Ninja Master - Interview - Masaaki Hatsumi - Hand Positions

[Bob Hubbard]

Ninja Master - Interview - Hatsumi Yoshiaki- Masaaki - Yoshiaki- Togakure Ninja School
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[Sifu Ken of 8 Tigers]

Ketsuin?

This reminds me of "finger-weaving", but using the hand postures to trace the shapes of Japanese characters (kanji).

Incidentally, from some research I did about 20 years ago, I found an apparent relationship between the tracing of Kanji and the hand postures used in some disciplines of Yoga meditation, representing different realms of consciousness (planes of reality, such as the "4th Heaven" or whatever). You can even see some of these hand postures on Hindu and Buddhist statuary throughout India and the East.

 

[Chris Parker]

Kuji in or Ketsu in (also sometimes refered to as Mudra) really is "finger-weaving". It is not unique to Ninjutsu, with most of the Bujinkan ones coming from the Kukishin traditions, with a few more specialised ones in other schools (the Gassho postures in Gyokko and Koto Ryu come to mind). Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu also teaches them in their Kuji Kiri aspects.

Other aspects of Kuji Kiri involve tracing specific kanji over a traced grid of nine lines (five horizontal, and four vertical), occasionally tracing with a specific hand form (entwined fingers, or at least held in a specific way, such as with the two large fingers held together). That could be more what you're refering to?

As to the shared relationships, in Japan it seems to be most associated with certain forms of Buddhism, such as Mikkyo, which trace their origins back to India originally, and if you check the various hands of many Indian Deities, you will see a number of these hand signs, so I'd actually be surprised if the relationship wasn't there!

 

[Bill Mattocks]

http://eikoin.east-wind.org/Eikoin/The_Nine_Seals.html

Kūji Kiri (lit. "nine symbolic cuts") is found today in Shugendō, Shingon Mikkyō (an esoteric Buddhist sect) and many old and traditional schools (ryūha) of Japanese martial arts, including but not exclusive to schools that have ties with ninjutsu. Originally thought to have originated from Taoism and brought to Japan from China by Buddhist monks, it is often misconceived as a spell or curse (jumon) to cause ones adversary to meet a foul end. From the outside, it seems to consist in drawing nine lines in the form of a grid, then drawing a symbol on the grid. In fact, it is the setting in place of nine energy structures, that, once activated, can empower a concept represented by the symbol drawn over the grid.

I see this sort of thing in Anime cartoons. I don't have much belief that it does anything at all, but I do not wish to criticize anyone else's beliefs.

 

[Chris Parker]

Think of it more as a ritual to put you in a particular mindset, and you'll be pretty close to it. Similar to religious rituals, the act itself is simply culturally relevant and symbollic of the intended purpose.