Category: Translation

Takeshita Isamu, Okawa Shumei, Kuzuu Yoshihisa and the Southeast Asian National Liberation League
Hakko Iu (八紘為宇)
Calligraphy by Isamu Takeshita
Here we will discuss three people with close relationships to Ueshiba Morihei that were referenced in an interesting article that appears below. The article appeared in the Kaishu Mainichi Shimbun (加州毎日新聞), a Japanese-American newspaper published in Los Angeles, California that was founded in 1931 by Sei Fujii, and served the Japanese diaspora in the United States for decades.
Ueshiba Morihei next to Takeshita Isamu
around 1926
The first person, Admiral Takeshita Isamu (竹下勇), was Ueshiba Morihei’s student and patron – arguably his most important patron.
In the calligraphy above, Admiral Takeshita celebrates “Hakko Iu” (also written as “Hakko Ichiu”/ 八紘一宇), the wartime political slogan representing the divine right of the Empire of Japan to “unify the eight corners of the world”.
This slogan, along with “Bansei Ikkei” (万世一系, discussed in “Eternal Principles – Morihei Ueshiba, Lost in Translation“), formed the basis for the empire’s ideology, and was popularized by another student and patron of Ueshiba Morihei, Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro, who was also on the board of directors of Ueshiba Morihei’s Kobukai Foundation (Takeshita Isamu hinself was the first president of the Kobukai Foundation).
Takeshita Isamu began training in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu with Ueshiba Morihei in 1925, and would invite Ueshiba to Tokyo in 1927 – after which Ueshiba relocated there and established the Kobukan Dojo.
Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai Demonstration
Isamu Takeshita highlighted on right
“Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu” (大東流合気柔術)
On April 1st 1935, Takeshita gave a demonstration of Ueshiba Morihei’s art, Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu, at the first Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai demonstration held at the Hibiya Public Hall (日比谷公会堂).
The Japan California Daily News
September 8th, 1935
After the Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai demonstration Takeshita Isamu would make a trip to the United States, where he would demonstrate Ueshiba Morihei’s art in Seattle.
“Judo and yawara have been taught to the foreigners,” Admiral Takeshita said, “but not this one. We will not export this art to foreign countries if we can held it.” (sic)
The Nippu Jiji, April 1st 1916
Harada Shinzo in Mexico
“His Gekiken is Hokushin Itto-ryu,
his Judo is Daito-ryu”.
Although Harada Shinzo, a student of Takeda Sokaku, is said to have demonstrated Daito-ryu in the United States and Mexico around 1916, and Takeda himself is rumored to have traveled to Hawai’i around 1932, Takeshita’s demonstration was the first clearly documented demonstration of Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu in the United States by a student of Ueshiba Morihei.
Pre-War and Post-War Aikido Compared
It’s worth noting here that Takeshita’s statements and demonstration clearly indicate that what Morihei Ueshiba was teaching in 1935 was clearly Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu.
That was also the year of the famous Asahi Shimbun Dojo film featuring Morihei Ueshiba – after viewing that film, Sokaku Takeda’s son Tokimune stated “That’s Daito-ryu!”.
It’s often asserted that Ueshiba Morihei would change his art technically after the war. Fortunately, we can compare for ourselves and evaluate the continuity – in the video “A Comparison of Pre-War and Post-War Aikido” it’s clear that what Morihei Ueshiba was doing in 1935 and what he was doing in the 1950’s and 1960’s was virtually identical. This is discussed in more detail in “Ueshiba-ha Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu“.
There is also more about Takeshita Isamu in “A Letter from Kenji Tomiki to Isamu Takeshita“.
Entrance Ceremony at Okawa Juku, 1941
Okawa Shumei front center
Ueshiba Morihei behind Okawa, right
The second person, Okawa Shumei (大川周明), was a close friend of Ueshiba Morihei who ran a school for the indoctrination of young men into pan-Asian ideology at which Ueshiba was an instructor, the Okawa Juku.
Memo from the US Attorney to SCAP
(full document, PDF format)
The Okawa Juku was mentioned in a memorandum dated March 1946 prepared by US attorney Hugh B. Helm for General Headquarters (GHQ) – the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) International Prosecution Section:
It is to be recalled that this man, Dr. OKAWA, from 1938 to 1945 personally ran a school for espionage, wherein spies were trained for Japanese Government to be placed throughout Asia.
Okawa was also the “brain trust” behind a number of terrorist plots and incidents, in at least one of which Ueshiba Morihei actively participated.
