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  • Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Kisshomaru Ueshiba Sensei

    Kisshomaru Ueshiba with his father Morihei Ueshiba
    at Ueshiba Juku in Ayabe around 1925

    Kisshomaru Ueshiba was born on June 27, 1921 at the Omoto-kyo compound in Ayabe, where his father Morihei Ueshiba opened his first dojo, the Ueshiba Juku.

    In 1927 he and his family moved to Tokyo, where his father would open the Kobukan Dojo – which would eventually become Aikikai Hombu Dojo.

    In 1942 Morihei Ueshiba told his son to “Defend the dojo with your life!”, and retired to the countryside in Iwama.

    After the passing of Morihei Ueshiba on April 26 1969 he became (after some disputes involving his brother-in-law Koichi Tohei) the second Doshu of the Aikikai organization. Until his death on January 4th 1999, Kisshomaru Ueshiba would be the primary presence and director of the post-war Aikikai organization.

    Kisshomaru Ueshiba has appeared in a number of previous articles:

    The current article is the English translation of an interview that originally appeared in “Answers from Budoka” (“Budoka no Kotae” / 武道家の答え), published by BAB Japan in 2006.

    In this interview Kisshomaru Ueshiba Doshu discusses his effort to change and adapt his father Morihei’s art for a modern world.

    Aikikai Hombu Dojo Aikido Shimbun – January 1999

    “To the spirit of the past Doshu”
    by San-Dai Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba

    “The techniques and way of Aikido that the founder O-Sensei left us, was not always easily understood by everyone. Doshu, my father, changed these so they would be easily understood, and he gave all of his life to spread this. For that reason he left behind many books that he had written. I grew up watching Doshu return from keiko to study and write for long hours and even with my child’s eyes I could see the importance of this work”

    The fruits of those efforts have spread Kisshomaru Ueshiba’s version of the art across the world, but have left his son, San-Dai Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba, with challenges of his own.

    Peter Goldsbury, 7th Dan Aikikai and chairman of the International Aikido Federation (IAF) from 1998 to 2016, made some interesting comments on the current state of this situation on Aikiweb, in a discussion on the course of Aikido going forward into the future (extracted from two separate comments):

    I had a private conversation with H Isoyama a few months ago. Isoyama began training in Iwama at the age of 12 and grew up under Saito’s tutelage. Kisshomaru was also there and the Hombu was actually in Iwama at the time. He noted that a recurring problem in Iwama and in Tokyo was “what to do about the old man,” up on the floating bridge with his deities, whereas Kisshomaru was concerned with trying to fashion aikido into an art that could actually survive in postwar Japan and that meant making some important compromises.

    I think you can see Doshu’s dilemma (*the current Doshu, Moriteru Ueshiba). He has to continue to teach the ‘essence’ of the art, but without knowing very much about what his grandfather actually did. He is a few years younger than I am and all he knows has been filtered via Kisshomaru and those deshi of Kisshomaru’s generation. Doshu’s son Mitsuteru will have an even bigger problem.

    Apart from a few exceptions like Tomiki and Tohei, Kisshomaru allowed the old deshi like Tada, Yamaguchi, Arikawa to get on and teach what they had learned from Morihei Ueshiba directly, in so far as they understood this. The variety was allowed to flourish, but with the passage of time there has been an inevitable dumbing down and an increasingly frantic insistence that what the Hombu is doing is the only means of aikido salvation. I think if the Aikikai could make the eight basic waza into sacraments, they would leap at the chance.

    Kisshomaru Ueshiba in 1963
    taken at Kilauea Art Studio in Hilo, Hawaii

    Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Kisshomaru Ueshiba Sensei

    From “Stopping the Spear” to a “Great Strategy”

    Q: First I would like to ask you, what are the current goals for your Budo training?

    A: As to the current goals of my Budo training, I am not thinking at all of things such as becoming strong through Budo, or striking and throwing an opponent. I am thinking of it as a method of lifetime training through the Way of Budo. It is improving the human spirit and pursuing a leap of the psyche – training with like minded people and extending the influence of those people into society, not only in Japan, but also overseas to build a worthwhile and peaceful society. It is because the way to society is through this path that the International Aikido Federation (IAF) was formed – and happily, Aikido has recently experienced widespread growth overseas.

    Q: What is the current condition of Aikido overseas?

    A: Of the Japanese Budo that are popular overseas, the present state of affairs is that Aikido follows after Judo and Karate. For example, if I speak of the case of France, which has not hesitated to accept the influences of Japanese culture, there are about 378,000 people doing Judo followed by about 78,000 people doing Karate. Aikido is said to have about 40,000 people, and I have heard that is followed by Kendo with a few hundred people. So there’s that much of a gap between them. Since becoming the world’s Judo and raising their flag at the Olympics the societal awareness of Judo has become much greater. Karate is not only Japan, Chinese and Korean Karate have also become much larger.

    Karate is a fierce Budo that focuses on striking and kicking, and is popular with young people. I think that it is excellent for training the minds and bodies of young people. However, I think that there are some things in Aikido that are a little different. That is, from the past Aikido has forged techniques through typical methods of Budo conditioning, and that there are no shiai (試合 / “contests”). Because when one competes one becomes caught up with thoughts of winning or fear of failure. In the midst of the movements of Aikido’s techniques, in natural movement, we pursue the unification of body and mind (心身統一 / “shin-shin toitsu”) – it is where we fulfill that to the greatest degree that we refine our humanity.

    Kisshomaru Ueshiba in Hawaii

    Q: Do have some special method of training?

    A; The thought of a special method of training has never crossed my mind. I believe that the most important factor in the value of modern Budo is that anybody can practice it comfortably in any location. That is an absolute requirement, because it will then become a positive force for society. Nowadays, one cannot go up into the mountains to train like a warrior from the Sengoku Period or feudal times and then do something like declare “I have become strong” and make your appearance as a master… I suppose that there will be some people who will approve of that, but it doesn’t match the flow of today’s society. There should be a Budo that is cultivated from the midst of present times. If it is not a Budo that can live in modern times then there is no societal value.

    Q: It is said that Aikido is a Budo that pursues spiritual values, in what form does it appear overseas?

    A: As regards overseas, there are those who have an interest in Zen or eastern culture such as Chado (tea ceremony). It is a particular characteristic of Aikido that there are many intellectuals who have an interest in it.

    Previously I brought up the case of France, where there are 378.000 people practicing Judo, but in contrast to Judo and Karate it is a particular characteristic of Aikido that the number of children practicing is very small. So when one is older, even elderly people can practice.

    In Aikido my father used the training methods of many of the Kobudo (“ancient martial arts”) – these, driven by spiritual philosophical principles for today’s world, are Aikido.

    When I went to New York in Showa year 38 (1963) a professor from New York University said “Even someone my age can do Aikido. I practice Zen, but Aikido can be interpreted as moving Zen, can’t it?”. Then I said “There are those people who say that Aikido is moving Zen”. After I said that there – before I knew it the mass media and others such as Buddhist priests started telling me that Aikido was moving Zen.

    Q: What are the essential points at which Aikido differs from other Budo?

    A: There are nine groups registered with the Budokan as Japanese Budo. Including the Budokan there are ten groups that make up the Budokyogikai (武道協議会). Judo, Kendo, Karate, Shorinji, Naginata, Sumo, Kyudo, Jukenjutsu and then Aikido, but Aikido is the only one of these that does not have a competitive form. I would be happy if you could be aware of the fact that it is in this area that Aikido has a different perspective than other of the standard Budo.

    Q: Does that mean that Aikido is not a type of Kobudo?

    A: Depending upon the person there are those who say that Aikido may enter the category of Kobudo, There is certainly no mistaking that the fact that Aikido originated from Kobudo, and in Aikido my father used the training methods of many of the Kobudo – these, driven by spiritual philosophical principles for today’s world, are Aikido. For that reason I always say that Aikido is a question of the spirit. Please think of it in this way.

    Kisshomaru Ueshiba’s wedding in Iwama
    Morihei Ueshiba seated between the newlyweds

    Morihei Ueshiba was a Budoka who established a Way of the Spirit

    Q: Who are the Budoka that you most respect?

    A: As one training in Aikido I respect my father (Morihei Ueshiba). Although there are many others that I would bow my head to…

    Q: Can I take that to mean that this is because Morihei Sensei had his eyes on the same goals as you do?

    A: There are those who say that my father was strong. That may also have been part of it. But that kind of thing is no reason for respect. It is only because he established a new Way of the Spirit called Aikido that he is worthy of respect. My father was a man of the old school, so it may be that there are some things about me that he was not satisfied with. However, things were left to me because I was his child, so I did my best to develop this Way into a modern Way.

    There are no incredible “secret teachings”

    Q: Saying that, if I were to ask you what the secret teachings (極意 / “gokui”) of Budo are you might call that something like nonsense?

