Masaaki Hatsumi (初見良昭 Hatsumi Masaaki), the current Togakure-ryū Soke (Grandmaster).
Togakure-ryū (戸隠流) is a tradition known as the "School of the Hidden Door", allegedly founded during the Oho period (1161-1162) by Daisuke Nishina (Togakure), 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. 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 took the style public, which has resulted in the high amount of media and public attention on ninjas 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.
Togakure ryu Ninjutsu Hidensho is allegedly a Japanese manuscript written by Takamatsu, in the possession of Masaaki Hatsumi, that documents modern Togakure-ryū. The document is purported to contain the origin of the "18 skills of Ninjutsu". Modern Togakure-ryu is taught in the syllabi of the Bujinkan, Genbukan, Jinenkan, and To-Shin Do