This is noted in the same memorandum quoted above:
It is not an exaggeration to characterize Dr. OKAWA as the brain-trust of military extremists.” “…, he set forth the same principals that were later incorporated by Matsuoka and Tojo into the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity ideas. It is not amiss to credit Dr. OKAWA with being the father of the Greater East Asia idea,
A History of Anglo-American Aggression
in East Asia (米英東亞侵略史), 1944
In “A History of Anglo-American Aggression in East Asia” (top right and left, bottom left) Okawa framed “Anglo-American aggression” as a century-long history of Western imperialism that justified Japan’s leadership and militarism in Asia, and he states:
Japan, seen as a whole, has been pursuing the predestined course towards her ultimate goal and I cannot but be struck by that invisible power of Heaven. Being a firm believer in this Heavenly will I am absolutely confident in the final victory of Japan in the War of Greater East Asia.
This work was also cited in Okawa’s interrogation for war crimes (bottom right).
The only person to be charged as a Class A war criminal who was neither a military officer nor a governmental official, Okawa escaped prosecution through a possibly feigned mental illness – there is an interesting examination of this by Eric Jaffe in “A Curious Madness: An American Combat Psychiatrist, a Japanese War Crimes Suspect, and an Unsolved Mystery from World War II”.
Ueshiba Morihei maintained a close friendship with Okawa Shumei after the war, paying visits to him until his passing in 1957, and addressing him as “sensei”.
Here is a letter from Ueshiba Morihei to Okawa Shumei from 1954 (at the time Okawa was an alleged war criminal, and allegedly insane):
December 13, 1954
Aikikai, Iwama Town, Ibaraki Prefecture
Greetings.
I am glad that you are in good health in these early days of winter. I exceedingly regret that we were not able to meet recently due to my trip to Wakayama. I had planned to see you as soon as I returned to Tokyo, but as I am extremely busy with a number of matters, and will not be in Tokyo for some time, I am afraid we must put off meeting yet again.
Also, being old of age, I am also terribly busy having my teeth worked on.
I would by all means like to make time to see you in the coming spring, so I humbly ask for your forgiveness for not meeting as promised, and hope that you will give me a chance to wish you a happy New Year. Until we meet again.
Very, very sincerely yours,
Ueshiba Morihei December 13
Respectfully to Okawa Shumei Sensei
Nakatsu, Aiko County, Kanagawa
From “Dueling with O-sensei: Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior Sage“, by Ellis Amdur
Kuzuu Yoshihisa middle row 2nd from right
The third person, Kuzuu Yoshihisa (葛生能久), was the successor to Uchida Ryohei as president of the Black Dragon Society.
In the photo above, Uchida Ryohei, the founder of the Black Dragon Society, appears behind and to the left of Kuzuu Yoshihisa, who appears in the center row second from the right.
Okawa Shumei appears in the back row, on the far left, and Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi appears in the front row, on the far right.
On May 15th, 1932 Inukai Tsuyoshi would be assassinated by a group of young naval officers led by Mikami Taku, a frequent visitor to the Ueshiba home. This would effectively mark the end of civilian rule in pre-war Japan.
Mikami Taku is arrested (again)
The Ledger and Times – Dec 12th 1961
Mikami would take refuge with Ueshiba Morihei in Iwama after the war, and would be arrested for yet another assassination attempt in 1961.
Sunadomari Kanshu would encounter Mikami when he visited Iwama after the war to see Ueshiba Morihei:
The Founder was living in a thatch roofed house in the middle of the fields, and I think that he couldn’t recall my name right away. He looked at my face and said “this is an important man” to two people in the corner. I think that he may have been talking about how I had acted as his representative on the neighborhood association and during rationing. When I asked later I heard that one of those people was Taku Mikami (三上卓) of the “515 Incident” (Translator’s Note: 五・一五事件 an attempted right wing military coup d’état on May 15th 1932 in which Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated by 11 young naval officers. Among others, Morihei Ueshiba’s close associates Shumei Okawa and Mitsuru Toyama were among the backers of the coup.)
Interview with Aikido Shihan Kanshu Sunadomari – Part 1
子に訓す佐賀城門の露のうた
“A song of the dew upon the Saga Castle gate, a lesson for my child”
Calligraphy by Mikami Taku,
referencing Eto Shinpei’s Saga rebellion
(一般財団法人昭和維新顕彰財団)
Ironically, the assassination of Inukai Tsuyoshi was backed by Okawa Shumei, who posed with him in the photo above in, perhaps, friendlier times.
The other backer of the assassination was the “godfather” of Japanese ultra-nationalism, Toyama Mitsuru.
Deguchi Onisaburo, Toyama Mitsuru,
and Uchida Ryohei
As it happens , Ueshiba Morihei’s teacher Deguchi Onisaburo was a close friend of Toyama, and Black Dragon Society founder Uchida Ryohei was Toyama’s leading disciple.
Kuzuu Yoshihisa remembered Toyama Mitsuru during his trial as a war criminal:
“I know the world’s conception of Toyama was of a great militarist,” he continued, “but it is far from the truth. He was a man with a great love of peace. Yes, he believed that if the goal was peace, force was justified in reaching that goal. He had a vast conception of world peace.”
