Thank you all for your help and support over the last year. We enjoyed training with all of you in 2020 (what little training there was before the world locked down for Covid-19), and we’re looking forward to restarting training with you all in the coming year!
Konjin – from Abe no Seimei’s Hoki Naiden (The Book of Yin and Yang)
2021 is the Year of the Ox (actually, the Metal Ox), promising success through hard effort (we can all hope).
The primary deity of Onisaburo Deguchi’s Omoto religion is also an “Ox” – “Ushitora no Konjin” (艮の金神), the “Ox-Tiger” kami who guards the North-East segment of the compass. Actually, Ushitora is a Daoist diety from Onmyodo – “The Way of Yin and Yang” – Sokaku Takeda’s grandfather Soemon was apparently a master of Onmyodo.
San-dai Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba at the Aiki Shrine in Iwama
Above you can see the twin banners that are displayed at the Aiki Shrine in Iwama during the Taisai (合気神社例大祭) each year in April, commemorating the passing of Morihei Ueshiba (at one time they also hung in the dojo itself).
“Ushitora (Imi-tsutsuchi) no Konjin” (艮鬼門大金神) on the right (traditionally representing the North-East) and “Hitsuji-saru (Imi-tsutsuchi) no Konjin” (坤鬼門大金神) on the left (traditionally representing the South-West).
Yin and Yang, representing stillness and motion:
静中触动动犹静 “Seek motion in stillness, seek stillness in motion.” The Taiji Classic – “Song of the 13 Postures”
動中静、静中動 “Stillness in motion, motion in stillness.” Seigo Yamaguchi Shihan, Aikido 9th Dan
静中の動。合気道の基本は此処に存するといわれている。 “Motion in stillness. It is said that here is the foundation of Aikido.” Ni-Dai Aikido Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba
静動一致 “The unity of calm and action.” (Official English translation – the Kanji read “stillness” and “motion”) Ki-Society Founder Koichi Tohei
Kokuzo Bosatsu, deity of wisdom and memory. Todaiji temple complex, Nara, Japan. 1709 CE.
There are eight Buddhist deities assigned to protect the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, and who work to protect the people born in those years. The Buddhist protector of the North-East, Ushitora no Konjin’s segment of the compass is Kokuzo Bosatsu, who is often pictured holding a wish granting jewel (如意宝珠 / chintāmani / nyoi-hōju) – a jewel said to have the power to produce whatever one desires.
The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom (大智度論 / Mahāprajñāpāramitā Upadeśa) states that this jewel can be obtained from the head of a Dragon King.
Coincidentally, Morihei Ueshiba believed the Dragon King to be the patron god of Aikido. Here Morihei Ueshiba is portrayed as the “Dragon King” (天之叢雲九鬼さむはら竜王). This portrait is said to represent the unification of stillness and motion – bringing us full circle (and isn’t Aikido supposed to be circular?).
Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba in front of a self portrait of himself as the Dragon King
We hope that you can find the wish granting jewel and that all of your wishes will be granted in 2021!
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou Happy New Year 明けましておめでとうございます!
Thank you all for your help and support over the last year. We enjoyed training with all of you in 2019, and we’re looking forward to even more great training with you all in the coming year!
The capstone to another year of training in Hawaii, in December 2019 the Sangenkai Hawaii intensive workshop once again attracted attendees from all over the world, with a large group Australia Sangenkai members as well as mainland, local and neighbor island Sangenkai members – continuing the tradition as the only workshops in Hawaii that command a regular international attendance.
And now I’d like to finish with some thoughts for the coming year in this statement published at the end of 2018 by Dan Harden, discussing Aiki, Shugyo, and his continuing relationship with Roy Goldberg Sensei, one of the highest ranking Daito-ryu instructors in the world:
Most people now know that Roy Goldberg and I resumed our training many years ago after a few years off.
