For Fujita, an examination of the facts reconfirms his reputation as a mysterious martial artist. Today, and in his own day, Fujita was largely known for his connection to Ninjutsu, a system that he decided had outlived its purpose. Today, however, his reputation is mysteriously intact among a branch of styles that emanated from traditional Okinawan Kobudo.Fujita, who is known primarily for his study of traditional Bujutsu, and not the Okinawan arts, nonetheless made an enduring impression upon the masters of these traditions. Students of men such as Mabuni, Taira, and Konishi relate to us the strange story of the contributions Fujita made to the modern Okinawan based martial systems. From Fujita's association with the Bujutsu techniques of gyaku waza and nage waza in the Shito-Ryu Karate-Do, to his co-founding of Yui Shin Kai Karate-Jutsu with Inoue, Fujita's strange legacy is exemplified by his appearance on the lineage chart of Ryukyu-Kobudo.com, the website of that system's Honbu dojo. Paradoxically, Fujita comes down to us as a man with two diametrically opposed reputations. The evidence strongly suggests that the conventional wisdom, as seen in the light of the ninja boom, does not tell us the whole story. While it is certain from his own words that the Koga Ryu Wada Ha system died with him, what is now equally certain is that there is another intriguing aspect to this complicated man. The combination of Fujita's mention in the Bugei Ryuha Daijiten, the high regard his contemporaries afforded him, and the acknowledged contributions Fujita made to their arts, demand an intellectually impartial revisiting of his influence on the modern martial arts. |