    A: I’m glad that you said that. Around the beginning of Showa (1926-1989) , when a person asked my father “Sensei, what are the secret teachings? Please show us the secret teachings.” he replied “Isn’t everybody doing the secrets? I show the secrets from the beginning. There’s no this is secret, that is secret, there’s nothing incredible. That’s why if you look at the scrolls you won’t understand anything. There’s no this is secret, that is secret, that’s just magic tricks. It’s nonsense to even discuss it.”. I believe this as well.

    The secret teachings of the past would just come naturally through practicing wholeheartedly. It was a matter of the spirit, one would just suddenly say “Ah, I see!”. Among Kobudo people there are really those who talk about ridiculous things like this is secret or that is secret, but from my point of view that’s not acceptable.

    My father said “Isn’t everybody doing the secrets? I show the secrets from the beginning.”

    The strength of Japanese culture

    Q: What motivated you to pursue Budo?

    A: In the past my father said “I am not planning for you to succeed me in Budo”. However, after the war there wasn’t any particular work available. At that time I spoke to some people who had come back home after studying abroad. With the end of the war the local Japanese students felt as if they were suffering from things like dementia or castration, and were dealing with it by running away secretly from place to place. I truly felt miserable as I listened to them.

    I thought “Japan fought against the rest of the world, that’s how much strength the Japanese people possess. What can I do?”. So then I asked my father if there wasn’t something, if there wasn’t something from the traditions of Japan.

    As I was pondering that, I found that there was something. Aikido. I thought that in Aikido – the end of my father’s religious training – was a really wonderful expression of the Japanese and Asian people’s culture. Then I worked to move  Mac Arthur’s command division and the Ministry of Education, and the Kobukai that had existed up until that time was re-recognized in February of Showa year 23 (1948) as the national organization of the Aikikai Foundation. My father at the Ibaraki Dojo said “I am focused on my Budo training, so you do it! You can more or less handle things.”, so I went ahead and started things in Tokyo.

    Morihei Ueshiba and Kisshomaru Ueshiba
    in front of Aikikai Hombu Dojo

    Up until that time at the Ibaraki Dojo one could not become a student without an introduction, so there were many distinguished personages, these certainly weren’t regular people. It was through the cooperation of such people that the Aikikai was able to spread nationally. To speak of that, the Tokyo dojo until that time was a wooden structure that leaked when it rained. Moreover, there had been a number of fires, which we extinguished each time with buckets of water.

    Also, there were many war refugees in the dojo. It took until around Showa year 30 (1955) to move all of those people out.

    When the older students gathered to train we started to say “Let’s set our sights overseas”, and we turned our eyes to enthusiastic young people to transmit the virtues of Aikido. So it was that the with the expansion overseas we followed Judo and Karate in their development.

    Furthermore, around Showa year 30 (1955) I left my company in order to give my undivided attention to Aikido and create a student based organization – I sent shihan to around 150 schools to develop the organization. There we go back to what we discussed at the beginning, My feelings that grew after the war when I first thought to devote myself to Aikido. However far the Japanese people may fall, they possess something that is peculiar to the Japanese people. Everybody knows that Einstein is a famous scientist. His exceptional brilliance was the foundation of what is called his insight. To express things differently, as in the example of a spinning top, the pursuit of that “perfectly clear state of mind”  (澄み切りの境地 / “sumi-kiri no kyouchi”) is the goal of Aikido.

    I think that the prosperity of Japan is the result of drawing on the wisdom of the people in each of their fields. However, the prosperity of today’s Japan is not enough, I think that spiritually there is also an aspect of that prosperity that is very negative. I believe and desire with all my heart that the Aikido that I have explained to you can be something that can, at the very least, compensate for some of those negative aspects.

    Q: Thank you for taking to time out of your busy schedule to cooperate with us.

    Kisshomaru Ueshiba at the old Aikikai Hombu Dojo

    Published by: Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI

  • Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Morihiro Saito Sensei, Part 3

    Morihiro Saito and Morihei Ueshiba in Iwama
    “Traditional Aikido – volume 2”

    While he was working for the former Japan National Railways, Morihiro Saito Sensei lived in the Iwama Dojo compound, taking care of O Sensei and the Aiki Shrine and teaching in the Iwama Dojo. Sensei was devoted to O Sensei and for this I respect him. I often met Saito Sensei when I accompanied O Sensei to Iwama and during preparations for the Aiki festival. O Sensei was always there, so I don’t have any memories of taking any of Saito Sensei’s classes.

    O Sensei was more than 75, so his techniques and movements had fully matured. Kisshomaru Sensei wasn’t around, and the techniques and movements changed. In one direction, Saito Sensei absorbed completely the movements and techniques that O Sensei had taught when he was healthy and strong. Since O Sensei lived in Iwama which had the Aiki Shrine as well, I think in that context it is proper to speak of “preserving the traditional Aikido of Iwama.” The Iwama Dojo was located in a large garden-like compound which was needed to practice ken and jo. O Sensei would teach ken and jo however he felt inclined, and then the next day would do something completely different. It was owing to the genius of Saito Sensei that an easy to understand system of teaching jo and ken was established. My dojo’s Igarashi Sensei cooperated with Saito Sensei’s publication of his book on jo and ken. When I was shown the first edition of the book, I noticed there was no photograph of O Sensei. I said something about this to Saito Sensei and he replied that he had no good photographs of O Sensei. Good photographic equipment wasn’t so readily available in those days. In the second edition appears photographs of O Sensei which I gave to Saito Sensei.

    With this kind of connection, Aikido Kobayashi Dojos have incorporated regular ken and jo practice. Saito Sensei highly praised us for this. Today, in overseas seminars, everyone has their own jo and ken; this is Saito Sensei’s legacy.
    Yasuo Kobayashi talking about Morihiro Saito in “Aikido, My Way“

    Morihiro Saito Sensei was born on March 31st, 1928 and passed away on May 13th, 2002. For more than twenty years during that time he trained directly under Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba, one of his closest and longest serving students.

    Morihiro Saito acted as the guardian of the Aiki Shrine until his passing in 2002. He is famous for his dedication to preserving the exact form of Morihei Ueshiba’s techniques as he was taught them during his training under him in Iwama.

    This is the third  section of the English translation of a three part interview that originally appeared in “Answers from Budoka” (“Budoka no Kotae” / 武道家の答え), published by BAB Japan in 2006. You may wish to read Part 1 and Part 2 before reading this section.

    Morihiro Saito – “Traditional Aikido – volume 2”

    Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Morihiro Saito Sensei, Part 3

    Q: Was it possible that he had some goal in mind?

    A: No, that’s not it. He was angry. Because even though he would tell them to practice precisely and sharply they would only do flowing training. It annoyed them when the Founder said that and scolded them, so they would call and say “Saito-san, tell him that something came up and call him (the Founder) home”. When O-Sensei was there they’d say “That annoying old man is here”. So the Founder’s feelings finally snapped and he stopped teaching there.

    Q: Something like “Respect from a safe distance” (敬して遠ざける)?

    A: That’s right. For that reason, when he returned here he would stamp his feet and yell. Things like “Unacceptable!” (なっとらん!).

    Ni-Dai Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba at Aikikai Hombu Dojo

    The establishment of Hombu style

    Q: How did things get that way?

    A: I believe that it was caused by the sudden emergence of Aikido into the world after the end of the war. Because those demonstrations showed it in a really beautiful manner. For that reason people flocked to Aikido, and since they showed those people flowing movement everybody was happy. So because of that people said that Aikido is an enjoyable Budo, it’s beautiful, it’s smooth and attractive.

    So Hombu Dojo, for that reason, had a temporary golden age. During that time people who were second or third dan scattered across the world. They said that they wanted to make a name for themselves. That is the Hombu Style that foreigners talk about. I followed another path of static training without doing that, so people around the world call that Iwama Style. They became international terms. A division that came about inside the same Aikido.

    “Iwama Style” is first known overseas

    Q: Is Iwama Style something special?

    A: Some people don’t like it, you know, those from Tokyo. Or even from the country areas. So there are a lot of enemies. Even though when one speaks of Iwama Style one is speaking of the Founder’s style…

    Q: Was it the same overseas?

    A: However, I was rescued by the discovery of that book by the Founder. That book…that researcher into the history of Aiki from America, he found it in the countryside. That book proved that what I am doing is correct.

    Morihiro Saito teaching from the 1938 technical manual “Budo“

    Q: You must have been happy?

    A: I was ecstatic! That’s why i carry that copy, and wherever I go I show it to people and say “There you are! Look at this, this is how I am teaching you”. When you compare the training, in the end it slaps them in the face. Aikido began from this Founder, and when you explain this clearly everybody is happy. There was someone from Switzerland who came the other day, tomorrow someone from Canada, they’re throwing away the techniques that they’ve been learning for fifteen years and starting over again from the beginning. I really have to give them credit.

    Q: It’s significant that they even had the strength to make that realization, isn’t it? How about the Japanese instructors?

