Recently there has been a false rumor that the Bujinkan Honbu in Japan will no longer issue rank certificates. I hope this blog dispels confusion.
Some people have gone their own way and separated from the Bujinkan. Some have even openly stated that they will not go back to Japan to train under the successors of Soke Hatsumi Masaaki. Others are less obvious. But, since they have cut ties and gone their own way, they are now issuing their own rank certificates and pocketing all fees they collect. They have their own patches, and titles that can be used in their new organizations.
A rumor has been floating that this is because the honbu dojo in Japan will no longer issue certificates. I asked a Daishihan in Japan I know, and got permission to pass along the truth from them.
Soke Hatsumi continues to issue certificates as he can with the virus crisis going on. The postal situation is such that they will not accept nor deliver some items, and everything is delayed. Obviously, this is causing a backlog.
Most of the delay is due to staff. They are volunteers that mainly travel from other cities as far away as Tokyo to do their work assembling and processing the requests and sending off the finished certificates. That means travel by train, with maybe close contact with other commuters in this global pandemic.
Japan is being hit again by a wave of the virus, and the governors of places like Tokyo are asking their residents to stay at home unless it is absolutely vital they do some business. Japanese, being social considerate, are largely complying, including the honbu staff. They aren’t getting paid, and they might be taking their lives in their hands by making the trip out to Noda.
Many people may be put off by not being able to get the certificates they asked for, but please try to consider the situation from the standpoint of those helping to bring them to us. If you are an active member of the Bujinkan in good standing, you eventually will be getting your certificates. Please be patient. The rumors that there will be no more issued from Japan are false.
If you get a Bujinkan certificate from the honbu in Japan, it will almost certainly be accepted by any of the new soke that follow the path Soke Hatsumi has laid down. Those certificates issued in house by anyone else do not have any legitimacy outside their own organizations and are very likely to be rejected in Japan. No matter what rank you get from someone outside of Japan, unless you have something from the Bujinkan Honbu, prepare to start again at white belt if you ever train in a Bujinkan dojo, inside or out of Japan.
When the backlog will end, no one can say for certain. But the staff are doing their best, so a bit of consideration and appreciation for their efforts is warranted in my opinion. They are doing us all a great service, and it seems petty to complain that they are taking care to keep themselves safe at the cost of a little delay on our part.