We were training at my house all day today and realized this was our 28th year anniversary of knowing each other and training together. While we each took a different turn in our training under Kiyama shihan; Roy remained, pursuing aiki in kata traveling with Kiyama to Japan, staying at Kiyama’s home. We also trained privately with Kiyama in Roy’s home, year after year, with Roy eventually becoming Kiyama’s highest ranked student—indeed becoming one of the highest ranked Western practitioners in the world: receiving Kyoju Dairi and being awarded 7th Dan and the third scroll.
I remained, (perhaps true to my nature) in pursuit of the same aiki body, in MMA, Judo and grappling and tried to develop aiki-in freestyle and at speed. What a delight it was to come together again and discover where we each had gone and then continue blazing our trail together. Two friends in Shugyo.
What a surprise when Roy showed up with a gift. He had commissioned two rings to be made by a world renowned jeweler. They are hand carved figures of Fudo Myo-o. The very definition of his name expressing our mutual pursuit: “Esoteric training to achieve immovability.”
Without my knowledge Roy had offered—rooms full of people—his opinion of my direction, and a written a forward to my upcoming book. I had done the same about him both in public and on a private Daito Ryu website.
So today we thought we would celebrate our venture with the rings and our sharing our opinions about our two paths.
This was my opinion of Roy expressed to some rather frustrated students of Daito Ryu wondering why they never “got it.”:
It’s my understanding that quite a bit isn’t shown to ni-dans and san-dans and such.
There is quite a bit that comes later…if at all. I know you all practiced for years. Everyone practices, but not everyone is chosen. I don’t know why you weren’t shown, but stating what Aiki is or isn’t, by your personal experience as defining the entire art, is simply not a good plan.
We have spent years reading on many forums and in countless interviews done with Stan Pranin where Japanese Daito Ryu shihan openly stated that they did not teach the majority of their own students. Instead, they picked one or two “so that the secrets wouldn’t flow out of the school.” (more on that later).
For that reason any of you making statements that “I don’t think this or that is in the art, because I wasn’t shown it and haven’t seen it.” Is rather ridiculous at face value and can have serious logic flaws.
For starters it can be seen and can be mimicked without actually getting it.
Teaching?
Remember Takeda and Tokimune saying repeatedly that “they showed different things to different people in different places?”
What do you think you get when you ask those people what they think the art….is?
Remember Tokimune and Sagawa admitting that they never taught their ENTIRE school the true art?
Weird huh? Imagine being an insider, being the secretary or president of Tokimune’s organization and finding out thirty years later he was actually only teaching Kondo… Who many considered AN OUTSIDER??? That wasn’t even a regular member of the dojo. That really happened.
I think you need to consider who else might have done that.
Teaching inconsistencies:
Sagawa taught a lot about solo training, and breath work, then claimed he didn’t!!
Kodo practiced Aiki-in-yo-ho breath work and solo training.
So did the Inoue So did Takuma Hisa So did Okabayashi. So did Tokimune So does Goldberg So do I
Much of which, Daito ryu People on forums have claimed didn’t even exist.
We need to finally accept that there are levels of teaching in Daito Ryu not available to all.
There was in the end, a benefit to becoming Kyoju Dairi,
In Goldberg’s case, we sat at countless dinner tables, and on mats all over New England hearing Kiyama state over and over that Goldberg is his number one student. Indeed when Goldberg received the third scroll, Kiyama openly stated that “Roy had single handedly changed his mind. That now he could see westerners were capable of true shugyo.” This, while expressing dismay, that most of his students never really pursued the same path. Roy, and Danny Kiyama discussed much of this recently.
I was proud of seeing what my friend had accomplished after all these years. I was also surprised to hear of Kiyama’s decision to put in the paperwork for Roy’s Shihan, and Roy, summarily leaving Japan.
When I asked him why one night at one of our favorite watering holes. He told me: “Our philosophies were different. I felt it was necessary to spread this art to *real* Shugyo people. I have seen, first hand on many trips to Japan, the Kodokai shrinking, both in Japan and the United States and this once magnificent art could die. And all my teachers efforts could be in vain. As so many teachers have said “only teach one or two….so that the secrets wouldn’t flow out of the school.” I think times have changed and we need to teach, or this art will continue to fade. Interestingly, Roy had recently received a letter from one of the leading Kodokai Shihans in Japan, supporting his efforts and decision. Stating: “I watched you and found your skills quite impressive. I support and am anticipating your future activities.”
