in 1972, including three Ninjutsu traditions and six samurai (bujutsu) schools. He founded Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu to preserve and transmit these traditions internationally, building a global network of training halls (honbu dojo in Noda City, Japan) with hundreds of thousands of students across more than 50 countries.