Born in Hokkaido in 1935, Kyoichi Inoue (井上 強一) became one of the first uchi-deshi to Gozo Shioda (himself a pre-war uchi-deshi to Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei) in the newly established Aikido Yoshinkan in 1955. Along with fellow student Takashi Kushida, and under the direction of Yoshinkan Founder Gozo Shioda, he played a significant role in the development of the Yoshinkan Aikido teaching methodology.
In 2002, some years after Gozo Shioda’s passing in 1994, he was selected as the second Kancho (Director) of the Yoshinkan. After a number of internal struggles at the Yoshinkan he retired from that position in 2006 to establish a new organization, the Aikido Shinwakan (合氣道親和館).
The following essay is a translated section from the book “An Introduction to the Kojiki for People Learning Aikido” (合気道を学ぶ人のための古事記入門), by Kyoichi Inoue and Akio Jiromaru, which was published in Japanese in 2012 by Onogoro Juku and Quest Co., Ltd..
Shoji Nishio was one of the major post-war students of Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei. Born in 1927, he entered Aikikai Hombu Dojo in 1952, becoming one of the early students of the post-war era.
A multi-talented man, he was also a student of Karate (5th Dan Shindō jinen-ryū), Judo (6th Dan Kodokan Judo) and Iaido (7th Dan Nihon Zendoku Iaido) as well as other arts. This multi-faceted innovative approach is reflected in this excerpt from an interview with Nishio sensei from 1997 (this quote previously appeared in “Aikido and the Unknown“):
Q: Why has the substance (of Aikido technique) been lost?
A: Nobody listened to what O-Sensei was saying. They just tried to remember the outer form of the technique. Even though O-Sensei said “What use is it to just copy my technique? If you do a technique once it’s already finished.”. Because he spoke like a Kami-sama (God) they thought that nothing he said could be understood, and didn’t even try to pay attention when they were listening. Much later on when they’ve forgotten everything sometimes they’d remember “Ah, so that’s what that meant”. That’s why most people’s practice today is empty. They don’t look at other types of Budo. Right from the start, the value of a Budo is determined by comparisons with other Budo.For the most part, if you set up Kokyu-ho between two Aikido people it’s just useless. That will only be effective in the dojo. I guess that those people say things like “Even though you do Aikido you’re also doing Karate and sword. If you want to do Karate then go to Karate. If you want to do the sword then go to Kendo. If you’re doing Aikido you don’t need to do other things.”. Even in other Budo, everybody is working hard, you know. When we see that we should make an effort to surpass them with our Aiki. That is the mission of Aikido as a Budo. Unfortunately, the senior students who had that as a goal are gradually dying away, and the loss of substance just progresses.The re-education of the younger instructors is necessary for people in the present time who would have the goal of reconstructing (Aikido) as I have discussed. This is not something that can be done in a single morning and an evening. Because this is a path that takes 30 or 40 years, I grow increasingly concerned for the future.
What follows is the English translation of an interview with Shoji Nishio sensei that took place at the Warabi Aikidokai on February 9th, 1999. You may also be interested in his book, “Yurusu Budo“, available in Japanese and English.
Kozo Kaku (加来 耕三) is an Aikido fourth dan, a menko kaiden in Taisha-ryu Kenjutsu (タイ捨流), and a well known author of books on Japanese history, especially with themes related to Japanese Budo.
This article is a translation of a section of his book “Post-war Aikido, a Tale of Rival Warlords – the Men who Built World Aikido” (戦後合気道群雄伝―世界の合気道を創った男たち), an examination of the establishment of Aikido after the war. This particular section details some of the author’s research on the transmission of Aikido to Hawaii.
Aikido arrived in 1953 when Koichi Tohei first visited Hawaii at the invitation of the Hawaii branch of the Nishi Health System.
Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei followed, making his one and only trip to the United States in order to dedicate the new Honolulu Aiki Dojo, the first dojo in the United States built exclusively for the practice of Aikido.
Nobuyuki Watanabe sensei (渡辺信之) at Aikikai Hombu Dojo
Nobuyuki Watanabe is a senior instructor at Aikikai Hombu Dojo and a Japanese bonesetter (接骨 / Sekkotsu – a form of joint manipulation similar to chiropractics). He was instrumental in making Isogai Dynamic Therapy (a chiropractic method of treatment to compensate for functional leg length differences) known in Germany, where he frequently travels to instruct in Aikido.
His famous “no touch” Aikido demonstrations at the annual All Japan Aikido Demonstration (全日本合氣道演武大会) are highly controversial, but always elicit an enthusiastic response from the crowd. The late Sadateru Arikawa used to watch those demonstrations each year with a scowl on his face!
This is the second part of a two part translation of an interview with Nobuyuki Watanabe sensei. You may wish to read Part 1 of this interview before reading this section.
This interview originally appeared in the August 2007 issue of Gekkan Hiden (月刊秘伝 / “Secret Teachings Monthly”), a well known martial arts magazine in Japan. It was also published in a collection of interviews with students of the Founder published in Japanese as 開祖の横顔 (“Profiles of the Founder”) in 2009.
Nobuyuki Watanabe sensei at the 42nd annual All Japan Aikido Demonstration
Nobuyuki Watanabe was born in Miyazaki Prefecture on July 25th, in Showa year 5 (1930). He began Aikido in 1952, at the age of 22, and is a senior instructor at Aikikai Hombu Dojo. He is famous for his controversial “no touch” Aikido demonstrations at the annual All Japan Aikido Demonstration (全日本合氣道演武大会), which some people love – and some people hate, shown here at the 44th All Japan Aikido Demonstration in 2003:
This interview was published in a collection of interviews with students of the Founder published in Japanese as 開祖の横顔 (“Profiles of the Founder”) in 2009. It originally appeared in the August 2007 issue of Gekkan Hiden (月刊秘伝 / “Secret Teachings Monthly”), a well known martial arts magazine in Japan.
