Mr Weidman,
I thought of some sources you can check that have already given their names. I am sure they will be savaged for it, but there names are already out there and I am not betraying them by listing them again.
You may recall that years ago there was an announcement in the Bujinkan Honbu Dojo itself that Mr Hatsumi did not want people training or associating with three people. Two of the names were Japanese, the third was Mr Hayes.
The person making the announcement was Toshiro Nagato. Some of the people there like Ed Lomax and Tim Bathhurst passed along the announcement as they were asked and were attacked for it. The story was passed off as a rumor started by jealous people by Mr Hayes. Mr Hayes then made a trip for a single session with Mr Hatsumi after several years of not training with him. He repeated it a while later. Then Mr Hatsumi ordered that his name be removed from the Bujinkan board. You know this to be true.
If it was the word to not train or associate with Mr Hayes before his name was removed, what makes you think that it is now ok after this huge show of disaproval?
You have the names of people. You are registered at web sites where they post. Why not ask them if they had heard anything to indicate that things had changed?