    A: As you might expect, one issue is that without financial strength, making the changeover is difficult. Other than that, there are doctors, people running companies, and people who have their own jobs who are realizing that this is different from the Aikido that they have done previously and are devoting themselves to making a changeover. For that reason, I take precisely what I was taught by the Founder, make it easy to understand, and have them study it.

    Q: Will you publish a book about that some day?

    A: I’m thinking about it.

    Q: Who is this? (pointing to the Founder’s book)

    A: The Founder used that name at times. He’d use the name Tsunemori (常盛) or Moritaka (守高), but the name that appears in his family register is Morihei (盛平).

    Q: Is this the original?

    A: No, it’s a copy.

    Q: I see, the reproduction is very good. Is there an original copy someplace else?

    A: This name here is the name of the person to whom it was given. This was not made public in Tokyo. Perhaps the Ueshiba family has it.

    This book is proof that I have been practicing honestly, Ha-ha-ha, it really helped me out. From that time I carry it with me whenever I go out in the world, Because from here this has changed again. I can explain the changes.

    Morihiro Saito – “Traditional Aikido – volume 3”

    Tales of experiences with Aikido (武勇伝)

    “Train sincerely in the basics – the power found in them is kokyu-ryoku, Ki is there, Ki is extended, this will be the result.”

    Q: By the way, this is a lower level question, but this book is targeted at a general readership who will be happy even with a casual discussion, so may I ask you some of those types of questions?

    A: Even now we use these training methods, so in the end I think that I would like people to enjoy what they are reading.

    Q: Yes, that’s right, isn’t it? For example, if you will excuse me, if you have some stories of a time that you were caught up in a fight related to Aikido, or a “tale of heroism” (武勇伝), or a story of a spiritual experience, then I would like to ask you about them.

    Aikido Journal Editor Stanley Pranin translating for Morihiro Saito

    A: I don’t know what you mean by spiritual, but Aikido training has conditioning in breath power (“kokyu-ryoku”), this is an extremely logical method of expressing power.

    One night at Chichibu Station there was a fireworks display. About twenty people missed their chance to ride the last train and were in the station’s waiting room.

    At that time someone who looked like a yakuza grabbed a young man wearing a business suit by the lapels and started pushing him around. So I said “Hey you, stop that!”, but he wouldn’t stop! Then when I grabbed the arm of the person who looked like a yakuza he let go of the other person and started grappling with me. So I took a step back, put my hand slightly under his chin and went to throw him. When I swept him with my right leg he flew straight backwards and hit his head on the concrete – he lost consciousness. The railway police came right away, so I passed him over to them.

    That kind of kokyu-ryoku is what people talk about when they say things like “extend Ki”, but in the end Ki isn’t something special. Train sincerely in the basics – the power found in them is kokyu-ryoku, Ki is there, Ki is extended, this will be the result. When entering through theory without doing the actual techniques one cannot really realize this.

    Q: If that is done, when a person surpasses a certain level will they be able to flip an opponent’s body over lightly just by touching them?

    A: That’s if one is following the principles strictly, and if the situation at the time allows for it.

    People who can match that skillfully with whatever technique is being used are skillful at Aikido. The person who takes the angle rationally is a strong person.

    Morihiro Saito and Morihei Ueshiba – 1954

    Q: When the opponent is an older person, or someone who’s body is stiff, no matter how skillful one is their way of falling will be unnatural – don’t they ever get injured?

    A: There are often people who take pride in injuring others during Aikido training, but if one does it carefully they can become skillful without causing injury. The Founder almost never injured anybody! He taught us like beginners until our ukemi gradually became skillful and then skillfully led us into the bigger throws. When people like children fell he would put his hand under their head as he threw – it was really tender behavior.

    As to other stories… Aikido begins with hanmi. If one steps forward, if one steps backward, if one opens or moves forward. I had in experience related to this.

    At one time I was employed by the Japan National Railway. The tracks have inbound lines, center lines and outbound lines. On that day, I went out for a task at an engine that had stopped on the center line. At that time the steam engine was puffing steam, and since it was the middle of winter I couldn’t see anything at all. I was standing just at the point of the inbound line. Then, and I don’t really understand this myself, I suddenly jumped out of the way and landed in left-hanmi. You see, I had moved my body out of the way of the train. In that instant, an express train from Aomori passed by on the inbound line.

    Q: Wow!

    A: The crewmen knew that I was out there, so they thought that I had already been run over. But I was just standing there calmly, so both the crewmen and the people standing on the platform were astonished. I still don’t understand how or why I jumped out of the way or how I sensed that the train was coming. Once the express train passed my knees started knocking. How many years ago was that…it was in my twenties. There are times when human being’s knees actually knock, aren’t there? I was the one who was most surprised.

    Q: That was a at a time when you had not yet mastered Aikido, right?

    A: But that jumping tai-sabaki matches Aikido methods. I really don’t understand. What did I sense, it was just a short instant of time – conversely, if I had sensed that something was coming I think that might have become unable to move! It must be because I didn’t understand what was happening that I was able to move out of the way.

    Q: Did you gain a deeper understanding of the principles of Aikido from that time?

    A: Well, it’s something that could have happened to anybody…

    Q: Or it may be that it was one of those spiritual experiences that we spoke about previously, don’t you think?

    A: I think so. If I had put that tai-sabaki into practice after I became skillful then it wouldn’t have been anything. There was one time that I happened to get caught up in an odd situation.

    Q: When was that?

    A: Well, about thirty years ago, I think. One day I was drinking with a friend, and we were walking down the street bar hopping when there was a fellow making noise about how his motorcycle wouldn’t start. So, we thought we’d take a look at it, but when we touched the motorcycle all of a sudden we were surrounded. They were from some Kumi (Note: a yakuza group) from some construction site in Asakusa, it seemed that they had been in a fight with some local young people, beat them up and were chasing after them. The motorcycle belonged to their group, and they thought that I had come to get even with them. Hey! Hey! They came at us. Well, we had to protect ourselves (Note: “You have to sweep off the falling sparks” – in other words, protect yourself from possible dangers).

    Q: How many of them were there?

    A: Coming directly at us there were two people, but we were pretty drunk. I don’t remember a thing, but it seems that I threw them quite a distance while hardly touching them at all. When you are throwing, there are ways to throw so that they can take ukemi, or so that they can’t take ukemi. Because the others were just regular people who had started a fight….

    With regards to sempai who force a throw even in training, it would be rude not to take ukemi so one forces themselves to take the ukemi, and then they get injured. I think that those people who injure others have no room in their hearts. Those people who have room in their hearts have feelings of consideration in the midst of their severity and will not cause injuries. People who cause injuries are practicing in an overbearing manner, and in that manner there is a contradiction with the principles, so I think that I would like them to study that area more. I’m not very good at speaking, so I can’t express it well…

    Morihiro Saito reading “Budo“

    The basic training of Aikido is static training

    Q: Well, this has been really interesting. By the way, when I watch skillful people training together in Aikido they get thrown quite a distance. Or is it that they are purposefully trying to show something?

    A: Do you see training like that? Well, people who train while taking that big ukemi are all weak.

    When training in the real basics we don’t allow them to take big ukemi. I throw without allowing them to take big ukemi and then after they fall we hold them down. Some throw partway through. Then the person throwing is already done with their task, and the person being thrown is released there. But in the basics one holds them down until the very end, one does not release their Ki until the very end. It’s there that there is a difference in the degree of conditioning. Here (the Founder’s book, mentioned previously) it is too, in this technique everybody takes the big ukemi but even in this throw he is holding them down. This is basic in Aikido.

    Q: Thank you for such a valuable discussion. I hope that many Budo shugyosha will find it a helpful reference.

    Published by: Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI

     

  • Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Morihiro Saito Sensei, Part 2

    Morihiro Saito – Traditional Aikido Volume 4

    When O-Sensei was not in Iwama, I was in charge of the teaching. I do not know who taught in Hombu dojo when O-Sensei was not there for obvious reasons, I was in Iwama. I rarely went to Hombu dojo. During 1960-61 O-Sensei was very vital. He then sometimes went to Tokyo to teach Aikido, though not many days would pass before students of the Hombu Dojo called me asking me to take O-Sensei home! O-Sensei was giving them a hard time, scolding them for not practising the correct way. In Iwama O-Sensei used to do his own practise in the mornings and then I was the only student to take part. In return for his special teaching I worked in O-Sensei’s farm.

    Interview with Morihiro Saito Sensei by Mats Alexandersson

    Morihiro Saito Sensei was born on March 31, 1928 in a farming village near the Iwama dojo where he would spend more than twenty years training directly with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba. Due to his 24-hour on and 24-hour off working shift with the Japanese National Railroad he was able to spend long periods of time alone with Morihei Ueshiba as his student and training partner – particularly as the Founder formulated his post-war system of weapons training. Early morning classes were devoted to prayer at the Aiki Shrine followed by weapons practice, the study of Aiki-Ken and Aiki-Jo and their relationship to empty-handed techniques.

    Morihiro Saito acted as the guardian of the Aiki Shrine until his passing in 2002. He is famous for his dedication to preserving the exact form of Morihei Ueshiba’s techniques as he was taught them during his training under him in Iwama.