Roy’s forward:
Dan is one of the best Martial Artists I have ever encountered. And I know that not just from a couple of seminars but some 28 years of training together in Daito Ryu. With his obsession to Shugyo, he has brought the combat part of Daito Ryu alive again. His internal power and aiki is pulled from another era. His approach reflects people like Sagawa and Takeda who took on any challenger
I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the leading martial artists in Aikido, Tai Chi Karate, Judo and classical jujutsu and Daito Ryu, none was able to create such soft power. Call it internal power or aiki or however you want to analyze it, he’s got it.
Being a Physical Therapist for 45 years, I have tried to understand many of the aspects of Daito Ryu and realized it never helped me on the mat. Kiyama Shihan would always say “Goldberg! It’s in the Shugyo! Computer never understand! Do Shugyo. You decide.”
Many people may say “Well Dan is a just a big guy, that’s why he hits with such power.” But, these are only people who have never touched him. What he does is both powerful and soft and a true expression of Aiki, at speed, force on force, in a way I’ve never seen. I have also had the privilege of watching Dan tossing Shihan across the room with little effort. Many of these Shihan, are presently training with Dan. We must applaud Dan Harden Sensei for the depths he went to, to find this.”
On this anniversary we wanted to recognize the different paths we took, and help those who were unaware we were training together privately. And now for the first time to openly share our research in Aiki-in-yo-ho, the creation of the aiki body, the one true power in Daito Ryu. And also acknowledge each others work, the future of the art and share our plans to work together in the future.
So many talk…..
We are continuing to spread the essence of this magnificent art in both the United States and internationally, to those like us… In pursuit of true shugyo.
Katsushika Hokusai the goddess Marishiten riding a boar
— Hau’oli Makahiki Hou — Happy New Year — 明けましておめでとうございます …and much Aloha!
Thank you all for your help and support over the last year. We enjoyed training with all of you in 2018, and we’re looking forward to even more great training with you all in the coming year!
February 2018 Sangenkai Intensive Workshop in Hawaii
In 2018 our Sangenkai intensive workshop attracted attendees from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Sweden, the mainland USA, Sweden and our local and neighbor island Sangenkai members as well as a large group of New Zealand and Australia Sangenkai members, continuing our tradition as the only Aikido group in Hawaii to hold workshops that command a regular international attendance.
At the top of this page is the goddess Marishiten (摩利支天) pictured as a wrathful demon riding a boar (for 2019 🙂 ) . Marishiten is an esoteric Buddhist deity closely associated with the warrior tradition in Japan. Esoteric Buddhist practices were very popular in many Japanese warrior traditions – and for Sokaku Takeda and Morihei Ueshiba as well.
A section of Tokimune Takeda’s private notes on his father Sokaku’s teachings on the Kuji-kiri and esoteric Buddhist disciplines
“If you don’t research the Kuji Kiri you won’t understand Aikido.” – Aikido Shihan Sadateru Arikawa
Esoteric Buddhist references abound in Tokimune Takeda’s notes of his father Sokaku’s instruction – and no less in Morihei Ueshiba’s lectures, but before we go too far, I should mention that this is not about religion, strictly speaking, but about martial training – about a system of visualization and imagery that goes back through China to India and has deep roots in Asian martial systems because…it works, and works rather well. It works so well that modern athletes and Olympic champions now use imagery and visualization in their day-to-day training.
