Hitohira Saito Kaicho has recently issued a Notice to the attention of every member of Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai to preserve the dignity of the legacy of his father and former Aikikai Aikido Shihan & Iwama Dojo-cho, late Morihiro Saito Shihan (hereafter, ‘Morihiro Shihan’).
Although I am not a member of Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai, I totally agree with the Notice, and I would like to share my view in this letter from the position of a third party and also as a Budo-ka who endorses and supports what the Notice says.
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First of all, let me tell you my viewpoint while sharing stories from when the Founder of Aikido was well and when Morihiro Shihan was working for the Japan National Railways (presently known as the Japan Railways Group, aka JR) while not only continuing his ‘keiko’ in Aikido under the Founder of Aikido but also helping him, along with me, as his long-time disciple.
There is one point I would like to raise to everyone’s attention. Under the current COVID-19 pandemic, many, many people throughout the world are experiencing and enduring varying degrees of difficulties.
Under the current circumstances, Aikidoists have been under tremendous limitations to continue practicing at their dojo, especially when it’s prudent to maintain social distancing guidelines as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, many dojos have not only shifted from practicing inside to practicing outside but also started to focus more on practicing Jo & Bokken techniques.
In fact, many instructors (or self-proclaimed instructors) have recorded their embu performance of “Jo movements” known as the “31 Jo Kata” with narrations and posted them on Social Networking Sites. Some embu performances look to have been recorded in the dining or living rooms of their houses while there were recordings of live-streaming, seemingly broadcasted from the backyards of their homes.
While some of those video clips are quite impressive with very elaborate explanations and keen attention to details, almost all of them neglect to include a very important fact. That is: “Where did the “31 Jo Kata” originate?”
Just like copying masterpiece paintings without referencing the original painters or playing pieces of music without any mention of the original lyricists or composers, posting one’s embu-performance of the “31 Jo Kata” in public is like posting a copy of the original piece of art in public, and hence, it’s not only prudent and courteous, but also perhaps dutiful for any Budo-ka to respect the inventor by referencing the origin of a set of martial art techniques like the “31 Jo Kata”, especially when a Budo-ka embu-performs it in public.
As you all know, the rights of inventors and artists for their inventions and art pieces are protected by the patents and copyrights that are granted, and the protections & rights are not limited to famous artists like Vincent van Gogh, Auguste Renoir, or Ludwig van Beethoven. Nonetheless, in most instances, it’s a reality that no embu-performer has ever given credit where credit is due.
Such a trend is not limited to the “31 Jo Kata”, and the same phenomenon is often seen for the practice forms of Kumi Jo, Kumi Tachi, or even Suburi. I cannot help but think that nobody among embu-performers on Social Networking Sites is aware of the contributions and accomplishments of Morihiro Shihan who had been not only influential but deeply & directly involved with the process of developing these practice forms, while almost all of those embu-performers are able to call these practice forms with the proper names.
Additionally, it’s not seldom to find and see video clips on Social Networking Sites in which ken-jutsu movements from Iaido or other styles that have nothing to do with Aikido are mixed in as if they are a part of Aikido, only to lead to misunderstanding and confusion toward Japanese traditional cultures under the current uncertain circumstances stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
These phenomena did not start after the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have actually been feeling very fruitless and frustrated by these trends for quite some time.
Not only do I want anyone who regards oneself as a disciple of Morihiro Shihan to have proper knowledge and experience to nurture a keen insight to separate what is authentic from what is not authentic and to acknowledge only what is genuine, but I also want all of you to continue your endeavor day-in & day-out in the practice of Aikido while keeping due emphasis on the traditions from the past while paying respect to the long and winding path of the history of Aikido, as well as to the great achievements left by Morihiro Shihan, the great predecessor.
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What follows from here, albeit a bit lengthy, are stories from when I was younger, and it is very much what I want to convey to anybody who regard oneself as a disciple of Morihiro Shihan, especially to those who are in the position of instructing.
Some of the anecdotes are, as previously mentioned, from when the Founder of Aikido was still well & active and when Morihiro Shihan was working for the Japan National Railways (presently known as the Japan Railways Group, aka JR) while not only continuing his ‘keiko’ in Aikido under the Founder of Aikido but helping him, along with me, as his long-time disciple.
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It was when the Founder of Aikido was having a breakfast one morning…
That morning, the Founder of Aikido had done the daily morning routine to pray at the inner sanctuary of Aiki Shrine and pray to the Amaterasu-sama (i.e. the Shinto sun goddess) and the Oinari-sama (i.e. the Shinto kami of general prosperity) before paying his respect to the Dojo, and if he were to follow the daily routine, he would go home to his living room, but instead, he decided to walk toward a vegetable field.
By the way, the Founder of Aikido was always in formal attire to visit the places of worship, and the ritual was very important and special, although done daily, for him to carry out the routine every day to pray and worship. Therefore, it was highly unusual, almost to the point of being impossible, for him to go to a vegetable field while still in formal attire.
At that time of the year, there was a group of college students on the dojo property who had come for a training camp in Aikido, and they usually went running in town in order not to bother the Founder of Aikido during his daily morning routine of prayers. They came back soon after the Founder of Aikido had started eating breakfast to start practicing Bokken & Jo movements in the open area in front of Aiki Shrine under the guidance of Morihiro Shihan.
While it was always very difficult to time it right as to when the Founder of Aikido would finish the morning routine, it was totally unexpected for the Founder of Aikido to go directly toward a vegetable field while still in formal attire that day after having finished the morning ritual.
