Ninja carpenters
先日はスイスからのお客様とオーストリアから遊びに来ているシリアを連れて、長野市へお出かけしました。
善光寺参りの為？
お洒落の大門でお買い物？
いいえ、忍者の道場作り。
ちょっと非日常的な作業だった。戸隠れ道忍術を教えている仲間がお稽古の為に今までいつも公民館を借りていたけど、善光寺の周辺の空き部屋活性化の方と連携を取って、江戸時代の土蔵とその隣の住宅を使うようになった。道場として使える前にリフォームが必要なので私も手伝っています。今回は数人を引っ張って大勢で作業しました。将来的に忍者屋敷や稽古体験とかも出来る様になる予定。
（多分、こういう忍者「遊び」を馬鹿にする方が多いだろうけど、一度は稽古を体験してみてください。骨が折れたら知らないよ！）
戸隠忍者・善光寺道場の新点をまたお知らせします。
The other day I took a guest from Switzerland and a buddy in visiting from Australia, and we headed up to Nagano City.
Not to go sightseeing at Zenkoji Temple.
And not to go shopping at the fashionable Daimon complex.
We went to work on a ninja dojo.
Not exactly an everyday activity, eh? One of my buddies carries on the Togakure-do school of ninjitsu and in fact teaches it on a regular basis. He had been renting a community center for the lessons, but teamed up with a group working on finding uses for the empty stores and buildings around Zenkoji, and he ended up getting to rent an Edo-era earthen-walled storehouse and the house next door. Before it can be used as a dojo, some serious remodelling has to take place, and that's where we came in!
There will eventually be enough room for a ninja-maze and ninja training sessions for tourists. I am helping out any and every way I can.
I am sure many of you are laughing at Tyler here playing 'ninja'. But before you laugh, try your hand at one of the ninja lessons. And don't come crying if you break a bone. It's the real deal.
Will keep you posted on the Togakushi Ninja Zenkoji Dojo progress.