Hiroshi Tada demonstrates the Kuij mudra Rin
“When one looks at O-Sensei’s Doka and other writings they might think that they are related to Shinto, but they actually contain the teachings of Shingon esoteric Buddhism.” – Aikido Shihan Hiroshi Tada
Morihei Ueshiba using the Kuji mudra
Another esoteric Buddhist deity that figures prominently in the warrior tradition is Fudo Myo-o, the “Immovable Wisdom” that represents an important principle of training in the Asian martial traditions, but is often badly misunderstood. Attached below is an essay by Dan Harden on the subject of Fudo Myo-o (originally posted on e-Budo, but edited for clarity as a stand-alone essay) – I hope that it will prove thought provoking and useful to your training in 2019. Happy New Year!
The Narita-san Fudo, associated with Morihei Ueshiba’s teacher Sokaku Takeda by Utagawa Kunisada
Fudo myo-o (Acala vidya) is a training paradigm that has lasted for millennia to create truly powerful skills. That it is being reduced to the lowest common denominator by modern martial artists, sport science, military personnel and cops is really no surprise. While we all agree on the mental aspect of training – more so in force-on-force or life threatening situations circumventing or at least dealing with an adrenaline dump aspect of training, to remain both calm and focused – the concept is far deeper than any of that.
It was the connection of the mind to control the body that led to a higher level learning that has existed for millennia. Trying to equate and more so -reduce it to just being a lower level training of mental focus in combatives is just simply wrong.
Okay, then…. mental focus under duress. Got it. Got anything else? Anything at all? No? Why? Most people simply haven’t a clue about anything else. No harm, no foul, But it is what it is. Some have some initial understanding of this type of training, but little actual skill in using it. Which bears out in their inability to demonstrate an enhanced mind/ body cultivation either in their arts or bodies. It’s either very, very hard or rather easy, to defend in person. It is interesting that the training models to produce immovability are still extant though not widely known, none of which I have seen incorporate the unshakable combative mindset idea. That..is different, rather they focus on the mind/body. One example is the hara or dantian: As one internal Chinese martial arts powerhouse who taught in Japan said. “Aiki? Where is yin? Where is Yang? How can there BE…aiki? You cannot pretend daintian, you will be found out!”
While I have seen better movement from a few Japanese teachers, as of yet I have never met a single person in Aikido, Daito ryu or Koryu who HAS a center, much less sophisticated use of one. Thus discussion of moving “from one” becomes a total waste of time. It would take years from initial meetings to have them start to actually create and move FROM one, forget a meaningful dialogue.
What remains is that there still exists people who know it and train this material. They are just exceedingly difficult to find and come in various knowledge and skill levels.
What are they training?
The immovable body as a concept.
All of the trade names and acumen for this work have existed for generations and have managed to survive direct translations from culture to culture, with the same terminology and practices used from Tibet to India to China and Japan as well as to specific family Indonesian arts. One would first have to know the terminology, and the practices to understand why the common phrasing is a base line. Once that is done, we can see the uses of common terminology and models from Tibet to internal Chinese martial arts, to Japan; the founder of Shinto ryu and other Koryu to Daito ryu on to Ueshiba’s aikido. Himself using trademark terminology of six directions, the working of attraction point between yin and yang, Aiki being the working of the two ki’s as heaven/earth/man. Ages old material. From B.C.E. to 2019.
Immovability… as a name?
Here we have just another example with Acala Vidya to Fudo Myo-o.
Acala vidya or Fudo Myo-o makes perfect sense – as it is written. “Esoteric training to achieve immovability.”
It makes no sense what-so-ever to call a person, deity or statue….an “esoteric practice!”
Why bring in vidya, as in prana vidya (esoteric training to work ki or chi), or Myo or Mikkyo?
Why?
Why mention a training when you were talking about a deity or person?
Because you were not! You were talking about a training concept and methodology.
The mention of a training, an esoteric one at that, is not an imagined state. Which in itself is nice little escape. What a convenient way to equalize all efforts.
”This is my fudo shin.”
“MY…imagined state.”
“You can’t challenge my imagined state….”
Yet we can challenge an understanding of the real concepts. And why can we? For the simple reason that the thrust of this in the ancient world had teeth. It had a profound physical training model behind it that produced physical, real world results for what feels like immovability and power. Not just being strong willed against adversity.
