Iga-ryu Ninja Museum／伊賀流忍者博物館（Mie）
About Iga-ryu Ninja Museum
Located in Ueno Park (Iga Ueno Castle) in Iga City, Mie Prefecture, the Ninja Museum of Igaryu offers visitors a chance to learn about the ninja and ninjutsu of the Iga school. The Iga Ninja specialized in gathering intelligence during the Warring States (1467-1615) and Edo (1600/1603-1868) Periods. You can come here to learn about their history, lifestyles, cleverness, and wisdom.
The Ninja House has been outfitted with various tricks and contraptions to protect the secret documents and knowledge of the ninjas, such as hidden doors and trapdoors, concealed swords, and places to secretly stow valuable items.
©伊賀流忍者博物館
The exhibition facility showcases tools, weapons, and writings on ninjutsu.
Ninjutsu training includes camouflage, escape, concealment, combat, geography, medicine, and demolition, all of which are useful for general military purposes as well. Ninjutsu is divided into several schools or “ryuha,” such as the Iga-ryu, Koga-ryu, Negoro-ryu, Saiga-ryu, Natori-ryu, and many more. The Iga-ryu and Koga-ryu are said to have been the most powerful and influential ninjutsu schools. True ninja enthusiasts absolutely cannot miss the Ninja Museum of Igaryu, but different people feel differently about the ninja. A visit to the Ninja House with all of its tricks and contraptions, a viewing of a live ninja show, or a weapons exhibit could perhaps teach visitors a thing or two about the cunning ways of people from the past.
©伊賀流忍者博物館
Getting there and around
Train
Take the Kintetsu Limited Express from Kintetsu-Nagoya Station to Iga-Kambe Station (approx. 80-90 min.)
Take the Kintetsu Limited Express from Osaka-Namba Station to Iga-Kambe Station (approx. 60 min.)
Take the Iga Railway from Iga-Kambe Station to Uenoshi Station (approx. 30 min)
Bus
Take a bus with the Mie Kotsu line from the Meitetsu Bus Center to Uenoshi Station (approx. 110 min.)
*It’s roughly 600 m (8 min. on foot) from Uenoshi Station to the Ninja Museum of Igaryu
Top Tip
Iga-ryu Ninja House／伊賀流忍者屋敷
At first glance, it appears to be an ordinary farmhouse, but it is equipped with a number of tricks and contraptions, such as trapdoors, hidden doors, and hidden staircases, to protect the then state-of-the-art recipe for making gunpowder and other secrets of ninjutsu that were handed down in ninja clans. Ninja and Ku-no-Ichi (female ninja) will demonstrate the inner workings of the Ninja House.
Ninja Show／忍者実演ショー
In a show full of blazing speed and stunning power, ninjas demonstrate the roles they played and how they protected themselves, using the weapons and tools of their trade. The nail-biting action that unfolds before your eyes is as varied as the techniques performed, ranging from the use of familiar shuriken (ninja stars) to thrilling combat using real weapons.
©伊賀流忍者博物館
Ninja Experience Hall／忍者資料館
The Ninja Museum includes a Ninja Experience Hall and a Ninja Tradition Hall.
Visitors to the Ninja Experience Hall can see replicas of the well-known shuriken and mizugumo (a tool used for walking on water) and many other ninja tools and weapons, faithfully recreated based on ninjutsu books written by the real ninja of old.
The Ninja Tradition Hall introduces visitors to the history and lifestyle of the ninja. The way of the ninja is based on the wisdom and cleverness of the people of the past, and has valuable lessons for us living in the modern age.
©伊賀流忍者博物館
Travel Advice and Tips
The museum shop Ninja Bo offers an assortment of ninja merchandise available only in Iga, the home of the ninja, such as rubber shuriken and rubber kunai (versatile ninja tools that could be used not only as weapons but also to climb walls and dig holes). It is the perfect place for you to buy souvenirs for your family and friends back home and mementos for yourself to remember your trip.
Nagoya Travel Guide