More about Toyama Mitsuru in the Time Magazine article “JAPAN: Superpatriots in the Saddle“.
Above is a page from “Nationalism and National Socialist Organizations: December 1932”, published by the Criminal Directorate of the Ministry of Justice.
Noted here is an entry for the Seinen Kodokai (青年皇道会 / Imperial Youth Association) – an ultranationalist organization headed by…Morihei Ueshiba, possessing some 800 members, and noted as being associated with Omoto-kyo and the para-miltary ultra-nationalist Black Dragon Society (governed by Uchida Ryohei, and later – Kuzuu Yoshihisa ), with headquarters located in the Ueshiba home.
CIA Document – conspiracy to
reconstcruct the Japanese Military
Released under the
Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act
After the war, Kuzuu Yoshihisa (now president of the Black Dragon Society, succeeding Uchida Ryohei), was involved in a plot to revive the post-war Japanese military to its former glory in cooperation with Okawa Shumei, Sasakawa Ryoichi (one of the major post-war financial backers of the Aikikai Foundation), and Yakuza fixer Kodama Yoshio.
Toyama Mitsuru (first row, center)
Yoshio Kodama (first row, 2nd from right)
Black Ocean Society (Gen’yosha), 1929
After the war, Ueshiba Morihei would continue to be connected to Kodama Yoshio through the Aikikai’s financial backer Sasakawa Ryoichi, post-war Aikikai Foundation chairman Tomita Kenji, and Aikikai Foundation board of directors member Kohinata Hakuro – but more on that at a later time.
For now… since you’ve read this far, here is the article itself!
Kashu Mainichi Shimbun (加州毎日新聞)
December 17th, 1940
“Southeast Asian National Liberation League” formed by Admiral Takeshita Isamu and others
“Save the Dutch East Indies, French Indochina, etc., from White Exploitation”
“Let us launch a great national movement.”

Tokyo, 17th – Domei:

Admiral Isamu Takeshita, Kuzuu Yoshihisa, Okawa Shumei, and others, together with a total of 66 people, became the founding members of what is now to be called the Southeast Asia National Liberation League.

A meeting of the founders was held on the evening of the 17th at the Nippon Club, where Akaike Atsushi, a member of the House of Peers, was elected chairman of the board.

The organization declared that it would work to liberate Southeast Asia from the exploitation of the Anglo-American imperialists (*note: “Anglo-American imperialists” was a favorite phrase of Okawa Shumei), and would undertake concrete activities toward that objective.
October 12, 2026
Eternal Principles – Morihei Ueshiba, Lost in Translation
“It is my opinion that there is only one published text that faithfully preserves the content and flavor of O-Sensei’s actual speech. The book is titled “Takemusu Aiki,” edited by Hideo Takahashi of the Byakko Shin Kokai.”
“O-Sensei’s Spiritual Writings: Where did they actually come from?“, by Stanley Pranin
One day while walking through Ala Moana Beach Park with John Stevens, we fell into a discussion about the upcoming publication of his translation of “Takemusu Aiki” (武産合気), which he had titled “The Heart of Aikido: The Philosophy of Takemusu Aiki“.
At the time, he himself called the translation, “Takemusu Aiki-lite” – a diluted version of the original text made for consumption by a general audience.
Of course, he also states something similar in the introduction to the work itself:
“The contents have been edited, condensed, and rearranged for a smoother flow of the English translation. Almost all of the Shinto/Omoto-kyo terminology and references have been eliminated since that aspect of O’Sensei’s teaching is detailed and discussed in the publications The Secret Teachings of Aikido and The Essence of Aikido.”
Of course , there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, in principle. Translations are often edited and abridged for their target audience, in order to make them accessible to that audience.
However, as I’ve mentioned in other places, no matter how much a translation is edited, abridged, and rearranged…accuracy counts – one must be careful not to alter the original meaning so much that it is unrecognizable.
This is one of those.
Some of the issues in translating “Takemusu Aiki”, with some comments the original transcriber Hideo Takahashi (高橋英雄) about his experiences with Morihei Ueshiba, were discussed in “Drinking wine with O-Sensei“.
There are also more discussions of issues with translation in modern Aikido here:
“War and Peace – Morihei Ueshiba, Lost in Translation”
“Morihei Ueshiba, Budo and Kamae: Why we don’t know how to stand up and walk.“
“Arms and Elbows: Morihei Ueshiba, Lost in Translation“
“Morihei Ueshiba: Untranslatable Words“
“Emperor Jimmu’s Eastern Expedition”
(神武天皇東征之図)
Utagawa Nobukazu (歌川延一)
The first chapter of “Takemusu Aiki” begins with a definition of Aikido, presented directly by Morihei Ueshiba.