    This is the second  section of the English translation of a three part interview that originally appeared in “Answers from Budoka” (“Budoka no Kotae” / 武道家の答え), published by BAB Japan in 2006. You may wish to read Part 1 before reading this section.

    Morihiro Saito and Morihei Ueshiba
    Tanren Uchi (“forge cutting”) in Iwama, 1955

    Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Morihiro Saito Sensei, Part 2

    Q: Is that everyday?

    A: Yes. Mondays and holidays are off, but there are no days off for the uchi-deshi. They have training in the morning, for the first half of the day. In the evening, together with the sumi-komi (live-in) students, about thirty of forty students gather together.

    Q: The dojo must get full, doesn’t it?

    A: Right now there are ten people with just the sumi-komi students alone. They take their meals here, and they just reimburse us for the actual costs. But when they cook together a lot of problems come up! They come from different countries, there are people who don’t eat meat, or people who don’t eat fish.

    Q: Especially with religious considerations, foreigners who are looking into things like Zen often don’t eat meat or fish, right?

    A: That’s why I make it a condition of entrance that they not bring religion or politics with them. There are places in foreign countries that fight wars over religious differences, but here we function with absolutely no relation to that. The Kami-sama are enshrined in the dojo, but those Kami-sama have a connection to Budo that is not religious. They have been worshipped by warriors since ancient times, so there is no religious atmosphere. Everybody faces the front without reluctance, bows and claps their hands before starting practice.

    Q: What about you? Is there some religion like Soto Zen Buddhism that has been passed down to you from your ancestors?

    Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba’s grave in Kozanji

    A: I was born into Shingon Buddhism, but there was no cemetery at that temple. A Soto Zen Buddhist temple nearby made a nice cemetery, so after I moved there I became a Soto Zen Buddhist. The Founder is now buried in a Shingon Buddhist temple in Tanabe, Wakayama called Kozanji (高山寺). One of his last wishes was “make me a grave here”, but for some reason Ni-Dai (Kisshomaru Ueshiba) had a grave in Wakayama Prefecture. That’s why people can’t take a day trip to visit the grave. It’s really pretty tough to get all the way to Wakayama.

    In my case, since this was the Founder’s dojo, I believed that it is my responsibility to transmit what I was taught by the Founder. At one time a lot of things were said, but opinions have changed, and the number of requests to come here have greatly increased.

    We first built a foundation of static training (個体稽古). Then the method built in stages into flowing techniques and then throwing without touching.

    Q: Both here and Hombu Dojo must each have their own good points, this is is a wonderful place, isn’t it?

    A: Any path is the same, but in those days the method of teaching was differentiated depending upon the dojo.

    Q: Differentiated in what way?

    A: Rather than saying that it was differentiated, it may be that the teaching became differentiated. In the end, in a place where one teaches for four days, or a place where one teaches for one week, or a place where one teaches 365 days a year the method of teaching changes.

    Q: How was the teaching done here?

    A: As you might expect, we first built a foundation of static training (個体稽古). Then the method built in stages into flowing techniques and then throwing without touching. Flowing techniques were from third-dan, so in the beginning we were only allowed to do static training, but now flowing training is the primary focus in Tokyo.

    When one uses strength in Tokyo they get scolded. That’s the difference. We were taught to hold on strongly, to hold firmly in grabbing techniques.

    Further, the Founder always emphasized strongly in his teaching that the sword, the staff and empty hand techniques are one thing. We are doing it that way, but in Tokyo the sword and the staff are not taught at all.

    Q: Not at all?

    A: They don’t teach it at all. For that reason, the fact of the matter is that high ranking students in Tokyo go to Iaido to learn the sword, or Muso-ryu (Shinto Muso-ryu Jodo) to learn the staff. The Founder did not teach either the sword or the staff in Tokyo. Here he taught everything from the basics on up…. We’re in the middle of student camps right now, students from Osaka Prefecture University were here and tonight students from Tokushima University will be coming. We’ll continue with the camps until the beginning of April.

    Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba with students from Meiji University in Iwama
    Yasuo Kobayashi – front, second from right

    Q: How many people come from each university?

    A: If too many come then we can’t accommodate them, so we limit it to about twenty people. Ibaraki University, Japan University, MIyagi University of Education, Tohoku University, Iwate University, Hirosaki University, the other day the students from Osaka Prefecture University went home, tonight Tokushima University comes, and when they’re finished Kanagawa University and Aichi University will come and then we’ll finally be done.

    Three or four nights, or at the most five nights. We have all of the necessities for preparing meals, so the students go shopping and cook their own food.

    Q: And they are normally each taught by the shihan in their area?

    A: Yes, that’s right.

    Q: Are those shihan very junior to you?

    A: Yes, there aren’t very many people senior to me.

    Q: It must be very exciting for them to come here, isn’t it?

    A: Of course, since this was the dojo where the Founder performed his shugyo. But was that Tanabe? Some place inconvenient. Ha-ha-ha, in the morning they train outside swinging the sword and the staff. In the evening they train with the regular students. So there are more than sixty people and nobody can move! Ha-ha-ha-ha.

    Q: Is that so?

    A: Previously we had thirty-six mats (Note: tatami mats, about three feet by six feet each), but when the students began to come, the Founder in his later years said to expand that and we expanded the mat space. This is sixy mats, and I’m feeling that it would be good to have at least a hundred. But there are methods of training, no matter how tight the space is.

    “The basic principle of Aikido is just to attack.”

    Q: Is exchanging techniques with the ordinary students helpful to you?

    A: For that reason, they go home happy.

    Q: How does that work? In terms of level.

    A: Depending upon the school it can be very different. Also, the teachers who bring students here are very broad minded! Because there are also many shihan who tell their students not to come here. Many of those are in Hombu in Tokyo – “Don’t go to Iwama!”, they say. A shihan at one of the universities is also an instructor at Hombu, but he says “Don’t go to Iwama!” and doesn’t allow his students to come here. Because we do static training here. When they learn and then go home it’s difficult to train with them.

    Q: Subtle differences emerge?

    A: Yes, they do. It’s a little embarrassing to talk about, but all paths tend to split in multiple directions…

    Q: Looking at things in the long term, are there clear differences and destinations depending upon whether one does static practice or soft practice?

    A: A clear result emerges! Oh yes, during combined training, it can be clearly seen there. It’s not even worth arguing about.

    Morihei Ueshiba initiates with an attack
    Budo – Moritaka Ueshiba’s 1938 Technical Manual

    The Budo in which one attacks first

    Q: By the way, many people say “in the Budo called Aikido there are no attacking techniques.”?

    A: No, that’s ridiculous, the basic principle of Aikido is just to attack. Rather than talking about striking, by “attack” we mean that the basic principle is to strike the opponent and draw them out. It’s not a crushing blow, one enters in flash and when the opponent moves to counter they must extend their hand. To trap that hand is a basic principle.

    Q: That makes sense, doesn’t it?

    A: There are many places that don’t know this and practice by just waiting for the other person to come strike. The basic principle is different. Shomenuchi, you know, all starts with with an attack from my side. Like the example in this book, one strikes and moves forward, then grabs their chest.

    Q: I see, One strikes from their side and then makes them receive the attack…this is a precondition.

    A: Also right here in the Founder’s book it says “Move forward from your side and attack”. Recently people from that other school all said there are no attacks in Aikido, but that is mistaken. The basic principle is to attack… It is said “There is no defense that surpasses an attack” (攻撃に勝る防御なし) – at least in the case of shomenuchi, that is an attack.

    Q: Is what you’re calling an attack different than what you’d see in the case of combat sports?

    A: It’s different. It’s a matter of drawing out the opponent’s Ki, or absorbing their feelings, or matching with them, or connecting with them, and then controlling them.

    Demonstration for the Jieitai (“Self Defense Forces)
    Morihiro Saito and Morihei Ueshiba, 1955

    Aikido is bodywork like swordwork
    (and swordwork like bodywork)

    Q: When you do that, is it also possible to explain that in the context of the so-called combat arts?

    A: Yes, when one really moves in accordance to the principles, the movement of one against many is connected to the handling of the sword, and connected to the movements of the staff. For that reason, in Aikido one must also train in sword and staff that is specifically for Aikido. Whichever one you omit, your Aikido will not be complete.

    It may be annoying for me to repeat this, but that group in Tokyo, perhaps because they have too much pride, don’t come here to learn. They learn the sword through Iaido and the staff through Muso-ryu. In Iaido it’s like the sword is put against the waist. In Aikido we do it while twisting the hips. It’s the opposite! In Iai one thrusts the hips forward and then draws them back in a flash, but in the sword of Aikido we twist the hips and pull.

    Iaido is a wonderful Budo, but in the case of Aikido the meaning and the goals are different, so they are incompatible. Further, in the end the method of using the staff in Aikido and Muso-ryu is different. Because in Aikido the unified principles of bodywork like swordwork and swordwork like bodywork are one.