Kikuno-san (Deceased. Her maiden name was Kikuno Yamamoto. She was a housekeeper to the Founder of Aikido & his wife, and she was also an uchideshi for she was practicing Aikido.) had to go back to make breakfast after the prayer session at Aiki Shrine every morning, and I had the duty as “Osobatsuki” for the remainder of his morning ritual.
A person in the role of “Osobatsuki” would follow the Founder of Aikido by a few steps while remaining on alert at all times for when he may call for you.
By the way, while large azaleas had been planted where it used to be a vegetable field, those azaleas were transplanted from elsewhere as part of the re-organization of the layout of the property after the demise of the Founder of Aikido. Also, many different vegetables were planted in a field closer to the Dojo, and peanuts were usually planted in a field farther away from the Dojo.
As I kept following him in the vegetable field, I kept thinking to myself, “Where is he going? What does he have to do wherever he is going?”, and when he came to a stop, he then quietly started looking from on the other side of a forest at Morihiro Shihan who was teaching a group of college students Buki Wazas (weapons techniques).
After a while, the Founder of Aikido decided to go home, and I witnessed quite a memorable remark at the breakfast table. (Believe it or not, the size of the dining table we were using was about 90cm x 50cm with foldable legs. Four of us, i.e. the Founder of Aikido & his wife, and Kikuno and I were eating breakfast at the table together. In short, the Founder of Aikido was eating meals every day right in front of me.
Out of blue, the Founder of Aikido said with a smile on his face to Hatsu-sama, his wife, “Saito, he is doing well in his ‘keiko’.”
I can never forget the remark expressed by the Founder of Aikido.
After a while, Morihiro Shihan came to see the Founder of Aikido and greet him, “I have just finished a ‘keiko’ session. Thank you for the opportunity.” I still vividly remember the smile the Founder of Aikido had on his face toward Morihiro Shihan, while nodding as if giving Morihiro Shihan a gesture of his approval. (Morihiro Shihan always came to see the Founder of Aikido to greet him before and after every practice session, whether it was a practice outside or a practice in the Dojo. He would report starting a class by saying something like, “I am about to begin teaching a ‘keiko’ session. I appreciate the opportunity”, or he had just finished teaching a class with a phrase like “I just finished teaching a ‘keiko’ session. Thank you for the opportunity.”)
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The most important project for Aikikai was underway during the later years of the Founder of Aikido. The project was to build a new dojo building at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo. Many board members of the Hombu Dojo, many Shihans and instructors as well as regional directors and students across Japan were paying attention to the progress of the construction of a new Hombu Dojo in Tokyo.
Back then, the Founder of Aikido was still living at his home in Iwama, and he was experiencing certain symptoms from the aging process that many elderly people may not be able to easily avoid experiencing. And Morihiro Shihan and his wife, who had been dedicated to helping the Founder of Aikido in various ways, were at times having to make certain adjustments to accommodate the changing needs of the Founder of Aikido.
While I intentionally avoid detailed descriptions of how the Founder of Aikido was in those days because this is of a very personal nature to the Founder of Aikido, key people at Aikikai Hombu seemed to have a certain idea of how much time was left for ‘a lonely & old Budo-ka’, and they were so focused on completing the construction of a new Aikikai Hombu Dojo while the Founder of Aikido was still relatively well that almost none of them gave a thought about how lonely the Founder of Aikido was spending his time in Iwama.
Although there are still a number of Shihans who brag by saying “I used to blah, blah, blah… with the Founder of Aikido!” (though many of them are no longer with us), very, very few Shihans or instructors came to Iwama to pay a visit to the Founder of Aikido on a regular basis back then. On the rare occasions when someone came to visit, the visitor(s) would ask Morihiro Shihan, Kikuno-san, or I about how the Founder of Aikido was doing, and depending on the answer provided, the visitor(s) would leave behind offerings to Aiki Shrine (it was usually a bottle of sake, aka ‘nihonshu’ and a tamagushi, i.e. a form of Shinto offering made from a sakaki-tree branch decorated with shide strips of washi paper, silk, or cotton with an amount of money in it) before heading back without greeting the Founder of Aikido.
Under such circumstances, it was Morihiro Shihan who had not only gravely worried about the possibility of the disappearance of the weapons techniques (i.e. Buki Wazas) of the Founder of Aikido but also seen the need for him not only to learn and inherit the Buki Wazas from the Founder of Aikido, but to organize them by adding a framework and a structure.
For example, Morihiro Shihan organized and structured not only what he had directly learned from the Founder of Aikido through his constant & consistent days of ‘keiko’ with the Founder of Aikido, but also what he had seen from the Founder of Aikido in his various embu-performances during his worship rituals at the Shrine, to come up with the “31 Jo Kata”, which is learned and practiced by you and many other Aikidoists today.
Just like a dictionary can only be assembled as a result of both having organized the meanings of a huge amount of words and having added explanations, it was Morihiro Shihan who organized various ‘wazas’, which the Founder of Aikido had dedicated himself to practice and master day-in & day-out, in easy-to-understand formats. Furthermore, it was also Morihiro Shihan who taught these ‘wazas’ while remaining true to how he had learned them from the Founder of Aikido to his students throughout the world with a clear intention to pass those ‘wazas’ onto the next generations as well as to preserve them. Morihiro Shihan is the father of Hitohira Sensei, the current Kaicho, i.e. Chairperson, of Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai.
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Why and how can I affirm what I have written thus far?
It’s because I have written records of various remarks by Morihiro Shihan from 1997 when he came to Denver, U.S.A. for the third time for a seminar.
