According to information handed down from generation to generation, the Sawamura family has lived in Kawahigashi since 763, when Kasuga Shrine was placed (and prayed wholeheartedly to Buddha for eternal salvation in this world), and ruled the Kawahigashi area in the Middle Ages as a powerful local clan.
The Sawamura family’s residence, located directly south of Kasuga Shrine, is a magnificent medieval castle with earthen mounds and moats still standing around the house. The Sawamura family is mentioned in “三国地誌 Sangoku-chishi”, “伊乱記 Iranki,” and “伊賀付差出帳 Iga Zuke Sashidashi Chou”, and served as Iga Ninja from the time of the second generation Todo Takatsugu of the Tsu domain until the Edo period (1603-1868).
According to the “隠密用相勤候控” and “澤村家由緒書”, he searched for movements of revolts in Ise Province and observed the approach of foreign ships. Notably, when Perry came to Uraga with four black ships in 1853, Jinzanburo (yasusuke) searched for the black ships as the last Iga Ninja under the direction of the Rou-jū (the highest-ranking official of the Edo Shogunate).
As evidence of his search, two Dutch documents from the crew are still exist. Also, tools used by the ninja, such as a portable smoke cylinder (a tool that emits a large amount of smoke and allows ninja to see it from a distance) and torches for underwater use.