    Q: Here everything is like that?

    A: That’s how we are doing it. This may be the only place in the world. However, the Founder taught everything from these kinds of basics here, he didn’t teach them in Tokyo.

    Continued in Part 3…

    Published by: Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI

  • Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Morihiro Saito Sensei, Part 1

    Morihiro Saito (left) with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba and his wife Hatsu
    Iwama – 1955, San-dai Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba (4 years old) seated middle

    「バカモノ！　まだ技をかけてないのに勝手に転びやがって！ここは本部ではない！開祖の合気道は、相手の協力なんかなくても倒れるように出来ているんだ！勝手に転ぶのではなく、倒されないように最後まで抵抗して掴め！開祖の合気道は武道なんだ！」

    “Idiot! Falling down by yourself even though the technique hasn’t been applied yet! This isn’t Hombu! The Founder’s Aikido is made so that you can throw without the cooperation of the opponent! Don’t just fall down on your own, hold on and resist being thrown until the end! The Founder’s Aikido is Budo!”

    One person’s experience upon meeting Morihiro Saito.

    Morihiro Saito was born in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1928. Hearing tales of an “old man doing strange techniques up on the mountain near Iwama”, he became a student of Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba in 1946, at the age of eighteen and would train under him for the next twenty-three years.

    His work schedule at the Japan National Railway allowed him long shifts working followed by long shifts off, allowing him to spend extensive periods training and acting as a training partner for Morihei Ueshiba as he refined his weapons curriculum. He eventually received a plot of land on Morihei Ueshiba’s property and where he built his house and lived with his wife and children. He and his wife cared for the Ueshiba’s through the last years of their lives.

    Morihiro Saito acted as the guardian of the Aiki Shrine until his passing in 2002. He is famous for his dedication to preserving the exact form of Morihei Ueshiba’s techniques as he was taught them during his training under him in Iwama.

    Budoka no Kotae – BAB Japan, 2006

    This is the first section of the English translation of a three part interview that originally appeared in “Answers from Budoka” (“Budoka no Kotae” / 武道家の答え), published by BAB Japan in 2006.

    Morihiro Saito with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba
    in front of the Aiki Shrine, 1955

    Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Morihiro Saito Sensei, Part 1

    Aikido is formed after the war by Morihei Ueshiba

    Q: In this book we are asking those training in budo for their cooperation in giving us their opinions on their budo training, but it may take a number of months before we are ready for publication.

    A: Oh, is that right? It must be quite a lot of work, how many sections will there be?

    Q: We will divide it into four main sections. Aikido, Judo, Karate-do and Kendo. There will also be a little related to Shorinji Kempo and kobudo.

    A: Kobudo, that’s good. Kobudo is wonderful. Because it was since kobudo existed that Aikido was first born.

    Q: And it’s likely that those arts like Judo or Kendo that are called gendai budo today would not have been born without kobudo either.

    A: Yes, that’s right. Previously, the foreigner from Aiki News – it was Stanley Pranin who, when searching for the roots of Aikido, gathered together authorities from many of the arts that the Founder practiced, such as Daito-ryu , Kashima Shinto-ryu and Yagyu Shingan-ryu for a Friendship Demonstration.

    Aikido Instructors at the 1st Aikido Friendship Demonstration in 1985
    Left to right: Yasuo Kobayashi, Yoshio Kuroiwa, Kanshu Sunadomari,
    Morihiro Saito, Shoji Nishio, Mitsugi Saotome

    Q: Was that at the Budokan?

    A: No, that was at the Yomiuri Hall in Yurakucho. It’s a small place. It wasn’t anything that was on a scale to hold at the Budokan.

    Q: I see. It would be a much bigger event at the Budokan, wouldn’t it?

    A: Yes, although in Aikido we hold something there once a year in May.

    Q: During that time in the Yomiuri Hall was that person (Mr. Stanley Pranin) able to gather information relating to the roots of Aikido?

    A: How about that… He is an Aikido historian – that is to say, he is investigating deeply into the history of Aikido.

    Q: Is that right? When was there a book about the roots of Aikido that he published?

    A: He published several times that year.

    Q: Such as the Aiki News magazine?

    A: That’s right. Concerning the Founder, in the Founder’s last years he went to Tokyo permanently, but of course after the war he was in Iwama continuously. Because after the war Budo was suppressed.

    Q: For a period of time, right?

    A: Yes. But in Showa year 23 (1948), when the Aikikai was reconfirmed under the law, an undersecretary named Tamura came here and secretly asked that at least a seed of Budo would be served from destruction. That really put the Founder in high spirits. The Founder was really serious about the training that started from that time. During the war he was ordered by the military to teach “Itto Issatsu” (“一刀一殺” / “One Cut One Kill”), and he went to the Army and Naval academies and the Toyama Military Academy, so it seemed that he wasn’t able to instruct in the way that he desired.

    Q: Ahh, was there a period like that?

    A: Yes, there was. He also instructed at the Nakano Spy School.

    Q: Is that right? So for Morihei Sensei the defeat in the war was rather a kind of an opportunity?

    A: That’s right. He could finally turn towards his original goals, and here in Iwama he was able to put aside the time for the establishment of Aikido. Because he was also, as you know, a student of religion. From Showa year 13 (1938) he became exceedingly vigorous in his activities. Here is a copy of a book from that time, haven’t you seen it before? (holding out a book)

    Yoshinkan Aikido Founder Gozo Shioda in “Budo”, 1938
    See “Budo – Moritaka Ueshiba’s 1938 Technical Manual“

    Q: No, this is…?

    A: Is that so? They don’t publicize things like this very much in Tokyo, do they? Mr. Pranin from Aiki News discovered this in the countryside and gave me a copy, it was created in Showa year 13 (1938) or thereabouts.

    Q: So this is a book published in 1938? This is an important book, isn’t it?

    Morihei Ueshiba’s “Rules for Training”
    from the technical manual “Budo” – 1938

    1. This bujutsu decides life and death in a single strike, so students must carefully follow the instructor’s teaching and not compete to see who is the strongest.
    2. This bujutsu is the way that teaches how one can deal with several enemies. Students must train themselves to be alert not just to the front, but to all sides and the back.
    3. Training should always be conducted in a pleasant and joyful atmosphere.
    4. The instructor teaches only one small aspect of the art. Its versatile applications must be discovered by each student through incessant practice and training.
    5. In daily practice first begin by changing your body (“tai no henko”) and then progress to more intensive practice. Never force anything unnaturally or unreasonably. If this rule is followed, then even elderly people will not hurt themselves and they can train in a pleasant and joyful atmosphere.
    6. The purpose of this bujutsu is to train mind and body and to produce sincere, earnest people. Since all the techniques are to be transmitted person-to-person, do not randomly reveal them to others, for this might lead to their being used by hoodlums.

    *Translator’s Note: these rules were published after the war in Kisshomaru Ueshiba’s books, but with the word “Aikido” inserted in place of “this bujutsu”.

    A: Here he writes some guidelines for training, such as “Training should always be conducted in a pleasant and joyful atmosphere.”. In any case, this was written during the war.

    Q: By the way, of the people who trained directly with Morihei Sensei, there are very few left today, isn’t that true?

    “Because it is my task to receive the actual techniques of the Founder and then pass them on directly and simply just as they are.” – Morihiro Saito

    A: Even so, there many still remaining. Around 1952 or 1953 he started taking trips to the outside – he’d go to Kansai for a week, or travel around for about a month. Sometimes he’d also go to stay in Tokyo like this. So there were many people who were able to take the Founder’s hand directly and receive instruction.

    However, in my case it was a matter of time. There was land, but there was no rice being distributed. So if we didn’t grow it ourselves we wouldn’t be able to eat! So when I was able to be there physically I would help with the farming from morning to night, and after I married my wife also helped with the farming full time. We also did all the other regular household chores. Many other people came, but there were a lot of things going on, and they didn’t last very long. In the end, I was the only one left.

    Calligraphy for “Ki” by Morihei Ueshiba (signed “Tsunemori”)

    What is “Ki”?

    Q: Recently the word “Ki” has become widespread in a variety of forms, hasn’t it?

    A: Yes, that’s right.

    Q: Just what exactly is that “Ki”? Depending upon who’s speaking Ki means a great variety of things – what they call “aura” in Western terminology, or others explain it in Eastern philosophical terms such as “prajna” in Yoga. But is this something that can be seen with the eyes?

    A: Well, O-Sensei was also particularly strict about what “Ki” was…. The Founder tended towards religious speech, and the students would study how to express the Founder’s speeches in modern terminology. They each express themselves from their own particular positions. I’m not very good at that kind of thing… Just actual techniques. Because it is my task to receive the actual techniques of the Founder and then pass them on directly and simply just as they are.

    Q: Is that so?

    A: The way that people do Aikido now changes quite a bit depending upon the instructor. There are people doing the complete opposite of what other people are doing.

    Q: For example, in what way?