This section is particularly important given the fact that there is often so little general agreement over exactly what the definition of Aikido is, and what Morihei Ueshiba’s intentions were.
The definition begins with a list of 5 “precepts”, sometimes called the Aikido “Goka-jo” (合気道五箇条), somewhat similar to the “Dojo-kun” (道場訓) one sees posted on the wall in some arts.
For the purposes of this article, we will limit the discussion to the first of these precepts, which appears in “The Heart of Aikido” as:
“Aikido is the eternal principle of the universe.”
To be fair, this sentence appears in a similar translation by Sonoko Tanaka on the Aikido Journal website, in “Takemusu Aiki–Lectures of Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido (1)“:
“Aikido is the principle of eternal continuation throughout all ages of the one and same system of the Universe.”
So let’s take a look at the original Japanese:
合気道は宇宙万世一系の大いなる道なり。
The above, translated directly, becomes:
“Aikido is the Great Way of the Universal Bansei Ikkei.”
The problematic phrase here, which has been eliminated from both translations is “Bansei Ikkei” (万世一系).
If we look at the literal meaning of the Kanji themselves, then this becomes “a single unbroken line spanning ten thousand generations”, so we can see how this was rephrased in the two translations above.
The difficulty here is that translating the individual components of a compound word literally often results in a meaning that is very different from the meaning of that word in actual use – butter doesn’t actually fly, but butterflies do, and a nightmare isn’t a horse.
Which is how we get to the Emperor Jimmu above, in case you were wondering…”Bansei Ikkei” is a common phrase that refers to the “unbroken Imperial line”, reaching back 2,686 years (as of 2026) to the legendary first Emperor of Japan.
This phrase appears in Article 1 of the pre-war Constitution of the Empire of Japan:
“The Empire of Japan shall be reigned over and governed by a line of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal.”
大日本帝国は、万世一系の天皇がこれを統治する。
This concept of “Bansei Ikkei” formed the basis for the pre-war ideology of the Emperor’s divinity.
Along with the concept of “Hakko Ichiu” (八紘一宇), it was one of the twin pillars at the absolute core of pre-World War II Japanese ultra-nationalism.
2600th Anniversary of the Empire, 1940
Dedication of the Hakko Ichiu Tower
In 1940 Japan celebrated 2,600 years since the ascention of the Emperor Jimmu to the throne of Japan. At that time the Emperor Jimmu declared:
“I shall cover the eight directions and make them my abode”
八紘を掩うて宇と為さん
The “eight directions” in the quote above were written as “Eight Cords” – “Hakko” (八紘), as in the “Hakko Ichiu” (八紘一宇)Tower above. This was the source for the wartime slogan “Eight Cords under one roof” – meaning the divine right of the Emperor to unite the world under the Japanese Empire.
Konoe Fumimaro reads an Imperial Rescript
The Imperial throne in the background
This phrase “Hakko Ichiu” was popularized in 1940 by Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro, a student and patron of Morihei Ueshiba, and a member of the board of directors of Morihei Ueshiba’s Kobukai organization (the predecessor to the post-war Aikikai).
This phrase was also alluded to by Morihei Ueshiba in this post-war Doka (“Poem of the Way”):
惟神光と熱の合気道, 世をば清めん八紘の玉
Aikido, The Light and Heat of Kannagara, Jewel of the Eight Cords, Purifies the World.
In other words , Aikido is represented here as a process through which one works to purify the world – a purified world meaning one that is united under the Japanese empire.
Remember that this Doka is from after the war.
Morihei Ueshiba would state this again later on in “Takemusu Aiki”:
世界は一つであります。国の大小を問わず日本の国につどい寄ってこなければならなくなっているのです。それには条理がキチンと整わなければいけません。人類は地球の一番中心の中津国を忘れています。最初の中心の中心の国は日本なのです。
これは皇祖皇宗のご遺訓に出ていることでみなさんもよく知っていることです。
The world is one. Regardless of size, all nations must inevitably gather around Japan. For this to happen a logical order must be firmly established. Humanity has forgotten the Middle Land (Nakatsukuni), the very center of the Earth. The original country at the ultimate center of centers is Japan.
This appears in the testaments of our Imperial Ancestors, as you all know well.
Once again, please note that the above passage is from a lecture given in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s, and here we see the consistency and continuity of Morihei Ueshiba’s basic ideology from the pre-war period to the post-war period.
Morihei Ueshiba’s “Aiki-jujutsu” seal from the 1930’s above features the kanji for “imperial” (皇) at the center – jist as his dojo was the “Imperial Hall of the Martial Arts” (皇武館), his association was the “Imperial Martial Arts Association” (皇武会), and as he was a follower of “Kodo Omoto” (皇道大本) – the “Imperial Way” Omoto.
After the war, in the 1960’s, he declared that same ideal – “Aikido is the Great Way of the Universal Bansei Ikkei.”.
