[2][3] Ninjutsu was a separate discipline in some traditional Japanese schools, which integrated study of more conventional martial arts (taijutsu) along with shurikenjutsu, kenjutsu, sōjutsu, bōjutsu and others.

According to Shōninki, the first open usage of ninjutsu during a military campaign was in the Genpei War, when Minamoto no Kuro Yoshitsune chose warriors to serve as shinobi(ninja) during a battle.

In the chaos following the Onin War, jizamurai from the Kōka and the Iga Province began to engage in guerrilla warfare in order to protect their lands from bandits, rogue yamabushi, and larger samurai forces.

An example is the Togakure-ryū, which claims to have been developed after a defeated samurai warrior called Daisuke Togakure escaped to the region of Iga.

[5][6] In 2012, Kawakami chose to be the end of his line of ninjutsu, stating that the art has no practical place in the modern age.