The seminar was quite successful with nearly 500 participants, and a small group of us, including Morihiro Shihan, were enjoying each other’s company at a private party at my home on the night of the last day after the successful end of the seminar. I started writing down what Morihiro Shihan was talking about with the late Stanley Pranin, then editor-in-chief of Aikido Journal, as they became more talkative with help from cups of sake. I have kept these memos ever since that day. Therefore, I can affirm what I’ve written thus far.
In fact, let me share with you a few key points of what was said that night.
“Currently, there is no one at the Hombu (Aikikai) who has inherited the weapons techniques (i.e. Buki Wazas) from the Founder of Aikido.
Unless I take it on, there is nobody else.
However, it was rather out of the question, out of my respect as well as out of my fear, for a disciple like me to even attempt to organize his master’s ‘wazas’. I also thought to myself that I could learn and inherit the ‘wazas’ from him, but it would be extremely difficult to pass them onto future generations, and given this thought process, I decided to capture what I have learned & mastered and what I will learn from the Founder of Aikido in photos and catalog them.
The best way would have been to take photos of the Founder of Aikido himself, but the idea alone of a disciple holding a camera at his master to take photos of him was so outrageous that it was totally out of the question.
Although there are people who brag about the photo(s) they have with the Founder of Aikido that were taken in Iwama, the fact is I used to ask the Founder of Aikido, when he was in a good mood, to come and stand in front of the camera as a courtesy service for some visitors who came to visit Aiki Shrine and practice (at the Iwama Dojo).
So the bottom line is those who were closest to the Founder of Aikido do not have photos with him.
Especially so, I learned the ‘wazas’ from the Founder of Aikido while remaining true to the movements of his ‘wazas’ so that I could reproduce them to be captured in photos.
While there was no ill intent on my part, given the (health) conditions he was under at that time, there was no way for me to ask him ‘the rudest and the most outrageous request’ to ‘record and catalog the wazas’. I didn’t hesitate to take the trouble to go to a few different places like Mt. Atago (Note: less than 7 km or 4.5 miles away from Aiki Shrine) to carry out photoshoots in secret.
After a tremendous amount of effort, the 5-series instruction book with photos called “Aikido: Principles of Ken, Jo & Taijutsu” (also known as “Traditional Aikido, Vol.1 ~ 5”) were published from Minato Research & Publishing Company in the early 1970’s.
Then, after the demise of the Founder of Aikido, new instructional guidelines for Aikikai Aikido were set in place that centered on Taijutsu with less emphasis on Buki Wazas (i.e. weapons techniques).
Why?
Back then, a majority, if not all, of the instructors (most of whom later became Shihans) who were dispatched to go abroad by the Hombu had not practiced the Buki Wazas of the Founder of Aikido. Therefore, the Hombu started to criticize those who had been an uchideshi at Iwama and went back to their home countries as the ones who were disrupting the norms of Aikido, and as I was going around to visit former Iwama uchideshis, the Hombu also labeled me as the leading cause of confusions.
Nevertheless, I was solemnly aware of the duty I had taken upon myself not only to inherit ‘the wazas’, especially the Buki Wazas, of the Founder of Aikido, but to pass them on to future generations. Out of my wish to preserve them by passing them onto future generations, I had chosen to sow many seeds and award those who have excelled with certificates to maintain a level of quality, in other words, to have the Wazas of the Founder of Aikido disseminated and passed on with high levels of technical integrity.”
What is written above is according to what I wrote down & preserved that night.
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Morihiro Shihan started studying under the Founder of Aikido in 1946, and not only had he continued his ‘keiko’ directly with and under the Founder of Aikido for the next 23 years until the demise of the Founder of Aikido, he, along with his wife, also helped the Founder of Aikido in various ways. Moreover, not only had Morihiro Shihan fulfilled the duty as the guardian of Aiki Shrine until 2002, but he was also an Aikikai Aikido Shihan who had attained the rank of 9th dan. After the demise of the Founder of Aikido, Morihiro Shihan started traveling abroad, more often & more actively than previously done, to visit his students and to teach, and he was welcomed with big and warm reactions everywhere he visited; however, it was ironic that in proportion to the number of positive reactions he received during his seminars abroad, the number of complaints by instructors and Shihans from the Hombu, who could not teach the Buki Wazas, erupted, often ‘simply because they could not teach the Buki Wazas’. For those instructors and Shihans from the Hombu, if they could not teach what their students sought after, it would mean they would lose their students and, in turn, they would lose the means to make a living.
(By the way, please find a tribute that I authored about Morihiro Shihan on this webpage: http://www.nippon-kan.org/tribute-to-morihiro-saito-shihan/ )
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When we were discussing the invite to Morihiro Shihan to Denver for the fourth time, I humbly suggested to him, “Next year, please come with Hitohiro Sensei (currently Hitohira Kaicho). That way, it would be easier to convey a seamless transition from a father to a son.”
Morihiro Shihan pondered silently for a while before he said, “No. Those students who would come are my students or who are interested in participating in a seminar led by me. It would not work unless Hitohiro worked to become worthy to have his own students. If something happens at or with the Aikikai Hombu after I die, I have already passed all that I have learned from the Founder of Aikido onto Hitohiro, and so he should be okay to be on his own to pursue his own life with what he has inherited from me.”
After the demise of Morihiro Shihan, as he had predicted, any and all aspects of the Buki Wazas that Morihiro Shihan had learned, mastered, and inherited were thoroughly denied.
And it was not only the Buki Wazas that were denied but the name “Morihiro Saito”, the very name of the person who was a great pioneer to have contributed to disseminating the practice of Aikido throughout the world after the demise of the Founder of Aikido, has been erased from the history of Aikikai.