    A: In our Aikikai organization, and outside of it, there are many students of the Founder. There are those who have formed separate organizations – for example Gozo Shioda-san of the Yoshinkan, or Koichi Tohei-san of the Ki Society, each of those were founded by people who came here to study after the war. Shioda-san came here surprisingly often. Tohei-san made that thing called “Ki” his foundation to spread Aikido.

    Q: Tohei Sensei seems to be doing Aikido in a separate form, with “Ki” as the foundation.

    A: Yes, that’s right. The core of it is in lectures, but he has created a separate Ryu and is working hard at it. He’s an Aikido 10th Dan, and people wanting to learn Aikido join the “Ki Society”, but since most of it is lectures the training is neglected. The Budo world is quite a difficult place!

    Q: I see. Is the training here very strict?

    A: Because technique is something that you can understand if you see it. People understand before they train, so they are happy, and they get the feeling that it is extremely logical.

    Q: Even now do you take their hands and teach them directly?

    A: Yes, all of them. The Founder also took the hands of the regular students here and taught them continuously until he passed away. Especially me, since I was assisting with the farming, in the morning he would teach me sword and staff privately.

    Q: There are many foreigners also training here, what about them?

    A: They are shugyosha.

    Q: Is that right? Where do they live?

    A: Here, or in apartments nearby.

    Q: That’s long term, isn’t it.

    A: There are those who are here for an extended period. That woman is here for the third time, she has been here since June last year. Americans, Germans, Australians – during the busy times there are people here from as many as ten countries. Well…right now we have about six countries.

    Q: When they come, as they don’t understand Japanese over there, do they learn a bit before they come?

    A: There are people like that, and then there are people who don’t understand any at all…I can’t speak any other languages.

    Q: When that’s the case, we’re talking about a heart to heart transmission (以心伝心) between people aspiring to the same Budo?

    A: One way or another, with a lot of gestures…however, it is very difficult with the French. They must not use much English. Normally, if they speak English than they can somehow communicate between each other, but somehow we have a difficult time when the French come. Also the Italians. But the young people who come from Scandinavia use English so we’re able to get by.

    Q: Now Aikido has mostly moved overseas, so most of the people who come must be those who have seen and heard of Aikido over there and then come to the home of Aikido to master it?

    A: This year it is nineteen years (at the time of the interview, 1988) since the Founder passed away, but I haven’t traveled anywhere so I have only taught those foreigners who have come here. It began with those who were introduced to Aikido after the Founder passed away. Most of the Europeans would enter Hombu Dojo and wouldn’t come here very often, but while that was happening people began to come, bit by bit.

    When the Founder was alive here, one could not become a student without an introduction. That was true even for the local people. For that reason, the people here were a very select group. From there one person became two, two people became four, and then we couldn’t cut off the flow. However, we couldn’t accommodate them all…well, it’s good that people are coming.

    Q: How many people are here now?

    A: During training…? The evening classes have about thirty or forty people.

    Continued in Part 2…

    Published by: Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI

  • Aikido Shihan Sadao Takaoka – Meeting O-Sensei

    Sadao Takaoka Sensei (1916-2002) in 1993

    Sadao Takaoka was one of the lesser known direct students of Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba. He began training in O-Sensei’s home town of Wakayama in 1939, but he did not actually meet the Founder until well after the war, in 1951. And although he enjoyed a personal relationship with the Founder and often participated in the annual All Japan Aikido Demonstrations held in Tokyo, he remained on the outskirts of the Aikido world and is largely unknown today.

    He was one of the few people that had the opportunity to act a a training partner for Morihei Ueshiba when he was refining his weapons system after the war, as mentioned by Shigenobu Okumura Sensei:

    Q: In a previous interview you said that you had seen such things as Sho-chiku-bai Sword (松竹梅の剣 / “Pine-bamboo-plum Sword”) and Gogyo Sword (五行の剣 / “Five Elements Sword”)…

    A: I think that those things were still going through a period of trial and error. So Saito-san from Iwama and Sadao Takaoka-san (高岡貞夫) from Wakayama were used as practice partners during that process of trial and error.

    – Interview with Aikido Shihan Shigenobu Okumura, Part 2

    He was also Yoshinkan Aikido instructor Tsuneo Ando’s first Aikido teacher (see “Talking to Tsuneo Ando Part 1 – the Gozo Shioda that Nobody Knew“).

    In this essay Sadao Takaoka discusses his early experiences with Aikido before, during and after World War II, and his experiences in meeting Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba. There is also an Appendix in which Takaoka Sensei discusses some of O-Sensei’s teachings.

    Sadao Takaoka Sensei at a demonstration in 1993

    Aikido Shihan Sadao Takaoka – Meeting O-Sensei

    by Sadao Takaoka

    The Birth of Aikido in Wakayama

    The birth cry of Aikido in Wakayama came in Showa year 14 (1939) when I met a student of Aikido, Hiroyuki Nozawa Sensei. I’d like to talk a little bit about my history prior to meeting Nozawa Sensei.

    My uncle was a circuit priest. We would set up an image of the Buddha in our house twice a month on the first and the fifteenth, and many of the faithful would come to pray. There were also believers in Kii Tanabe, so my uncle would often go there as well. In Showa year 8 (1933) I was seventeen years old. When I spoke to my uncle about wanting to learn Judo he told me that there was an instructor teaching a “mental” budo (“seishin budo” / 精神武道), but when we went to see my uncle’s friend Mr. Egawa we found out that the instructor had moved to Tokyo. That instructor in Kii Tanabe was Ueshiba O-Sensei. I often heard stories about Ueshiba O-Sensei from my uncle.

    Kii-Tanabe train station and the memorial to
    Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba

    So there I was. I wanted to learn some kind of budo, so I learned koryu Takenouchi-ryu grappling. I learned from a teacher named Kusutarou Mizutani (水谷楠太郎), and there were a lot of anecdotes about him. One of those was the happening at the Wakayama-shi train station. The baggage handlers for the train station and the baggage handlers for a shipping company got into a fight, but they became angry when Sensei attempted to intercede – “this is none of your business!”. “Well then, I’ll take all of you on – come at me!”, he said and beat all of them about the platform. An Osaka police officer who saw this suggested that Sensei become a detective, and he did that work for a while but it didn’t suit him so he soon resigned. He established a dojo and began teaching, and I heard that as rumors of the incident at the train station spread he began to attract large numbers of students.

    Mr. Tsuda, who was one of Mizutani Sensei’s senior students, took responsibility for my instruction, and thanks to being the youngest student there he would tell me many of the secret methods by oral transmission (“kuden” / 口伝). He would also guide my education in budo with tales of Itto Ittosai‘s (伊藤一刀斎) students Ono Zenki (小野善鬼) and Mikogami Tenzen (神子上典膳).

    The name board for Shibuya Toma’s Ono-ha Itto-ryu Dojo at Enzoji Temple
    Ono-ha Itto-ryu is the oldest of the Itto-ryu branches founded by Itto Ittosai
    The 18 year old Sokaku Takeda’s name appears seven from the right in the center

    About three years after I started training in Takenouchi-ryu grappling my uncle told me to go with him during his shugyo and we went up to Gongendo (権現堂) in the mountains to do zazen and misogi under the waterfalls. My uncle showed me and taught me many mysterious things. For about five years I would participate in his shugyo once or twice a month.

    In Showa year 13 (1938), I started training in my home, training with about ten people. From December 25th of that year my youth group began the year-end night patrols, and I was responsible for the last day of the year until dawn on New Year’s Day.

    The gathering place for the night patrol was at a movie theater called Denki-kan in Motoderumachi, Mr. Hiroyuki Nozawa had been sent from Kyoto and assigned to that location.

    At the Wakayama Denki-kan – by Kyokichi Tanaka, 1910

    All of a sudden he said, “Are you Takaoka-san? I hear that you teach budo.”. I said “no”, and then he said “someone from yesterday said your name”, with a suspicious look on his face, so I said “I’m just fooling around”. “What rank are you?”, he asked, and I replied, “It’s a koryu, so I receive sections of the curriculum”. When he said, “Do you know what Aikido is?” and I said “That’s Ueshiba Sensei from Kii Tanabe, isn’t it?”, he said, “So you’ve heard of it?”. I told him, “It was Ueshiba Sensei that I went to call on in Showa year 8 (1933) , when I thought about learning budo.”.  Then he invited me, “That’s great, shall we try touching hands?”.

    When we trained together the form of the techniques was the same, so Nozawa Sensei and I started teaching Aikido together in my dojo. After training for a while we received a request from the police, and when the two of us went to teach them the Military Police approached Nozawa Sensei with an order to  “teach Aikido to the army personnel”, so we went to teach at the command center. A short time after that, the two Aikido Shihan Yukawa Tsutomu (湯川 勉) and Tetsuo Hoshi (星 哲臣) showed up and I was taught as well. Both of the Shihan had very powerful (hard) technique.

