Aiki Shrine Kawara and Haiza Presented to Nippon Kan
On February 28th, 2003 Nippon Kan Kancho Gaku Homma visited Aikido Ibaragi Iwama dojo (Dojo Cho Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba) and the Aiki Shrine. Homma Sensei had traveled from Akita where Akita Aikikai Director Shigeru Kawabe Shihan had just passed away. He came to visit with Doshu’s deputy Ibaragi Iwama Dojo Cho, Hitohiro Saito Shihan and to pray at the Aiki Shrine for Kawabe Shihan’s passing.
Hitohiro Saito Shihan came to Denver this past February to instruct at the Memorial Seminar held in honor of his father, the late Morihiro Saito Shihan. The seminar was very successful, and Homma Sensei met with Hitohiro Sensei to have a follow-up meeting about the event. During this visit, Hitohiro Sensei presented Homma Sensei and Nippon Kan with a very special gift that had been kept by his father Morihiro Saito Shihan.
As
keeper of the Aiki Shrine after the Founder Morihei Ueshiba’s death, Morihiro Saito Shihan kept
the shrine in good condition and repair. Over the years, the original clay tile roof of the shrine began
to crumble with age. The roof was replaced with copper tiling. Saito Shihan kept some of tiles from the
original roof especially the decorative corner tiles which served to ward off evil spirits. These tiles
were formed with patterns shaped to symbolize the waves of the ocean and are called in Japanese; kawara. He
also kept parts of the original tatami mat floor covering, haiza when it was replaced many
years ago. Both of these had been parts of the original Aiki Shrine that was built by the Founder Ueshiba. Hitohiro Sensei presented Homma Sensei with two of the four original corner kawara and with a four-foot square of the original haiza as a gift from his father.
It is quite an honor for Nippon Kan to be the recipients of these historical artifacts, and they have been placed permanently on display on the Nippon Kan front altar.
