If only some justice-loving shinobi had put a stop to things before Ise Ninja Kingdom had to shut down.

It would seem like right now would be a great time to operate a ninja theme park in Japan. With the yen at its lowest value in decades, the country is receiving record-breaking numbers of foreign tourists, many with an interest in traditional Japanese culture, and Japan residents, with overseas travel now a much more expensive endeavor, are in need of domestic entertainment options.

And yet, Ise Ninja Kingdom, in Mie Prefecture, has suddenly closed, and it’s not clear if it will ever reopen.

▼ Ise Ninja Kingdom commercial

The park, located in the town of Ise, originally opened in 1993 as Ise Sengoku Village, referencing the Sengoku period of Japanese history, when dozens of regional samurai clans were vying for control of the country. The facility boasts a recreation of a samurai-era fortress and castle town, with activities and martial arts shows for visitors to enjoy.

The park has changed names and owners several times, and following its purchase by the Kyosei Bank Group real estate investment firm in 2016, rebranded as Ise Ninja Kingdom in 2019. Like all amusement parks, its attendance cratered during the COVID pandemic, but Ise Ninja Kingdom managed to weather the storm and avoid bankruptcy. Unfortunately, while it may have survived the public health crisis, it looks like Ise Ninja Kingdom has been undone by a business scandal.

On July 22, Ise Ninja Kingdom announced that it would be closing “for renovations,” and that the closure would be starting the very next day. The park’s website has been almost entirely erased as well, and now consists only of a top page with the text-image statement:

“Thank you for your continued patronage of Ise Ninja Kingdom. As of Thursday, July 23, 2026, the facility will be suspending operations for the purpose of renovations. We ask for the understanding of those parties who had been planning to visit. When operations resume, it will be announced through the park’s official site.”

In the month since, there has been no update, nor has there been a single statement regarding what sort of renovations are supposedly in the works or their scale. The entrance to the park has been roped off and no construction workers or equipment has been seen. Following the announcement of the closure, representatives for the park turned in the paperwork to formally withdraw from Ise’s municipal tourism promotion association as well.

▼ Roughly a week before the closure, the official Ise Ninja Kingdom ninja YouTube channel also announced that it would be “going into cold sleep,” and has not posted since.

But while the suddenness and exact manner are starling, Ise Ninja Kingdom closing down isn’t itself a shock. As mentioned above, the park was acquired in 2016 by Kyosei Bank Group. Among the company’s investment products is one called Minna de Oyasan, which translates to “Everyone as the Landlords Together.” Minna de Oyasan was touted as a sort of crowdfunding-style investment opportunity, but critics have accused it of being a gussied-up Ponzi scheme. A string of scandals involving misrepresentations of what investors’ money was being used for and noncompliance in fulfilling obligations to return investors’ money led to a lawsuit filed by nearly 1,200 plaintiffs seeking 11.4 billion yen (US$72 million) from the company.

While Ise Ninja Kingdom and its management don’t appear to have been directly involved in the alleged wrongdoings, the park’s association with Kyosei Bank Group has resulted in the shadow warrior theme park’s reputation being tarnished by the shady real estate deals. Attendance had been plummeting for the past several months, with those visitors who did walk through Ise Ninja Kingdom’s gate finding that they had the park almost entirely to themselves, and certain parts of the facility, such as some of its restaurants, not operating.

▼ A video from this past March showing a largely empty Ise Ninja Kingdom

Taking all of this into account, it certainly seems like instead of closing for “renovations,” Ise Ninja Kingdom is instead closing down until either Kyosei Bank Group’s scandal fades from people’s minds or the company can find someone else to sell it to. Neither of those are likely to happen very soon, though, if ever, so it’s good to know that there’s another samurai-era theme park in Japan that’s ramping up its offerings, not shutting them down.

Source: Ise Ninja Kingdom, Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan Times
Top image: Wikipedia/Kouki Nakanishi
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