    1934 Summer Training – front row from left:
    Kiyoshi Nakakura (standing), Rinjiro Shirata (seated), Tsutomu Yukawa (seated)
    From the Kobukan Dojo newsletter “Kobu” (皇武)

    Translator’s Note: Tsutomu Yukawa was one of Morihei Ueshiba’s favorite students (he was actually married to Morihei Ueshiba’s niece), and was famous for his great strength. He died in a knife fight in Osaka in 1942. Tetsuo Hoshi was a  Judo sixth dan who returned his rank to the Kodokan after meeting Morihei Ueshiba. He was later executed as a WWII war criminal for torturing prisoners of war with his martial arts techniques (from “The Way of Judo: A Portrait of Jigoro Kano and His Students“, by John Stevens).

    Nozawa Sensei had also studied Kurama-ryu (鞍馬流) before doing Aikido, so he also practiced a lot of striking techniques. Nozawa Sensei used to say that at the time that he studied at the Aikido Kansai-shibu Takeda Dojo that all of the students who came to train held certificates in other ryu-ha (“schools”).

    After that, I began teaching Aikido to the general population in Showa year 18 (1943). In order to avoid provoking the command center I made up another name for Aikido – changing the “Takenouchi” in “Takenouchi-ryu” from 竹内 to 武内, I called it “Takenouchi-ryu Tessen-jutsu” (武内流鉄扇術) when I taught.

    Memories of my military service

    During my training in budo with Mizutani Sensei I learned methods of healing through bonesetting and shiatsu, and being asked by my students I would sometimes give them healing treatments.

    In Showa year 18 (1943) , during basic training a few days after I enlisted, I was called into the petty officer’s room by the squad leader – “You said that you didn’t have a girlfriend, but who is this!?”, he said, and showed me a letter. It was a pink envelope. The squad letter opened the envelope and read the letter, but it was a thank you letter from one of the people that I given healing treatments to before I enlisted.

    I was asked, “You do budo?”, so I gave him an explanation of Aikido. The training officer, who had been listening, said, “Come teach me before lights out”. In this way, I was able to avoid the usual hazing from the troops before lights out.

    I completed my three months of basic training without incident and returned home. When I reached foreign soil as part of the third call up for Showa year 20 (1945) I was soon called to the medical office, where the army medic said “I gave this man two shots of the anaesthetic but the pain won’t stop. You try treating them.”. After treating him for around twenty minutes the pain went away, and the army medic said that he would tell general headquarters that I was to work in the medical office starting the next day, and that was how I came to work there.

    Soon after that it came to the end of the war, and about a week before I thought that I would be able to return home an order was issued for personnel at the aviation factory in Gwangju (Korea) and I was unable to return home. At the time I was treating the adjutant to the battalion commander, and when I went to tell him that I would be unable to treat him from the next day he said that would be a problem and told general headquarters that I was essential personnel and that he wanted them to change my assignment.

    Repatriation operations at the port of Senzaki, Japan

    Original caption reads: “NZEF in Japan. Repatriated Japanese soldiers salute a New Zealander, Major L W Wright, as he approaches. Orders have been issued that all occupation force troops must return salutes given by Japanese. These Japanese are passing through the port of Senzaki, where New Zealanders are in control of repatriation operations.” Photograph taken ca 1946 by a New Zealand Army photographer.

    On October 15th of Showa year 20 (1945) I arrived at Senzaki Port to the nostalgic mountain skyline of Japan, boarded the train for the demobilization returnees, and when I opened my eyes was arriving at Tennoji Station in Osaka.

    I got on the Nankai Electric Railway, but when I arrived at my long forgotten Wakayama City it was a burnt out ruin. I thought to go and see the burnt remnants of our home, and all that was left of that terrible tragedy were the burnt and crusted remains of our metal utensils.

    The remains of Wakayama City after the 1945 air raids

    I immediately became concerned for my family, but when I went to call on my uncle in the country my family were all unharmed,

    In retrospect, I am grateful that I was able to return home quickly and unharmed thanks to budo.

    Morihei Ueshiba and Minoru Mochizuki around 1951

    Meeting Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei

    After the demobilization I was teaching Aikido to the young people in the rural evacuation areas when one day a young person that I had never seen before came to me and said “I’d like to train with you”. Although I said “today is a day off” he insisted, so I said “well then, right here” and I showed him two or three techniques in that six tatami room (about 9.18 square meters, or 98.8 square feet), but when I said “that’s it for today” he showed no signs of leaving. I asked him “is there something that you want?” he said “actually, I’m a student of Judo and I’ve never seen techniques like these”, and when I told him “nobody knows these techniques, so I’m teaching them in gratitude for the help they gave me in demobilizing” he said “thank you” and left.

    The next day when I was talking to the students they said “Did he show up? He said that he was going to toss that guy with the strange techniques around.”, so I said “Is that right? I’m glad that I didn’t get thrown then.” while laughing, and everybody exploded with laughter. It’s a good memory of the evacuation area.

    In January of Showa year 22 (1947) I moved from the evacuation area to Nakanoshima in Wakayama City.

    In Showa year 23 (1948) the president of the Nakanoshima Community Association, Mr. Youzou Shima, said that he wanted to help those pure youths who had lost their hope and were falling into the depths of depression, and asked me to teach them Aikido.

    We turned the workshop at the Shima home into a dojo, and trained there day and night as Nakanoshima Dojo.

    Old Nikko Shoyu (now Daisho) signs in Osaka

    In Showa year 26 (1951) I was fortunate to learn that Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei would be returning for the first time in fifty years. At the request of Mr. Nishimoto (西幸醤油 / Nikko Shoyu) from the public safety committee he was to teach the members of the Wakayama police department.

    Wakayama Prefecture Governor Shinji Ono

    Through an introduction from Nozawa Sensei I was able to receive instruction along with the police officers, and for the mornings and evenings on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at the Wakayama Prefectural Workers Community Hall with Governor Shinji Ono (小野真次) we would recieve instruction in Karate, which was born in Okinawa, from the instructors Otsuka, Tomoyose and Yamashiro, and then on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays O-Sensei would come to Nakanoshima Dojo with his high-ranking student Koichi Tohei (now head of the Ki Society).

    Thanks to this that the dojo was overflowing with energy, and the number of students suddenly jumped to more than one hundred. In Showa year 28 (1953) I was promoted to third dan in Aikido and registered with the headquarters as an Aikido instructor.

    After training, when I would say “Shall I give you shiatsu?”, he would say “In the past my students gave me shiatsu, but now there’s nobody who trains in shiatsu anymore. Maybe just once?” and lie down on his side.

    As I was giving him shiatsu he said “You belong to this path. Have you thought about trying the Nishi Health System?”. When I told him that I wanted to learn his techniques first he said “Is that right? Well then, let me teach you my healing method.”, and then he taught me his palm healing method.

    Reiki Founder Mikao Usui 1865-1926

    Translator’s Note: “Palm healing” is a kind of hands on healing that was often practiced in Japan as an element of Buddhism. It is commonly used as a technique in Reiki, founded by Mikao Usui in 1922. Both Morihei Ueshiba and Onisaburo Deguchi were said to have been acquainted with Mikao Usui.

    When I mentioned to O-Sensei that his ribs were quite thick he said “My ribs are all one sheet. One time in the old days an instructor at the Toyama Academy stabbed me with a wooden bayonet. I did some reckless things back then.”.

    Let me talk about some of the various anecdotes that the Founder told me.

    The Founder was returning from harvesting when when he heard a voice saying “hey, hey”. When he put down his bale of wheat and looked around the village headman and the constable had been knocked down in the field . They scolded him because his bale was too wide to pass through.

    He told me that in Ayabe, even when he returned from the main shrine late at night his wife would leave the door unlocked for him “I’ll tell you this because it’s you, but I don’t tell everybody.” he said. Then I asked him about a story that I had read in a book about the beam in the ceiling of the main shrine at the Omoto compound in Ayabe. “When I looked at the logs my body grew warm and the log looked like a small chopstick. It moved when I rocked it so I picked it up.” he said.

    I heard this one from one of his students – “The Founder is strong, after practice he puts water in a basin and cools his hands,”.

    When I trained with him he was so soft that I asked him if I would be able to produce as much power as he had before the war if I did this training. O-Sensei replied “Before the war I trained with strength without understanding. Now that strength is not necessary. This is Takemusu Aiki!”. Then he explained the reasons to me.

    In the year that the war ended I became ill and my spirit became weak. As I thought of going to heaven an angel came to fan my flames. When I tried to leave even then a lone priest appeared and told me to return. He explained that it was too soon to see his face, that I was not yet cultivated enough.

    After that I recovered from my illness. When I thought to go to offer prayers at the Aiki-jinja I saw a white man on the front path. Looking closely I saw that another Ueshiba holding a wooden sword standing in kamae, and when I went to strike him I was struck. When I struck again I was struck again. When I took a stance the next time he vanished suddenly. From that time my techniques became soft. The is Sho-chiku-bai Kenpo (“the Pine-bamboo-plum method of the sword”).