Morihei Ueshiba often spoke, both before and after the war, of Aikido as a method for creating “paradise on Earth”.
この合気をもって地上天国を作ろう
Let us use this Aiki to create a paradise on Earth
The key issue here is really what Morihei Ueshiba’s vision of this “paradise” would look like, and with his declaration of “Bansei Ikkei” this becomes clear – a right wing ultra-nationalist utopia in which the world lives in peace…under the aegis of the Japanese empire and the Japanese Imperial family.
Not something that most people today would advocate for, I think that it’s fair to say, and quite different from what most people conceive of as the ideals and goals of modern Aikido.
Now, at the same time that Morihei Ueshiba was discussing “Bansei Ikkei”, after the war, it was thought to be such an important phrase in pre-war ultra-nationalist ideology that it was removed from post-war textbooks, first by blacking out with ink in existing textbooks during the occupation (墨塗り), and then by complete removal from revised textbooks produced after the occupation, where the Imperial origin legend came treated as myth rather than fact.
Controversies over textbook content, for what it’s worth, continue to this day, with major political groups such as the Nippon Kaigi (日本会議), a major right wing nationalist political action group advocating for revisionist historical narratives.
Eriko Yamatani – Aikikai Aikido Shimbun
June 10th, 2026
Japanese politician Eriko Yamatani is affiliated with the Nippon Kaigi, and has been involved in a number of controversies, including one revolving around connections to an anti-Korean hate group, the Zaitokukai, whose members have labelled ethnic Korean residents of Japan “cockroaches” and called for them to be killed, and opposition to LGBT and gender rights.
More recently , she has attempted to assert the pre-war position that “Bansei Ikkei” is a matter of historical fact, rather than myth:
And on July 15 in an Upper House special committee deliberating the same measure, the LDP’s Eriko Yamatani said, “The imperial line unique to our nation has continued unbroken for more than 2,600 years. The tradition of the imperial family that has been protected by our predecessors is weighty and beautiful, so those of us living in the present must be humble.”
The Asahi Shimbun, July 17th 2026
For many years she has also been, and is presently, a member of the Aikikai’s board of directors.
That is not to say that the Aikikai, at present, shares these political views.
However, given the fact of Morihei Ueshiba’s right wing ultra-nationalist ideology and activity in the past, I’ll simply state the opinion that it may be in the best interest of all involved to elminate all political involvement, from right to left, from conservative to liberal, as really having no connection to the mission of today’s Aikikai.
Some of these issues have been discussed in “Morihei Ueshiba, the Black Dragon Society & Pre-War Japan – What Aikido’s History Doesn’t Tell You“, where you may find a more general overall picture.
September 28, 2026
Aikido, Me, and Kenkoku University – Training in Manchuria, Part 2
Portrait of Ueshiba Morihei
by Eiji Tamura
This is part 2 of a two part article. Part 1 is available here.
2) About Ueshiba Morihei Sensei
Ueshiba Sensei had undoubtedly attained the ultimate mastery of martial arts, a realm unreachable by ordinary people. I believe his formidable strength was a true miracle of the Showa era. That realm, unless achieved through intense spiritual seeking and severe ascetic discipline, remains entirely beyond reach. It is not a path just anyone can tread, nor a summit anyone can easily reach.
Yet if that is so, rational discipline still holds great purpose as a “second-best path” that allows one to draw nearer to that ideal.
There are countless legendary anecdotes surrounding Ueshiba Sensei. At first, I listened to them as entertaining tall tales akin to old heroic story recitations. But when I lived the life of an uchi-deshi (live-in student) for about a month in Tokyo during my student days and experienced his power firsthand, those tales ceased to feel like empty folklore, they took on a vivid, undeniable reality.
Furthermore, the state of enlightenment that Ueshiba Sensei attained as a result of martial discipline – often dismissed as fantasy when spoken of – became an indisputable truth that could not be denied after my own experiences on the battlefield. This state of enlightenment opens up only when one confronts death, exhausts the principles of nature, and cultivates the ultimate peak of the art. It refers to a state where the depths of the mind are completely cleared and the senses become razor-sharp.
Kisshomaru Ueshiba with portrait of
Morihei Ueshiba as the Dragon King
In the minutes before launching an assault on the battlefield, when staring death in the face, the human mind and perception become extraordinary. Every single tree, blade of grass, solitary ant, and stone in one’s surroundings takes on a vivid, astonishing beauty. Faced with the thought that while I must die and decay, these small things will go on living, weeds and bugs that I previously considered utterly trivial suddenly shine with a brilliant light.
Things never before felt, ideas never previously entertained, project across the mind like crystal-clear cinema.