In addition to having erased the name of Morihiro Shihan, who had served the longest to the Founder of Aikido, Morihiro Shihan’s accomplishments in the world of Aikido and his contributions to the prosperity of the world Aikido have been removed from the history of Aikikai, and as a result, a big void has been created not only in the history of Aikido at Iwama but in the history of Aikido at the Aikikai Hombu; however, the current situation has been that these inconvenient truths have been swept under the rug and everybody is keeping mum.
It has been like an act of purging often seen in nations under a dictatorial government to sustain the status quo, having seen that some historical photos were altered with a certain person(s) from the past, who had been meritorious to the Aikikai removed from the photos. I cannot help but think that the “Aikido Rinri Kensho (the Ethics Charter of Aikido)” published by the Aikikai Foundation on January 5, 2015, is only a cloak of disguise to an outside world without any significance.
Late Morihiro Saito and late Koichi Tohei (a former Aikikai Head of Shihan Dept. 10th dan, The Founder of the Ki Society)—without these two people, there would not be the development & growth of the Aikikai Aikido that the world has seen to date. I am utterly at a loss for words that such a large number of instructors keep ignoring the accomplishments and contributions of the predecessors who contributed so much to the spread of the practice of Aikido in Japan and abroad without raising any voice to bring awareness of these predecessors’ significant contributions to the history of Aikido while so many of them don’t seem to hesitate to continue standing on the corpses of the greats to keep saying, “Look at me!”
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I should end such a long collection of old anecdotes at this point…Let me focus on key points from here on.
Morihiro Shihan dedicated his life not only to learn, master, and inherit the collection of wazas of the Founder of Aikido, especially the Buki Wazas, but also structured & organized them into ‘katas’ with the intent not only to preserve them but to enable them to be passed onto future generations among ordinary Aikidoists, and Morihiro Shihan conscientiously spread the practice of the katas and the wazas throughout the world to preserve them. The Founder of Aikido had agreed with how Morihiro Shihan was giving instructions to students with his approving remark, “Saito, he is doing well in his ‘keiko’.”
If you study instruction literature written by Morihiro Shihan and instructional video clips by Morihiro Shihan, it becomes easily obvious without any question that not only the “31 Jo Kata” as a centerpiece but also different Ken Kata as well as certain ways to practice Suburi are how the ‘wazas’ of the Founder of Aikido flourished through Morihiro Shihan as the medium.
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Under the current COVID-19 pandemic, the world of Aikido across the globe has been faced with unprecedented challenges, and anyone in the position of instructing can only admit that the practice of Buki Wazas (weapons techniques) has been supporting dojo operations to avoid closure. What is excessively seen on Social Networking Sites is how to practice the “31 Jo Kata” and other Jo & Ken movements.
Although Morihiro Saito Shihan’s instructions on Buki Wazas were fiercely denied in the past, many dojo instructors throughout the world are being rescued by his instruction methods under the unprecedented times of late, and for this fact, every member of Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai should not only renew your sense of pride in the lineage that you are part of, but also recommit your dedication to keep practicing constantly, consistently, and diligently to inherit the traditions not only to preserve them but to succeed them to future generations, for Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai is the very Aikido organization that has inherited not only the legacy of late Morihiro Shihan, but also the spirit and the heritage he had determined to pass onto the next generations.
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I firmly think that all those who regard oneself as a disciple of Morihiro Shihan, with the true attitude that any Budo-ka should carry within themselves, should not only transcend any boundaries of different styles, organizations, or organizational affiliations but also examine comprehensively and exhaustively how Morihiro Shihan’s Buki Wazas came into existence in order to properly assess the series of great accomplishments by Morihiro Shihan, who had preserved the Buki Wazas of the Founder of Aikido and made them available for future generations, so as to appreciate and honor his legacy justly.
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Many dojos have a photo of the Founder of Aikido hung in the front; many dojos keep bokken and jo; many students solemnly and politely bow to the front of a dojo, to instructors, and to each other before, during, and after practice.
Many, if not all, of us, bow our head to the front when entering or exiting a dojo, and we place our footwear neatly where they should be placed.
Many, if not all, of us, wear a hakama with sharp vertical creases, and many, if not all, of us, also raise a bokken or a jo above our head during ‘buki keiko’ sessions.
However, these are all meaningless performances.
Because not only are these behaviors mostly carried out just to show that we can act in certain ways, these behaviors are also usually carried out without a true sense of respect and appreciation.
In my opinion, it’s similar to derive a sense of self-satisfaction from sliding down on the handrails of stairs in public with a skateboard.
I also think that many Aikido instructors have become so used to dealing with those who do not resist that they have not only become filled with an excessive amount of self-satisfaction but also developed a tendency to over-value their self-worth.
I firmly think it is vital that we must keep telling to our souls very simple words, “Our wazas (i.e. techniques) did not emerge suddenly” and that we must not only remain conscientious of the roots of what we teach but reflect upon where what we teach has come from and how what we teach was passed onto us.
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It’s not that we can become a Budo-ka that we aspire to be just by wearing a hakama. Even before becoming a Budo-ka, there are what we shall not ever lose as a human being.
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As I learned about the issuance of the Notice that all of you have received, I not only was deeply impressed but felt urged to share this letter, albeit a lengthy one, with you.
Thank you for having taken the time to finish reading this letter from me.
