In May 1938 the first class of 141 students entered Kenkoku University (建国大学), also called “Kendai” (建大), in Manchukuo (満洲国) – the Japanese puppet state in occupied Manchuria.
Hiraizumi Kiyoshi (平泉澄), 1928
Morihei Ueshiba was recommended to Hideki Tojo, then the Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army occupying Manchuria, for a prestigious teaching position at Kenkoku University by Hiraizumi Kiyoshi, perhaps the foremost right wing ultra-nationalist academic in Japan.
It’s worth noting that Morihei Ueshiba’s teacher Onisaburo Deguchi was also closely tied to the Kwantung Army:
“Onisaburo’s group was secretly supported by Japanese nationalist groups of the highest level in alliance with the Kwantung Army.”
Since Morihei Ueshiba had many responsibilities in Tokyo, Rinjiro Shirata was designated to be the actual instructor until he was called up for military service, and then Kenji Tomiki was designated to take his place.
On July 5th 1919 Babe Ruth hit two home runs at Fenway Park – the first of 72 career multi-home run games, and Dodo Kazu (百々和) was born in Kobe, Japan.
In 1938 he would enter Kenkoku University in Japanese occupied Manchuria with the first class of students, where he would train under Morihei Ueshiba and Kenji Tomiki until his graduation in 1943.
TheAnts / 蟻の兵隊
After the war ended, he was one of some 2,600 Japanese soldiers forced to remain in China as part of an armed faction of the Chinese Nationalist Party fighting against the Communist Party for the next four years.
Upon return to Japan they were viewed as volunteers and denied compensation by the Japanese government.
The truth of the matter, that an army commander schemed to remain in China in order to avoid prosecution as a war criminal, was revealed in the documentary “The Ants” (蟻の兵隊):
“He goes to Shanxi National Archives and shows an old Japanese military instruction written for the post war Imperial soldiers in China. It states that “the troops’ mandate is to restore the Empire and spread Imperial influence”. It proves that Japanese armed forces were systematically existed in China even after the war and their goal was to rebuild the Empire, meaning a grave violation of the Potsdam Declaration. “So, the Japanese government can’t accept this”, says Okumura.”
Dodo Kazu himself makes an appearance in this documentary.
After returning to Japan in 1956, he would pursue graduate study in economics, eventually becoming a professor of economics at Kobe Gakuin University.
Sections of this essay about Dodo Kazu’s experiences training under Kenji Tomiki and Morihei Ueshiba, were originally published in Dodo’s work “Do-shi” (道芝 / “Records of the Way”). Parts 1 and 2 originally appeared in the August 1970 issue (Vol. 22, No. 8) of “Shakai Shiso Kenkyu” (社会思想研究 / “Studies in Social Thought”), and Part 3 appeared in the October 1980 issue (No. 7) of “Yoshin” (養心 / “Nurturing the Mind”).
Dodo Kazu passed away on February 11th, 2011.
Morihei Ueshiba demonstrating at
the Shinbuden in Manchukuo, 1942
Aikido, Me, and
Kenkoku University
1) About Aikido
To those who were familiar with pre-war Aikido, the rapid post-war spread of Aikido is nothing short of astonishing. Serving as the director of the Kobe University Aikido Club, I would like to set down some of my thoughts on Aikido.
My own history with Aikido goes back a long way. During my five years at Kenkoku University in Manchuria, I never missed morning or evening practice. In those days, everyone threw themselves wholeheartedly into something outside their regular studies. Some immersed themselves in farming and commuted to school straight from the fields; others became absorbed in equestrian pursuits and slept in the stables. There were, of course, no one who became obsessed with women – but I suppose it could be said that I became obsessed with Aikido.
Members of the Imperial Family frequently visited to observe, and on those occasions, Kondo Akitaro (近藤秋太郎 – a former reporter for the Mainichi Shimbun) and I were repeatedly tasked with performing model demonstrations.
Why did I become so devoted to Aikido in the first place?
It was not that I had an overwhelming fondness for this traditional martial art inherited from the traditions of Daito-ryu Jujutsu. Nor did I have such a love for martial arts that one could call me a “samurai enthusiast”. The reason I switched from middle-school basketball to Aikido owed much to the character of Kenkoku University itself, but above all, it was due to the personal influence of Professor Tomiki Kenji (a former professor at Waseda University).
The Painter Hirafuku Hyakusui / 平福百穂
Professor Tomiki, the nephew of painter Hirafuku Hyakusui (平福百穂), excelled in calligraphy and painting, and during his student days competed in the Emperor’s Cup for Judo. Later, he joined Ueshiba Morihei Sensei’s group and learned Aikido.
It is fair to say that we were drawn to Aikido through Professor Tomiki’s exceptional character. The fact that many of those who studied Aikido together under Tomiki Sensei – starting with Kondo Akitaro, Nakagawa Keiichiro (中川敬一郎 – a former Tokyo University professor), Nagashima Kiyoshi (長島清 – an Osaka Prefecture University professor), and Nishiyama Ryuo (西山龍雄 – a teacher at Osaka Prefectural Hirakata High School) – survived the turmoil of the war and post-war eras to thrive in careers in education and culture is largely a consequence of the professor’s lasting influence.
The Aikido of Ueshiba Sensei and that of Tomiki Sensei stood in clear, striking contrast regarding their philosophy and training methods. Ueshiba Sensei’s path was rooted in intuition, bodily realization, and sudden spiritual awakening, adhering to the traditional approach where “if you read a book a hundred times, its true meaning will naturally emerge on its own.” It was reminiscent of training in the battlefield martial techniques of the Warring States period.
In contrast, Professor Tomiki’s methodology focused on theoretical formulation and systematic development through an understanding of body dynamics and the rhythm of force. It closely mirrored the Kodokan method, which had unified various jujutsu schools into modern Judo. He constantly emphasized that the principles of body movement and force were shared not only across martial arts, but also throughout traditional Kyoto dance, Kabuki, calligraphy, and painting.
Ueshiba Sensei’s path was the grand avenue of non-rationalism, whereas Professor Tomiki’s was the innovative path of rationalism. Professor Tomiki took the Aikido that Ueshiba Sensei had embodied through intense, severe training and reformulated and systematized it to harmonize with modern ways of thinking. We walked the rational path laid out by Professor Tomiki. Yet, this does not mean we rejected Ueshiba Sensei’s non-rationalist approach. Rather, both complement each other.
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