According to Xinhua News Agency, on January 31st, Mie University announced that it had appointed Renichi Kawakami as a professor at the university's Social Collaboration Research Center. Kawakami is currently 62 years old, born in Wakasa Town, Fukui Prefecture. He is the 21st head of the Koga school in Japan and is known as the "last ninja." At Mie University, he teaches "Ninjutsu Studies," focusing on how to apply the information gathering and analytical skills of ninjas in modern business fields.
Mie University stated that Kawakami officially took up his position on December 1st of last year. He will use his research to spread ninja culture abroad while also working to revitalize areas like Iga in Mie Prefecture, which is famous as the "Ninja Capital."
Kawakami also serves as the honorary director of the "Iga-ryu Ninja Museum" in Iga City. On January 31st, during a press conference, he said: "Ninjutsu is the culmination of survival knowledge. I will study and summarize it so that it can adapt to modern society and continue to exist."
According to Kyodo News, the Koga school of ninjutsu has a history of about 500 years. Kawakami began learning swordsmanship from his master at the age of six and obtained the sect's "secret manual" at the age of 18.