Moreover, when struck by a bullet and lying on the battlefield, slipping into unconsciousness as if being absorbed into the earth, neither mother, nor hometown, nor comrades, nor lovers come to mind. The blue of the sky and the whiteness of the clouds are piercingly, breathtakingly beautiful, and the subtle fragrance wafting from the tiny, usually unnoticed flowers of the jujube grove strikes the senses with extraordinary sharpness.
Recalling the spot where the bullet pierced me, I look upon the azure sky above the jujube grove.
The warm tide of flowing blood soaks my chest, as the jujube trees begin to spin around me.
In the same way, when a human being immerses oneself completely in rigorous training and research and pushes oneself to the absolute limit, does one not come to understand a state of mastery in academia, religion, or art that could never be conceived of with an ordinary mindset?
Without steady, diligent day-to-day effort, it is impossible to enter such a state of enlightenment.
Yet it is also true that merely accumulating ordinary daily efforts will never bring someone to that summit. There exists a threshold that rationalism alone cannot cross. If we call that the “zero-degree line,” then true achievement in scholarship, religion, art, and martial arts is sharply distinguished by whether one operates above or below that line.
Reading dozens of philosophy books may make one a student of philosophy, but unless you philosophize for yourself, you cannot become a true philosopher. Unless you pursue philosophy not vaguely as a hobby or vocation, but as a critical question of your own life, you cannot become a philosopher above the zero-degree mark. The same applies to economics and sociology.
In Ueshiba Sensei, I see the archetype of a founder-patriarch, and in Tomiki Sensei, the archetype of an apostle-propagator.
Of course, the ideal figure would be a Bodhisattva-like figure who combines both. A Bodhisattva opens the state of enlightenment for themselves, yet does not remain comfortably resting within it; instead, they return to the human realm and strive to bring salvation to all living beings.
However, the role that I could reasonably aspire to reach through my own efforts is that of the propagator. The propagator cannot create something above zero degrees on their own, but they possess the discernment to recognize authentic, above-zero achievements, master them, and faithfully convey them to those who reside below the zero-degree line – including themselves.
Decades have passed since I dedicated myself to academic inquiry. While my accomplishments have been slow in coming, I have gradually come to understand the rigor of scholarship.
While remaining essentially a superficial scholar in name only, without a dazzling or ostentatious exterior, I have come to desire a pursuit of above-zero scholarship that quietly and plainly gazes into the heart of matters, reflects on their meaning, and establishes its own insights.
3) About Professor Kenji Tomiki
On December 25th, 1979 (Showa 54), Master Kenji Tomiki closed out his 79-year life.
It was around June of that year, I believe, on a muggy day when the seasonal rains fell heavily. The professor suddenly came to the Yoshinkan at Kobe University alongside instructor Nariyama, provided brief instruction to the Aikido club members, and departed.
At the time, I received word from Mr. Yanagimoto that Sensei had expressed a strong desire to see me, so I went to the dojo. We met for the first time in a long while, but without discussing anything out of the ordinary, he simply spoke casually about practice. The only impression that lingered was: “Could he have grown a little weaker due to his advanced age?”
On December 26th, I received a phone call from Mr. Yuichi Murakami (a student of Sensei’s from his Waseda University days, and Administrative Manager at Kobe Kenko Mayonnaise Co., Ltd.) informing me of the professor’s passing. It was so sudden that alongside a piercing sorrow, the thought welled up in me –Was Sensei’s visit to Kobe back then his way of saying goodbye? Why didn’t I insist on having him stay longer and listen to what he had to say? – regret surged inside me.
My early immersion in martial arts – having spent my middle school years obsessed with basketball – began when I entered Kenkoku University and took up Aikido, largely due to Tomiki Sensei’s influence. It was because I was deeply drawn to his character that I embraced Aikido, and through it, deepened my understanding of martial arts. For me, martial arts and Tomiki Sensei were inseparable. Once he was gone, it felt as if the concept of martial arts itself has lost its color within me.
In Professor Tomiki, there was none of the bloodlust or overt aggressiveness typical of traditional martial artists. He possessed the tranquil, weathered presence of an ascetic seeking the Way. His martial arts possessed an overarching theory, philosophy, and a systematic method founded fundamentally on the principles of judo.
Adapting these principles to kakuritai-sei (隔離体勢 – distant, separated postures) resulted in his theory of Aikido. Just as Jigoro Kano elevated jujutsu into Judo and worked toward its widespread diffusion, Tomiki Sensei pursued the realization of an ideal – just as sword arts spread via the introduction of the padded bamboo practice sword, enabling Aikido to be practiced competitively and striving tirelessly for its popularization.
Judo and Aikido, by Kenji Tomiki
His martial arts theories were published in several books. In 1956 (Showa 31), he published “Judo and Aikido” in English, which was translated into French and became renowned worldwide as a masterpiece introducing Aikido to the international community. In 1957 (Showa 32), he published “Introduction to Aikido” (合気道入門), followed by “New Aikido Text” (新合気道テキスト) in 1963 (Showa 38). He authored “Physical Education and Budo” (体育と武道) in 1970 (Showa 45), and in 1979 (Showa 54) published the treatise “The Essence of Japanese Budo” (日本武道の本質).
