I hate posting three in a row, but I realize this morning that I'd ignored a couple of Vandoo's points.
The important one is that yes, it looks like a Montagnard dha, except for being two-edged. The question then is, how do you get from the highlands to Japan or Hawaii. Perhaps someone fighting in Vietnam saw one and/or brought one home as a souvenir? That would make it very modern.
To answer Vandoo's other question, AFAIK, the ninja were a mix. Some samurai went ninja, and I think some outcast samurai became the Iga and Koga ninjas. The Iga and Koga were effectively untouchables, outcasts (I think) who were hired to do the dishonorable jobs no samurai would officially touch.
The Saito ryu founding story has the Saito family being rural farmers who acquired their martial arts prowess through supernatural aid (see the link at the head of the thread), who then went on to defend their village against marauders for a thousand years, give or take. They explicitly deny any connection to the Iga and Koga ninja.
Other websites have attacked the Saito ryu's story. My take on the controversy is that their story would be more believable if there was an antique tengu sword in a collection somewhere. Based on the lack of historic documentation or old weapons, it looks like Saito Ryu is a relatively modern invention, complete with the tengu sword. But I could be wrong.
Best,
F
Best,
F
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