Kōka Ninja Village, Theme park in Kōka, Japan
Kōka Ninja Village is a theme park set in a forested area with traditional buildings where visitors can try combat techniques. The site includes a museum with historical documents and several training grounds for practicing different skills.
Kōka is documented as the birthplace of ninjutsu at the end of the 15th century. The site opened in 1983 as a ninja-themed leisure facility, not as a conservation project. In 2017 the former Okada house (Kōka Ninjutsu Museum) and the former Fujibayashi house (karakuri ninja mansion) were recognised as constituent cultural properties of the Japan Heritage "Shinobi no Sato Iga-Kōka".
Kōka gives its name to one of the two ninja homelands, alongside Iga, and the city's mascot Ninjaemon is a ninja. The park hosts the All-Japan Ninja Championship on the second Sunday of October, with events such as shuriken throwing, wall jumping, castle-wall climbing and mizugumo water walking; the 40th edition was held in 2023.
The park is easy to navigate with marked paths throughout the wooded area. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes since training activities require physical movement.
The museum holds over 1,400 documents showing how these fighters actually lived and worked. Staff members demonstrate how hidden doors and secret compartments operated in the traditional buildings.
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