“The Essence of Japanese Budo”
(日本武道の本質)
Furthermore, competitive Aikido began taking its initial strides when the 1st All-Japan Aikido Tournament was held in 1970.
The Japan Aikido Association was founded the same year, reaching its tenth anniversary in 1980 (Showa 55).
During his student days at Waseda University, Professor Tomiki was active in the Judo club, where his nickname among peers was the “Intellectual of the Athletic Department”. Even after entering the martial arts world, this defining trait remained intact – dressed in the mantle of a “theorist of the martial arts realm,” it shone brightly throughout his entire life.
A martial artist devoid of “bloodlust,” an educator of peerless excellence through budo – that was the personal ideal of Professor Tomiki that resonated so deeply with me. On the other hand, while studying economics in my youth, I wrestled with constant doubts: Is Sensei actually strong? That represented the naive skepticism of my student days. In the techniques of Judo and Aikido, one finds a razor sharpness and grace, qualities also perceptible in Sensei. However, he did not possess the fierce, wild power seen in Ueshiba Sensei. Yet I believe that was precisely as it should be. Ueshiba Sensei was an extraordinary, once in a generation founder. Professor Tomiki was the apostle and propagator.
While the widespread dissemination of Aikido throughout Japan and across the globe is due to Ueshiba Sensei’s greatness and the achievements of his many disciples, Professor Tomiki’s specific contribution was monumental.
The other day, I spoke with Mr. Fumiaki Shishida, a lecturer at Waseda University and student of the professor, who visited alongside Mr. Nariyama. We talked about “Sensei during his Manchuria years”. We both agreed on the point that “the core root of Sensei’s Budo lay in Judo,” and shared a laugh over it. It was a warm laugh that could only be shared among those who truly understood Professor Tomiki. For further details, I recommend referring to Mr. Shishida’s “A Short Biography of Shihan Kenji Tomiki” (富木謙治師範略伝) .
”Aikido Classroom” – 合気道教室
by Fumiaki Shishida and Tetsuro Nariyama
Knowing that successors like Mr. Shishida and Mr. Nariyama carry on the spirit of young Tomiki Sensei and strive to realize his aspirations brings deep reassurance and peace to my heart.
September 21, 2026
Aikido, Me, and Kenkoku University – Training in Manchuria, Part 1
Entrance to Kendai – Kenkoku University
Japanese Occupied Manchuria
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.”
“How War and Religion Shaped Modern AikidoPart Il” by Stanley Pranin
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.
Kenji Tomiki and Morihei Ueshiba
In front of the Shinbuden at Kendai
Shigenobu Okumura back left
Hideo Ohba back right
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.
Continued in Part 2…
September 13, 2026
The 1929 Emperor’s Cup – Kenji Tomiki and the Other Guy
The Showa Emperor Hirohito
1929 Tenran Shiai (Emperor’s Cup)
The first of three Emperor’s Cup (天覧試合) tournaments was held in 1929 to commemorate the coronation of the Showa Emperor Hirohito.
It was also the last tournament in the competitive career of Kenji Tomiki, then a 5th Dan in Kodokan Judo and a student of both Jigoro Kano and Morihei Ueshiba – he would later become Aikido’s first 8th Dan.
The Showa Emperor and
Crown Prince Akihito in 1949
The second Showa Emperor’s Cup was held in 1934 to commemorate the birth of the Emperor Hirohito’s son, Crown Prince Akihito – who would become the Heisei Emperor in 1989, upon the passing of his father.
There will be a footnote to this second Emperor’s Cup at the end of this article (no fair skipping ahead!).
Morihei Ueshiba in Manchukuo, 1940
Celebration of the 2600th Anniversary
of the Founding of Japan
The third, and final Showa Emperor’s Cup was held in 1940, to celebrate the 2600th Anniversary of the Founding of Japan. The date, based upon the mythical ascension of the Emperor Jimmu to the throne of Japan (the date calculated from accounts in the Kojiki and the Nihongi), was used as an opportunity for a massive state-sponsored propaganda campaign by the military government to promote ultra-nationalism, imperial divine right, and wartime mobilization.
Masakichi Fujita, Aikido Shihan Masatake Fujita’s father, appears above with Morihei Ueshiba in Japanese occupied Manchuria, at the celebration held there for the anniversary.
More about that photo in “Interview with Aikido Shihan Masatake Fujita, Part 2“.
Kenji Tomiki at the Kodokan, 1941
In the photo above we see Kenji Tomiki and Shigemi Yonekawa demonstrating Aiki-Budo at the Kodokan in 1941 for the commemoration of the third anniversary of Jigoro Kano’s passing.