    Pilgrimage to Mongolia in 1924
    Onisaburo Deguchi, second from left
    Morihei (Moritaka at the time) Ueshiba on the far right

    He often spoke to me of the time that he went to Mongolia, and when he spoke of falling in the lake he warned me “Takaoka, you are the only one who can protect yourself.”.

    The memories of those conversations with the Founder left a deep impression on my heart.

    A short time later the instructors Katsuki and Arikawa came from Hombu to teach.

    In Showa year 30 (1955) a dojo just for instruction from O-Sensei was born in Masago-cho (真砂町), so the Nakanoshima Dojo members also started to go there to train.

    Soon it was time for O-Sensei to return to the capitol, and I was told to come every morning at five o’clock so that he could give me shihan training in Tokyo.  Every day for a week I learned the teachings (法則) while shivering in the light from O-Sensei’s eyes. On the last day he said:

    I have given you my treasure. I could take back an object, but I can never take away the principles that I have taught you up until today. If you can understand what you have been taught then it is alright to tell others, but while you still don’t understand you must not. Train as long as you have life.

    Translator’s Note: The 1955 shihan  training sessions in Tokyo began with O-Sensei wielding a Jo in “Kagura Mai” (神楽舞 / “Dance of the Gods”). When questioned about technique during the training sessions O-Sensei would just repeat the “Kagura Mai” without saying a word.

    Yasuo Kobayashi Sensei said this about that seminar: “In the spring of 1955, a special practice was held for yudansha from all over Japan at Hombu Dojo. The various instructors from Hombu joined with Sunadomari Sensei from Kyushu, Tanaka Sensei of Osaka, Hikitsuchi Sensei of Wakayama and from Tohoku, Shirata and Otake Senseis and others along with us deshi for a week of practice sessions. The last day there was a party which was attended by Shioda Sensei of the Yoshinkan, Katori-Shintoryu’s Sugano Sensei, Ninjutsu’s Fujita Sensei, Matsuo Sensei of Iaido and many other noted martial artists. Sensei representing the various schools of Aikido were also invited along with the old officer class of the Navy; everyone had a pleasant interchange.”

    Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba
    Kagura Mai – the Dance of the Gods

    Appendix:
    Dobun (instructive principles) by Morihei Ueshiba.

    As taught by Sadao Takaoka Shihan, Wakayama Aikikai dojo
    (originally appeared on The Aikido F.A.Q.)

    Original translation by: Haruko Kado
    Recompiled in English by: K.C. Brodbeck
    Parts taken from Aikido Newsletter 2/10/1974

    One spirit
    Four souls
    Three elements
    Eight powers

    Mototsumitama (literally translated as the Great Basic Metaphysical Substance of being) of the one spirit, four souls, three elements, and eight powers, make up the Great God. The Great God is the living infinite mother who has spread spiritual and physical prosperity throughout space.

    Space was once empty, with no Heaven and no Earth. Suddenly a pinhole opened up in this empty space. This pinhole was the very origin of existence. From this hole, Ki of the Great God, which was finer than steam, smoke or mist, gradually came forth to form a circle which surrounded the pinhole and gave birth to the Kotodama of Suu. This birth was not only the birth of the physical world, but of the spiritual world as well.

    The universe then began its natural respiration taking a deep breath of expansion, and as it expanded sound flowed from it. This original sound was the kotodama Suu. Suu then continued expanding in four directions and formed a pulsating circle. When Suu has developed it turns into U. The constant work of Suu produced the kotodama U.

    The kotodama U, which is the origin of spirit as well as substance, divides into two and works as opposing forces which function independently. Each of these two functions has its own Mitama (spirit). One of these forces flows up and generates the kotodama A, while the other function falls to Earth and creates the kotodama O. With A going up and O going down an opposing force is created, and held together by Ki, an attraction is formed.

    Takamagahara ( high planes of heaven ) represents the universe. It teaches us what the law and order of the universe should be and how the gods reside within it. Everyone s family represents Takamagahara and each individual has Takamagahara within him\herself. All the elements of this universe constantly breathe and flux and live every moment of our lives. In other words, Takamagahara is the great celestial globe which has successfully accomplished its formation and wishes. It is the very origin of creation of heaven and earth. To come to understand the wishes of Takamagahara and pursue the tasks of the gods to satisfy their will is Aikido.

    Clarify the Ki of space, the Ki of the self-curdling island (Onogorojima), the Ki of the universe, and all the ways which mitama come into your body. Make all the breathings of the universe match your own. Use these lines as the law, and make them accomplish the mission of the universal heaven. The basic principle to pursue in each direction is called Aikido.

    Aikido should be the doctrine endowed by god to clarify the workings of the universe. The past, the present, and the future are the routes which the universe should follow. This includes the human body, as it has the universe within it. Purify the universe and harmonize it with the three worlds of the manifest, the spiritual, and that of the gods. Following this continually is Aikido.

    The core of the universal dynamism consists of 75 sounds. Each one of these sounds obeys three rules: triangle (Iku-musubi), circle (Taru-musubi), and square (Tamatsume-musubi).

    The kotodama, A, O, U, E, I, manifesting the mind of the Founding god ( Kuni no Katachi no Kami), interacting with the neutral god (Toyokumo no Kami), the functions of the Five gods came into being.

    When the eight powers interact with each other, the light, pure ones went up to the heavens, and the heavier, impure ones fell to the Earth. Each time the heavens and the Earth interacted, some functions fell to Earth, expanding it. This was done by the god of Tamatsume-musubi. With the three elements, Iku-musubi, Taru-musubi, and Tamatsume-musubi, influencing the process, the universe grew and continues to grow today. Aiki is this interaction and use of kotodama. It is the one spirit, four souls, three elements, and the eight powers.

    One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, one hundred, one thousand, one million, and the great Mitama of all These words represent the one spirit, four souls, three elements, and the eight powers. Ueshiba Sensei never failed to recite these words in his prayer before and after Aikido practice in order to teach us to assimilate ourselves within the universe. By doing so, we can produce techniques which make the three elements visible in the manifest world. Wishing for world peace, Ueshiba Sensei always preached that human beings are also a part of the universe.

    The Three Elements

    Ueshiba Sensei told us in his Dobun that the Three Elements are gas, liquid, and solid. After studying this for a long period of time, I came up with my interpretation for this. I think that these three elements are three stages. When O Sensei said gas, he wanted to tell you to match your breath with that of your opponent. Liquid indicates that you should absorb your opponent s strength. Solid implies that you should use your breath and perform the technique. In other words, in the gas stage we should lead our opponents with our Ki. In the liquid stage we should assimilate ourselves with our opponent. In the solid stage we gradually apply ourselves in the desired directions to complete the technique.

    The Four Souls

    Historically in Japan four separate aspects of functions of mitama have been recognized. The first is Kushimitama, or the heavens, which give light to all things in order to purify their KI. The second is Sachimitama, or the Earth, which lavishly provides and never expects anything in return. The active and valiant Aramitama, or fire, is indispensable for any type of development. The harmonious Nigimitama is the water that can flow anywhere and rules the Earth.

    The Eight Powers

    The eight powers are always contrastive to each other. Moving force and stopping force, dissolving force and curdling force, pulling force and releasing force, joining force and separating force, work actively in the universe to sustain life and the Earth. This is also true within ourselves, as we are part of the universe and have a universe within our bodies. I draw an analogy from the Ken-zen-ichi-jyo sword tactics which were written in the twelfth century. In Ken-zen-ichi-jyo we learn that if an opponent gives you his full 100% attack, you should receive the attack with zero. If he gives you 90% then you receive it with 10. 80-20 70-30 60-40 40-60 30-70 20-80 10- 90 0-100. I believe this is much easier to understand than the definitions given by O Sensei If we meet 100% with 100% we end up with a 50-50 connection and we cannot proceed with the desired function.

    Fire and water are two basic examples of the opposing powers. Fire naturally flows vertically, while water flows horizontally. Water puts out fire, and fire evaporates water.

    Many people ask about Aikido with relation to religion. I don t believe in religions because I know that history has seen a lot of conflicts among religions which have caused many great battles. Instead I believe in the god of fire and the god of water. It is such a simple concept that I wish people all over the world could come to support the idea.

    The final set of contrastive powers is positive and negative. When explaining these two forces I use the terms plus and minus.

    Correct breathing is critical to using these forces effectively. Take a breath as you pronounce A, O, U, E, I. Try to let your body learn to breathe the kotodama, and not your brain. In doing so you will not need commands from your brain to move as quickly as possible.

    In Aikido, zero (or nothingness) is necessary most of the time. Kokoro (heart and mind) is one thing while Ki is something else. Many people believe that they are identical, but it they are not. Heart and mind remain innocent for your entire life, while Ki is always fluctuating. You must purify yourself to become nothing. What you do in Aikido never fails to reflect the state of your Ki. If your Ki is clouded, you cannot accept or lead your opponent. I really hope that everyone can learn to master the Aikido that Ueshiba Sensei taught and lived.

    Published by: Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI

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