The art of the Ninja, the legendary shadow warriors of Japan, is the primary focus of the International Genbukan Ninpo Bugei organization headed by Grandmaster Shoto Tanemura of Matsubishi Japan. In the interests of maintaining the integrity of the ancient Ninja tradition, Grandmaster Tanemura founded the Genbukan in November of 1984. The Genbukan is dedicated to the factual portrayal and teaching of the Ninja arts in the traditional Japanese manner.

The curriculum in the Genbukan is centered on the teaching of the Ninpo Sanjurokkei (36 areas of training) that consists of 18 forms of traditional Japanese martial arts (Bugei Juhappan) in combination with the 18 forms of Ninpo (Ninja Juhakei).

The Genbukan Ninpo Bugei is not limited to one style (ryu), but rather includes many historical ryu in its teachings. Among these are: Togakure ryu, Kumogakure ryu, Kukishin ryu, Gyokko ryu, Koto ryu, Gyokushin ryu, and many others.

The name Genbukan translates as "the place that nurtures the martial art professionals; the place radiating with an exquisite martial art". 'Gen' can also means black, and thus the Genbukan can be said to mean a place for the practice of martial arts which are both mysterious and marvelous. This significance is that those who master the Ninpo Bugei give light to our everyday world, a world often filled with darkness.

Ninjutsu is best described as the collection of skills utilized by the Ninja while Ninpo, often referred to as "the higher order of Ninjutsu, " implies a philosophy for living based on the principles of Nin.

Nin translates into patience, but can also imply perseverance, or stealth. The Japanese character for Nin consists of two parts or radicals. The upper radical is called yaiba which refers to the cutting edge of a blade. The lower radical can be read either as kokoro or shin, both of which mean heart.

The character po, which implies natural law, is used rather than do (i.e.. judo, kendo, aikido,etc). Referring to our art as Ninpo rather than Ninjutsu stresses training which is concerned with the internal development of the individual's character along with the technical skills of martial training. It isn't enough just to know techniques, it is where your heart and spirit are as a person that is important. For this reason, Ninpo stresses philosophic and spiritual training in conjunction with the physical training. This refinement of one's spirit is known in Japanese as seishinteki kyoyo.

Ninpo is concerned with the defense of the whole self, and recognizes that defense against a life-threat is dealt with by the spirit as much as with physical technique.