Another example for imagined versus real results are in simple but well known models;
I do this with yogi’s in mountain pose. They can get knocked over with a finger rather easily. Then, I show them an example of “the esoteric training to achieve immovability” behind it and surprise of surprises in about 5 minutes flat…they feel? Well…sort of like a mountain.
I wonder why they called it…. mountain pose?
I leave them to choose. You can teach:
Lift your heart chakra to the sun yoginis
or
Use it to be stable and feel strong….like a mountain.
It is the same with downward dog and other postures.
I dunno…maybe words have meaning. Maybe some ancient practices actually are defensible and others are just what they are…simply imagined states.
Why Acala vidya? Why esoteric training that produces immovability? Uhm…because it did, and does and was tracked and trained and discussed and actually useful for real people not living in an imagined state. As stated, it simply makes a direct causal link that it was the training to achieve something profound in many warrior cultures that also had health benefits as well as power that gave name to the concept.
Why was it not the norm?
The oft told tale of training in the mountains, training in temples, warrior monks being unusually powerful, has existed for thousands of years. Mind/ body training has been consistently trained solo, many times in isolation and tested and practiced in small groups.
First and foremost it was for a mental control of the body to do unusual things that were powerful and out of the norm. That training created different outcomes in combatives that in and of themselves, were forces not normal for an opponent to face, or normal to react to.
As well, the adepts at it generated unusual effects to forces on them. So… OODA loops for the opponent? They went out the window.
This was but a couple of examples of many reasons why the training has lasted for millennia. For those who can actually do it instead of just talk, it truly made a palpable difference on contact. The mind body training has created giants in budo and we in turn, look at the giants and follow them, instead of the training. Hence….the majority continue to suck and the giants remain, well, the giants.
In the dawning of our present age which I call “the age of distraction” higher level, mind/body physical training has proven to just be too much for the instant gratification crowd. Why spend countless hours perfecting a tank like body that is all but impossible to throw and with the ability to hit like truck? Go do techniques. Most modern budo people have dismissed or rewritten history to discount this profound training and reflect their stupefyingly ignorant penchant for banging into each other with fists, legs, bodies, and more so sticks, swords and any things else they can get their hands on.
It hasn’t gone away. It is just starting to come out to the public. Those so inclined are discovering the arts did have secrets all along. It wasn’t B.S. and they do have worth. It is why they have lasted for eons. Hard physical work is required.
NOT flinching from a battlefield environment or being focused in a fight…was not it. Not that there is anything wrong with that. As I asked before:
Okay. On that we agree. Got anything else? Anything at all that it could mean? No? They did!
Happy New Year of the Dog 2018 from the Aikido Sangenkai!
Thank you all for your help and support over the last year. 2017 was a great year of training, and we’re looking forward to even more great training with you all in the coming year!
The past year has seen the number of articles on the Aikido Sangenkai blog pass the 150 mark, with more articles translated into more than fifteen languages. For the coming year, our Sangenkai workshop for February 2018 has registered attendees from Japan, Korea, the mainland USA, Sweden and our local and neighbor island Sangenkai members as well as a large group of New Zealand and Australia Sangenkai members coming for a special intensive workshop in addition to the regular workshop, making the Aikido Sangenkai the only Aikido group in Hawaii to hold regular workshops with an international attendance.
三千世界 一度に開く 梅の花 二度の岩戸は 開かれにけり
In three thousand worlds The plum blossoms Open all at once – The stone door will Open a second time.
As you can see on our New Year’s card above, Morihei Ueshiba often described Aikido as the “second opening of the stone door”. But what about the first opening, and why was it related to Aikido? For the answers to that one – check out this post about last year’s New Year’s card.
On this year’s nengajo we have the first sun of the year (初日の出) rising over Mt. Fuji. The tradition of viewing the first rising sun of the year is also linked to the story of the stone door and the reappearance of Ama-terasu Omikami in the world.