Gaku Homma
Founder and the Kancho of AHAN Aikido Nippon Kan
October 1 , 2020
To: All those who regard yourself as a disciple of late Morihiro Saito Shihan,
Hitohira Saito Kaicho has recently issued a Notice to the attention of every member of Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai to preserve the dignity of the legacy of his father and former Aikikai Aikido Shihan & Iwama Dojo-cho, late Morihiro Saito Shihan (hereafter, ‘Morihiro Shihan’).
Although I am not a member of Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai, I totally agree with the Notice, and I would like to share my view in this letter from the position of a third party and also as a Budo-ka who endorses and supports what the Notice says.
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First of all, let me tell you my viewpoint while sharing stories from when the Founder of Aikido was well and when Morihiro Shihan was working for the Japan National Railways (presently known as the Japan Railways Group, aka JR) while not only continuing his ‘keiko’ in Aikido under the Founder of Aikido but also helping him, along with me, as his long-time disciple.
There is one point I would like to raise to everyone’s attention. Under the current COVID-19 pandemic, many, many people throughout the world are experiencing and enduring varying degrees of difficulties.
Under the current circumstances, Aikidoists have been under tremendous limitations to continue practicing at their dojo, especially when it’s prudent to maintain social distancing guidelines as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, many dojos have not only shifted from practicing inside to practicing outside but also started to focus more on practicing Jo & Bokken techniques.
In fact, many instructors (or self-proclaimed instructors) have recorded their embu performance of “Jo movements” known as the “31 Jo Kata” with narrations and posted them on Social Networking Sites. Some embu performances look to have been recorded in the dining or living rooms of their houses while there were recordings of live-streaming, seemingly broadcasted from the backyards of their homes.
While some of those video clips are quite impressive with very elaborate explanations and keen attention to details, almost all of them neglect to include a very important fact. That is: “Where did the “31 Jo Kata” originate?”
Just like copying masterpiece paintings without referencing the original painters or playing pieces of music without any mention of the original lyricists or composers, posting one’s embu-performance of the “31 Jo Kata” in public is like posting a copy of the original piece of art in public, and hence, it’s not only prudent and courteous, but also perhaps dutiful for any Budo-ka to respect the inventor by referencing the origin of a set of martial art techniques like the “31 Jo Kata”, especially when a Budo-ka embu-performs it in public.
As you all know, the rights of inventors and artists for their inventions and art pieces are protected by the patents and copyrights that are granted, and the protections & rights are not limited to famous artists like Vincent van Gogh, Auguste Renoir, or Ludwig van Beethoven. Nonetheless, in most instances, it’s a reality that no embu-performer has ever given credit where credit is due.
Such a trend is not limited to the “31 Jo Kata”, and the same phenomenon is often seen for the practice forms of Kumi Jo, Kumi Tachi, or even Suburi. I cannot help but think that nobody among embu-performers on Social Networking Sites is aware of the contributions and accomplishments of Morihiro Shihan who had been not only influential but deeply & directly involved with the process of developing these practice forms, while almost all of those embu-performers are able to call these practice forms with the proper names.
Additionally, it’s not seldom to find and see video clips on Social Networking Sites in which ken-jutsu movements from Iaido or other styles that have nothing to do with Aikido are mixed in as if they are a part of Aikido, only to lead to misunderstanding and confusion toward Japanese traditional cultures under the current uncertain circumstances stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
These phenomena did not start after the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have actually been feeling very fruitless and frustrated by these trends for quite some time.
Not only do I want anyone who regards oneself as a disciple of Morihiro Shihan to have proper knowledge and experience to nurture a keen insight to separate what is authentic from what is not authentic and to acknowledge only what is genuine, but I also want all of you to continue your endeavor day-in & day-out in the practice of Aikido while keeping due emphasis on the traditions from the past while paying respect to the long and winding path of the history of Aikido, as well as to the great achievements left by Morihiro Shihan, the great predecessor.
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What follows from here, albeit a bit lengthy, are stories from when I was younger, and it is very much what I want to convey to anybody who regard oneself as a disciple of Morihiro Shihan, especially to those who are in the position of instructing.
Some of the anecdotes are, as previously mentioned, from when the Founder of Aikido was still well & active and when Morihiro Shihan was working for the Japan National Railways (presently known as the Japan Railways Group, aka JR) while not only continuing his ‘keiko’ in Aikido under the Founder of Aikido but helping him, along with me, as his long-time disciple.
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It was when the Founder of Aikido was having a breakfast one morning…
That morning, the Founder of Aikido had done the daily morning routine to pray at the inner sanctuary of Aiki Shrine and pray to the Amaterasu-sama (i.e. the Shinto sun goddess) and the Oinari-sama (i.e. the Shinto kami of general prosperity) before paying his respect to the Dojo, and if he were to follow the daily routine, he would go home to his living room, but instead, he decided to walk toward a vegetable field.
By the way, the Founder of Aikido was always in formal attire to visit the places of worship, and the ritual was very important and special, although done daily, for him to carry out the routine every day to pray and worship. Therefore, it was highly unusual, almost to the point of being impossible, for him to go to a vegetable field while still in formal attire.
At that time of the year, there was a group of college students on the dojo property who had come for a training camp in Aikido, and they usually went running in town in order not to bother the Founder of Aikido during his daily morning routine of prayers. They came back soon after the Founder of Aikido had started eating breakfast to start practicing Bokken & Jo movements in the open area in front of Aiki Shrine under the guidance of Morihiro Shihan.
While it was always very difficult to time it right as to when the Founder of Aikido would finish the morning routine, it was totally unexpected for the Founder of Aikido to go directly toward a vegetable field while still in formal attire that day after having finished the morning ritual.
