Wikipedia
is a historical tradition of Ninjutsu known as the "School of the Hidden Door", purportedly founded during the Oho period (1161–1162) by (also known as ), who learned his original fighting techniques from a Chinese monk named Kain Dōshi. However, the history and early lineage of Togakure-ryū may be impossible to verify due to the antiquity of the time period and its claimed historicity has been disputed by Watatani Kiyoshi, writer for the Bugei Ryūha Daijiten. After Togakure, the title of Sōke (grand master) was stated by Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu to have been passed down through other practitioners that kept the style secret from the outside world.
Toshitsugu Takamatsu is the stated 33rd Sōke of this style. According to Bujinkan sources he became well-known throughout China and Japan for his martial arts abilities and also his knowledge from studying Ninjutsu that he then imparted on various Chinese nobles. Passing on the title of Sōke to Masaaki Hatsumi, the stated 34th Sōke, it was Hatsumi who brought the style to public attention, which has resulted in the high amount of media and public attention on ninja in the Western world.
The style of Togakure-ryū has been described by its practitioners as being less restricted into certain training regimens like other styles and instead encourages questions and individual, personal training. One of the main goals of the training is to teach students the ability of shin shin shin gan (God's eyes, God's mind) so that they can learn to properly know their opponents and defend themselves.
The historical claims stated by Masaaki Hatsumi and his Bujinkan organization have been disputed, as there is little evidence to corroborate the history as it is told. The Bugei Ryūha Daijiten has claimed that embellishments were made to the history, changing the age of things to make the school appear older than it is.