DonRoley said:
I have been involved in the case of the Konigun and the consensus seems to be that the story is made up.
Exactly, I can't seeing a group of wannabe ninja going all that way and not getting a photo-op with Hatsumi sensei...
I hate to be the party-pooper, but why does anyone care if it actually happened?
The only reason that Hatsumi-sensei (or anyone at Hombu) would have allowed the Konigun crowd to enter the dojo/watch practice/train is that they hid the fact of who they were.
Wow! That's something to write home about!!!
I compare this act (if it happened) to the one that Brandon Alvarez pulled (which did happen) when Alvarez hid the fact that he was a Jinenkan student just so he could get permission to film at Hombu and interview Hatsumi-sensei for his DVD "Shinobi Winds." The person who translated for Brandon was astonished to find out several months later that Brandon had hidden the fact that he was Jinenkan.
Alvarez's reasoning? "It wasn't important enough to mention."
Yeah, right.
If the Konigun crowd did manage to observe/train/whatever, it only occurred because they hid their origins.
Anyone who thinks that Hatsumi-sensei allowing entry/training/whatever under those conditions signifies that he is embracing the Konigun crowd as "brothers in ninjutsu" is seriously kidding themselves.
It's clear that some individuals can use such opportunities to build legitimacy for themselves and so Hatsumi-sensei could be "harmed by association."
My only comment is that people should not allow the same thing to happen a second time.
-ben