Which leads us to our thought for the coming year – a frequently cited quote from the Founder (actually a paraphrase of a Chinese proverb which has its roots in India – which demonstrates the pervasive nature of the idea across nations and cultures), from Aikido Tankyu #29:
There are many paths to the peak of Mt. Fuji, but they all end at a single destination. That is, the path to love. Everyone has different methods of training, but they all arrive at the same destination. The martial arts of Japan are in no way the paths towards war, struggle or conflict. They are the paths which all people can take with joy as brothers and sisters.
— Hau’oli Makahiki Hou — Happy New Year — 明けましておめでとうございます …and much Aloha!
Thank you all for your help and support over the last year.
We had a great time training with everybody in 2016, and we’re looking forward to even more of us getting to train together in the coming year!
Can you spot the rooster on our New Year’s card? The illustration here is from the cover of “Budo”, a 1933 (2593 in Imperial Time) publication of the Dai-Nippon Budo Senyokai (大日本武道宣揚会) and Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba. As with 2017, 1933 was also the year of the rooster.
Under the Dai-Nippon Budo Senyokai (大日本武道宣揚会) banner Morihei Ueshiba (left) with Sumiko and Onisaburo Deguchi in 1932 Aritoshi Murashige standing back right
The cover’s main theme is the opening of the stone door. As we can see on our New Year’s card above, Morihei Ueshiba often described Aikido as the “second opening of the stone door”. But what about the first opening?
The first opening of the stone door (sometimes the “stone door of heaven” / 天の岩戸) refers to a story from the Kojiki – the 8th century “Record of Ancient Matters that forms the basis for Japanese Shinto and was often referred to by Morihei Ueshiba.
The Stone Door in the Kojiki 1. The behavior of the deity Susa-no-o (his ‘victory rage’ at having beaten the Sun Goddess Ama-terasu in the contest to make oaths and bear children – one of whom was Masakatsu-agatsu katsu hayabi), led to one of the most famous events in the whole mythology. Ama-terasu opened Ame-no-iwa-ya-to [Heavenly Rock Cave Door] and shut herself inside. This had a similar effect to that of the howling rage of Susa-no-o, mentioned above. ‘Myriad deities appeared like summer flies’, it was constant night, and ‘all manner of calamities arose’. The deities (there were ya-ho-yorozu-no-kami [many myriads of deities – in modern Japanese, eight million] at this point) held a meeting in the riverbed of the Ame-no-yasu-gawa [Heavenly Tranquil River] and gathered the cocks of Toko-yo [eternal world]. (This land is thought to be the home of the earthly deities and corresponds to the Takama-no-hara, where the heavenly deities dwelt. The cocks were made to crow in order to summon the sun at dawn.) The deities called upon the counseling services of Omoi-kane-no-kami [Thought Combining Deity], to make a good decision, and then took decisive steps to deal with this unprecedented situation, which the Kojiki describes in exhaustive detail.
2. The deities first took hard rock from the river Ame-no-yasu-gawa and iron from Ame-no-kana-yama [Heavenly Gold/Metal Mountain] and enlisted the services of Ama-tsu-mara [Heavenly Blacksmith] and a mirror maker, named Ishi-kori-dome-no-mikoto [Stone Cutting Noble Deity]. Another deity, Tama-no-ya-no-mikoto [Jewel Ancestor Deity], was commissioned to make a long string of maga-tama beads and two other deities were commissioned to perform futo-mani [solemn divination]. These deities were Ame-no-ko-yane-no-mikoto [Heavenly Baby/Little Roof Lord] and Futo-tama-no-mikoto [Solemn Jewel/Spirit Lord]. They removed the whole shoulder bone of a deer from Ame-no-kana-yama, produced some hahaka [cherry or birch] wood and performed this ritual (which was similar to the ritual performed when Izanagi and Izanami failed at their first attempts to produce children). The two deities then pulled out a sakaki tree by the roots. The strings of maga-tama beads were attached to the upper branches and the giant mirror was hung from the middle branches. White and blue cloth was hung from the lower branches. Finally, Futo-tama-no-mikoto somehow held these objects in his hands, while his colleague Ame-no-ko-yane-no-mikoto intoned futo-norito-goto [solemn chanting]. Another deity, Ame-no-Ta-jikara-o-no-kami [Heavenly Hand Strength Male Deity] stood behind the door, while Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto [Heavenly Formidable Female Deity] became divinely possessed by turning over a bucket and stamping on it, with ma-saki vine in her hair and bundles of sasa leaves in her hands, and exposing her breasts and genitals. Then Takama-no-hara ‘shook’, ‘as all the eight hundred myriad deities laughed at once.’