Kikuno-san (Deceased. Her maiden name was Kikuno Yamamoto. She was a housekeeper to the Founder of Aikido & his wife, and she was also an uchideshi for she was practicing Aikido.) had to go back to make breakfast after the prayer session at Aiki Shrine every morning, and I had the duty as “Osobatsuki” for the remainder of his morning ritual.
A person in the role of “Osobatsuki” would follow the Founder of Aikido by a few steps while remaining on alert at all times for when he may call for you.
By the way, while large azaleas had been planted where it used to be a vegetable field, those azaleas were transplanted from elsewhere as part of the re-organization of the layout of the property after the demise of the Founder of Aikido. Also, many different vegetables were planted in a field closer to the Dojo, and peanuts were usually planted in a field farther away from the Dojo.
As I kept following him in the vegetable field, I kept thinking to myself, “Where is he going? What does he have to do wherever he is going?”, and when he came to a stop, he then quietly started looking from on the other side of a forest at Morihiro Shihan who was teaching a group of college students Buki Wazas (weapons techniques).
After a while, the Founder of Aikido decided to go home, and I witnessed quite a memorable remark at the breakfast table. (Believe it or not, the size of the dining table we were using was about 90cm x 50cm with foldable legs. Four of us, i.e. the Founder of Aikido & his wife, and Kikuno and I were eating breakfast at the table together. In short, the Founder of Aikido was eating meals every day right in front of me.
Out of blue, the Founder of Aikido said with a smile on his face to Hatsu-sama, his wife, “Saito, he is doing well in his ‘keiko’.”
I can never forget the remark expressed by the Founder of Aikido.
After a while, Morihiro Shihan came to see the Founder of Aikido and greet him, “I have just finished a ‘keiko’ session. Thank you for the opportunity.” I still vividly remember the smile the Founder of Aikido had on his face toward Morihiro Shihan, while nodding as if giving Morihiro Shihan a gesture of his approval. (Morihiro Shihan always came to see the Founder of Aikido to greet him before and after every practice session, whether it was a practice outside or a practice in the Dojo. He would report starting a class by saying something like, “I am about to begin teaching a ‘keiko’ session. I appreciate the opportunity”, or he had just finished teaching a class with a phrase like “I just finished teaching a ‘keiko’ session. Thank you for the opportunity.”)
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The most important project for Aikikai was underway during the later years of the Founder of Aikido. The project was to build a new dojo building at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo. Many board members of the Hombu Dojo, many Shihans and instructors as well as regional directors and students across Japan were paying attention to the progress of the construction of a new Hombu Dojo in Tokyo.
Back then, the Founder of Aikido was still living at his home in Iwama, and he was experiencing certain symptoms from the aging process that many elderly people may not be able to easily avoid experiencing. And Morihiro Shihan and his wife, who had been dedicated to helping the Founder of Aikido in various ways, were at times having to make certain adjustments to accommodate the changing needs of the Founder of Aikido.
While I intentionally avoid detailed descriptions of how the Founder of Aikido was in those days because this is of a very personal nature to the Founder of Aikido, key people at Aikikai Hombu seemed to have a certain idea of how much time was left for ‘a lonely & old Budo-ka’, and they were so focused on completing the construction of a new Aikikai Hombu Dojo while the Founder of Aikido was still relatively well that almost none of them gave a thought about how lonely the Founder of Aikido was spending his time in Iwama.
Although there are still a number of Shihans who brag by saying “I used to blah, blah, blah… with the Founder of Aikido!” (though many of them are no longer with us), very, very few Shihans or instructors came to Iwama to pay a visit to the Founder of Aikido on a regular basis back then. On the rare occasions when someone came to visit, the visitor(s) would ask Morihiro Shihan, Kikuno-san, or I about how the Founder of Aikido was doing, and depending on the answer provided, the visitor(s) would leave behind offerings to Aiki Shrine (it was usually a bottle of sake, aka ‘nihonshu’ and a tamagushi, i.e. a form of Shinto offering made from a sakaki-tree branch decorated with shide strips of washi paper, silk, or cotton with an amount of money in it) before heading back without greeting the Founder of Aikido.
Under such circumstances, it was Morihiro Shihan who had not only gravely worried about the possibility of the disappearance of the weapons techniques (i.e. Buki Wazas) of the Founder of Aikido but also seen the need for him not only to learn and inherit the Buki Wazas from the Founder of Aikido, but to organize them by adding a framework and a structure.
For example, Morihiro Shihan organized and structured not only what he had directly learned from the Founder of Aikido through his constant & consistent days of ‘keiko’ with the Founder of Aikido, but also what he had seen from the Founder of Aikido in his various embu-performances during his worship rituals at the Shrine, to come up with the “31 Jo Kata”, which is learned and practiced by you and many other Aikidoists today.
Just like a dictionary can only be assembled as a result of both having organized the meanings of a huge amount of words and having added explanations, it was Morihiro Shihan who organized various ‘wazas’, which the Founder of Aikido had dedicated himself to practice and master day-in & day-out, in easy-to-understand formats. Furthermore, it was also Morihiro Shihan who taught these ‘wazas’ while remaining true to how he had learned them from the Founder of Aikido to his students throughout the world with a clear intention to pass those ‘wazas’ onto the next generations as well as to preserve them. Morihiro Shihan is the father of Hitohira Sensei, the current Kaicho, i.e. Chairperson, of Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai.
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Why and how can I affirm what I have written thus far?
It’s because I have written records of various remarks by Morihiro Shihan from 1997 when he came to Denver, U.S.A. for the third time for a seminar.
The seminar was quite successful with nearly 500 participants, and a small group of us, including Morihiro Shihan, were enjoying each other’s company at a private party at my home on the night of the last day after the successful end of the seminar. I started writing down what Morihiro Shihan was talking about with the late Stanley Pranin, then editor-in-chief of Aikido Journal, as they became more talkative with help from cups of sake. I have kept these memos ever since that day. Therefore, I can affirm what I’ve written thus far.
In fact, let me share with you a few key points of what was said that night.
“Currently, there is no one at the Hombu (Aikikai) who has inherited the weapons techniques (i.e. Buki Wazas) from the Founder of Aikido.
Unless I take it on, there is nobody else.
However, it was rather out of the question, out of my respect as well as out of my fear, for a disciple like me to even attempt to organize his master’s ‘wazas’. I also thought to myself that I could learn and inherit the ‘wazas’ from him, but it would be extremely difficult to pass them onto future generations, and given this thought process, I decided to capture what I have learned & mastered and what I will learn from the Founder of Aikido in photos and catalog them.
The best way would have been to take photos of the Founder of Aikido himself, but the idea alone of a disciple holding a camera at his master to take photos of him was so outrageous that it was totally out of the question.
Although there are people who brag about the photo(s) they have with the Founder of Aikido that were taken in Iwama, the fact is I used to ask the Founder of Aikido, when he was in a good mood, to come and stand in front of the camera as a courtesy service for some visitors who came to visit Aiki Shrine and practice (at the Iwama Dojo).
So the bottom line is those who were closest to the Founder of Aikido do not have photos with him.
Especially so, I learned the ‘wazas’ from the Founder of Aikido while remaining true to the movements of his ‘wazas’ so that I could reproduce them to be captured in photos.
While there was no ill intent on my part, given the (health) conditions he was under at that time, there was no way for me to ask him ‘the rudest and the most outrageous request’ to ‘record and catalog the wazas’. I didn’t hesitate to take the trouble to go to a few different places like Mt. Atago (Note: less than 7 km or 4.5 miles away from Aiki Shrine) to carry out photoshoots in secret.
After a tremendous amount of effort, the 5-series instruction book with photos called “Aikido: Principles of Ken, Jo & Taijutsu” (also known as “Traditional Aikido, Vol.1 ~ 5”) were published from Minato Research & Publishing Company in the early 1970’s.
Then, after the demise of the Founder of Aikido, new instructional guidelines for Aikikai Aikido were set in place that centered on Taijutsu with less emphasis on Buki Wazas (i.e. weapons techniques).
Why?
Back then, a majority, if not all, of the instructors (most of whom later became Shihans) who were dispatched to go abroad by the Hombu had not practiced the Buki Wazas of the Founder of Aikido. Therefore, the Hombu started to criticize those who had been an uchideshi at Iwama and went back to their home countries as the ones who were disrupting the norms of Aikido, and as I was going around to visit former Iwama uchideshis, the Hombu also labeled me as the leading cause of confusions.
Nevertheless, I was solemnly aware of the duty I had taken upon myself not only to inherit ‘the wazas’, especially the Buki Wazas, of the Founder of Aikido, but to pass them on to future generations. Out of my wish to preserve them by passing them onto future generations, I had chosen to sow many seeds and award those who have excelled with certificates to maintain a level of quality, in other words, to have the Wazas of the Founder of Aikido disseminated and passed on with high levels of technical integrity.”
What is written above is according to what I wrote down & preserved that night.
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Morihiro Shihan started studying under the Founder of Aikido in 1946, and not only had he continued his ‘keiko’ directly with and under the Founder of Aikido for the next 23 years until the demise of the Founder of Aikido, he, along with his wife, also helped the Founder of Aikido in various ways. Moreover, not only had Morihiro Shihan fulfilled the duty as the guardian of Aiki Shrine until 2002, but he was also an Aikikai Aikido Shihan who had attained the rank of 9th dan. After the demise of the Founder of Aikido, Morihiro Shihan started traveling abroad, more often & more actively than previously done, to visit his students and to teach, and he was welcomed with big and warm reactions everywhere he visited; however, it was ironic that in proportion to the number of positive reactions he received during his seminars abroad, the number of complaints by instructors and Shihans from the Hombu, who could not teach the Buki Wazas, erupted, often ‘simply because they could not teach the Buki Wazas’. For those instructors and Shihans from the Hombu, if they could not teach what their students sought after, it would mean they would lose their students and, in turn, they would lose the means to make a living.
(By the way, please find a tribute that I authored about Morihiro Shihan on this webpage: http://www.nippon-kan.org/tribute-to-morihiro-saito-shihan/ )
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When we were discussing the invite to Morihiro Shihan to Denver for the fourth time, I humbly suggested to him, “Next year, please come with Hitohiro Sensei (currently Hitohira Kaicho). That way, it would be easier to convey a seamless transition from a father to a son.”
Morihiro Shihan pondered silently for a while before he said, “No. Those students who would come are my students or who are interested in participating in a seminar led by me. It would not work unless Hitohiro worked to become worthy to have his own students. If something happens at or with the Aikikai Hombu after I die, I have already passed all that I have learned from the Founder of Aikido onto Hitohiro, and so he should be okay to be on his own to pursue his own life with what he has inherited from me.”
After the demise of Morihiro Shihan, as he had predicted, any and all aspects of the Buki Wazas that Morihiro Shihan had learned, mastered, and inherited were thoroughly denied.