3. This elaborate ceremony had the required effect, for Ama-terasu opened the door a tiny crack and wondered aloud why Ame-no-uzume was singing and dancing and all the deities were laughing. Ame-no-uzume responded that they had found a deity superior to Ama-terasu. At which point Ame-no-ko-yane and Futa-tama brought the mirror and showed it to Ama-terasu. As the latter approached the mirror, Ame-no-Ta-jikara pulled her out and Futa-tama extended a rope behind her, saying, “You can go back no further than this”. Light was restored to the Takama-no-hara and to Ashi-hara-no-naka-tsu-kuni [Central Land of the Reed Plains = Japan].
In the Kojiki, this is the story of how the light of Ama-terasu returns to the world. Certainly a good thing for all concerned. 🙂 It’s also said (by some) to be the origin of clapping at Shinto shrines – in order to attract the attention of the god in the cave.
The Gods Izanagi and Izanami on the Floating Bridge of Heaven from the series “An Illustrated History of Japan” by Utagawa Hiroshige, circa 1847-1852 – Honolulu Academy of Arts
Moving on, we can see that Morihei Ueshiba stated that the “second opening of the stone door is the Floating Bridge of Heaven”. Conversely, one could therefore say that since “Aikido” = “second opening of the stone door” and “second opening of the stone door” = “the Floating Bridge of Heaven” that “Aikido” = “the Floating Bridge of Heaven”. Fortunately, we don’t have to do that…because Morihei Ueshiba already did:
合気道は「天の浮橋に立たされて」ということである。
It is said that Aikido is “Standing on the Floating Bridge of Heaven”.
We examined the Floating Bridge a little bit in “Aikido and the Floating Bridge of Heaven“, where we saw that the Floating Bridge (with the opposing forces of Yin and Yang, Heaven and Earth, represented as the gods Izanagi and Izanami) is actually a form of the classic “Ten-chi-jin” (“Heaven-Earth-Man”) model that is so common in Chinese martial arts – the Yang of Heaven and the Yin of Earth united in Man:
合気道は天地人和合の道と理なり。
“Aikido is the Way and Principle of harmonizing Heaven, Earth and Man.”
As a side note, the three elements that are modeled by the Floating Bridge make up Morihei Ueshiba’s “Sangen” (as in the “Sangenkai“) – the basic elements of the Universe, and the basic elements of his training method. In any case, he was repetitive about the importance of the Floating Bridge:
この道は、天の浮橋に最初に立たなければならないのです。天の浮橋に立たねば合気は出て来ないのです。
In the Way, you must first stand on the Floating Bridge of Heaven. If you do not stand on the Floating Bridge of Heaven then Aiki will not come forth.
So…moving from the the unification of opposites (Yin and Yang, In and Yo, Heaven and Earth) to the stone door…
△○□の鍛練、引力の養成により光と熱と力を生ず
The training of the triangle/circle/square and the training of connective force begets heat and light and power.
I should note here that Morihei Ueshiba stated that the triangle/circle/square is another way of modeling the Floating Bridge, and that the “connective force” that he’s talking about here is the force that joins opposing forces. The training of that connective force, by the way, was something called “Takemusu” (as in “Takemusu Aiki” – more here…) by the Founder.
In other words, “standing on the Floating Bridge of Heaven”, a training method that unites opposing forces in the body”, creates heat, light and power – physical power, internal power, martial power.
The Gods Izanagi and Izanami on the Floating Bridge of Heaven