And it was not only the Buki Wazas that were denied but the name “Morihiro Saito”, the very name of the person who was a great pioneer to have contributed to disseminating the practice of Aikido throughout the world after the demise of the Founder of Aikido, has been erased from the history of Aikikai.
In addition to having erased the name of Morihiro Shihan, who had served the longest to the Founder of Aikido, Morihiro Shihan’s accomplishments in the world of Aikido and his contributions to the prosperity of the world Aikido have been removed from the history of Aikikai, and as a result, a big void has been created not only in the history of Aikido at Iwama but in the history of Aikido at the Aikikai Hombu; however, the current situation has been that these inconvenient truths have been swept under the rug and everybody is keeping mum.
It has been like an act of purging often seen in nations under a dictatorial government to sustain the status quo, having seen that some historical photos were altered with a certain person(s) from the past, who had been meritorious to the Aikikai removed from the photos. I cannot help but think that the “Aikido Rinri Kensho (the Ethics Charter of Aikido)” published by the Aikikai Foundation on January 5, 2015, is only a cloak of disguise to an outside world without any significance.
Late Morihiro Saito and late Koichi Tohei (a former Aikikai Head of Shihan Dept. 10th dan, The Founder of the Ki Society)—without these two people, there would not be the development & growth of the Aikikai Aikido that the world has seen to date. I am utterly at a loss for words that such a large number of instructors keep ignoring the accomplishments and contributions of the predecessors who contributed so much to the spread of the practice of Aikido in Japan and abroad without raising any voice to bring awareness of these predecessors’ significant contributions to the history of Aikido while so many of them don’t seem to hesitate to continue standing on the corpses of the greats to keep saying, “Look at me!”
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I should end such a long collection of old anecdotes at this point…Let me focus on key points from here on.
Morihiro Shihan dedicated his life not only to learn, master, and inherit the collection of wazas of the Founder of Aikido, especially the Buki Wazas, but also structured & organized them into ‘katas’ with the intent not only to preserve them but to enable them to be passed onto future generations among ordinary Aikidoists, and Morihiro Shihan conscientiously spread the practice of the katas and the wazas throughout the world to preserve them. The Founder of Aikido had agreed with how Morihiro Shihan was giving instructions to students with his approving remark, “Saito, he is doing well in his ‘keiko’.”
If you study instruction literature written by Morihiro Shihan and instructional video clips by Morihiro Shihan, it becomes easily obvious without any question that not only the “31 Jo Kata” as a centerpiece but also different Ken Kata as well as certain ways to practice Suburi are how the ‘wazas’ of the Founder of Aikido flourished through Morihiro Shihan as the medium.
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Under the current COVID-19 pandemic, the world of Aikido across the globe has been faced with unprecedented challenges, and anyone in the position of instructing can only admit that the practice of Buki Wazas (weapons techniques) has been supporting dojo operations to avoid closure. What is excessively seen on Social Networking Sites is how to practice the “31 Jo Kata” and other Jo & Ken movements.
Although Morihiro Saito Shihan’s instructions on Buki Wazas were fiercely denied in the past, many dojo instructors throughout the world are being rescued by his instruction methods under the unprecedented times of late, and for this fact, every member of Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai should not only renew your sense of pride in the lineage that you are part of, but also recommit your dedication to keep practicing constantly, consistently, and diligently to inherit the traditions not only to preserve them but to succeed them to future generations, for Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai is the very Aikido organization that has inherited not only the legacy of late Morihiro Shihan, but also the spirit and the heritage he had determined to pass onto the next generations.
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I firmly think that all those who regard oneself as a disciple of Morihiro Shihan, with the true attitude that any Budo-ka should carry within themselves, should not only transcend any boundaries of different styles, organizations, or organizational affiliations but also examine comprehensively and exhaustively how Morihiro Shihan’s Buki Wazas came into existence in order to properly assess the series of great accomplishments by Morihiro Shihan, who had preserved the Buki Wazas of the Founder of Aikido and made them available for future generations, so as to appreciate and honor his legacy justly.
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Many dojos have a photo of the Founder of Aikido hung in the front; many dojos keep bokken and jo; many students solemnly and politely bow to the front of a dojo, to instructors, and to each other before, during, and after practice.
Many, if not all, of us, bow our head to the front when entering or exiting a dojo, and we place our footwear neatly where they should be placed.
Many, if not all, of us, wear a hakama with sharp vertical creases, and many, if not all, of us, also raise a bokken or a jo above our head during ‘buki keiko’ sessions.
However, these are all meaningless performances.
Because not only are these behaviors mostly carried out just to show that we can act in certain ways, these behaviors are also usually carried out without a true sense of respect and appreciation.
In my opinion, it’s similar to derive a sense of self-satisfaction from sliding down on the handrails of stairs in public with a skateboard.
I also think that many Aikido instructors have become so used to dealing with those who do not resist that they have not only become filled with an excessive amount of self-satisfaction but also developed a tendency to over-value their self-worth.
I firmly think it is vital that we must keep telling to our souls very simple words, “Our wazas (i.e. techniques) did not emerge suddenly” and that we must not only remain conscientious of the roots of what we teach but reflect upon where what we teach has come from and how what we teach was passed onto us.
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It’s not that we can become a Budo-ka that we aspire to be just by wearing a hakama. Even before becoming a Budo-ka, there are what we shall not ever lose as a human being.
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As I learned about the issuance of the Notice that all of you have received, I not only was deeply impressed but felt urged to share this letter, albeit a lengthy one, with you.
Thank you for having taken the time to finish reading this letter from me.
Gaku Homma
Founder and the Kancho of AHAN Aikido Nippon Kan
October 2 , 2020