Both of them are noted as coming from Manchukuo, Japanese occupied Manchuria, and it is noted that Aiki-Budo is a revised version of Daito-ryu. Kenji Tomiki is listed as having been born in Akita Prefecture, and a fifth dan Judo instructor.
His rank in Judo is the same as it was during the 1929 Emperor’s Cup.
“Showa Tenran Shiai” (昭和天覧試合), 1930
Dai-nippon Yubenkai Kodansha
(大日本雄辯會講談社)
In 1930 the Dai-nippon Yubenkai Kodansha (known today as Kodansha Publishing) published a commemorative volume chronicling the 1929 Showa Emperor’s Cup, including accounts of Kenji Tomiki’s matches.
The founder of Kodansha publishing company and owner of the Noma Dojo was Seiji Noma. The Noma Dojo was where Morihei Ueshiba’s famous photo series was taken in 1936 – the Noma Dojo photos, featuring Morihei Ueshiba and Shigemi Yonekawa.
Shigemi Yonekawa and Morihei Ueshiba
Noma Dojo, 1936
The photos were taken by Seiji Noma’s son Hisashi, a student of Morihei Ueshiba, a photographer, a famous kendo player, and a close friend of Morihei Ueshiba’s adopted son and designated successor Kiyoshi Nakakura – there is an interview with Kiyoshi Nakakura conducted by Stanley Pranin here.
Kodansha was the publisher for most of the Aikikai’s works, with which it enjoys a longstanding relationship.
Kodansha also published “The Great Onisaburo Deguchi“, a somewhat glowing hagiography of Onisaburo Deguchi written by his grandson in 1966.
Kenji Tomiki in 1928
“Showa Tenran Shiai” contains accounts of four of Kenji Tomiki’s matches.
Tomiki 5th Dan – Wakasawa 3rd Dan
Tomiki initially threatened Wakasawa with a Hane-goshi (spring hip throw), but Wakasawa defended skillfully and both went down together. Instantly rising, Tomiki attempted another Hane-goshi. Wakasawa barely managed to endure the throw, but seizing upon the disruption in his opponent’s balance, Tomiki immediately capitalized with a Deashi-barai (forward foot sweep) to score a brilliant, clean victory. Time: 4 minutes, 12 seconds.
Tomiki 5th Dan – Haraigawa 3rd Dan
Haraigawa met his match in the formidable Tomiki. In this bout, both fighters attacked vigorously with their full repertoire of techniques. After a fierce, hard-fought and closely contested exchange, they readjusted their belts and clashed once more. As an impatient Haraigawa moved to attack, Tomiki swiftly countered, executing a Tsurikomi-goshi (lifting pulling hip throw) at lightning speed. Haraigawa’s body flipped entirely over Tomiki’s back and crashed down! Just as the regulation time of 7 minutes was about to expire, Tomiki secured a dramatic, close victory.
Sekiguchi 2nd Dan – Tomiki 5th Dan
‘Sekiguchi is going on the offensive!’
‘He may only be a 2nd Dan from Toyama High School, but his transition between standing throws and ground fighting is incredible. Brilliant! He did it again!’
The entire stadium shared this sentiment early on. The two faced off, yet neither fully locked up. Sekiguchi, fully aware that he stood no chance against Tomiki in pure standing techniques (tachi-waza), maintained a very guarded stance and refused to be drawn into a grip easily, merely contending with minor hand clashes.
However, the instant Sekiguchi seized his opponent’s sleeve, he took the initiative and dropped directly into his signature ground technique. As he fell, he locked Tomiki’s elbow in a reverse armlock, pulling the opponent down sharply toward the ground. Tomiki countered with a response that showed he was hardly helpless on the mat, and as both tumbled together, they transitioned into ground grappling (ne-waza).
Just then, the referee’s voice rang out: ‘Yoshi, sore made!’ (Stop, that is all!)
At that moment, it seemed Tomiki had tried to counter with a reverse move of his own, but Sekiguchi nimbly countered back, standing up while holding Tomiki’s right elbow in a reverse lock.
Even the veteran Tomiki 5th Dan – renowned for his consummate skill in both standing and ground combat – was overcome by the ground-grappling prodigy Sekiguchi 2nd Dan, suffering a regrettable defeat.
Tomiki 5th Dan – Oki 4th Dan
As soon as they engaged, Tomiki established his posture carefully, controlling his opponent while steering into an advantageous position to fully set up his attack (tsukuri). Seizing the decisive moment, he launched a fierce, masterclass assault with an Osoto-gari (major outer reap). With spirit and timing in perfect unison, Oki lost his balance from the sudden momentum and fell, clinching Tomiki’s championship victory in Division 4.
…Tomiki’s match against Oki was his final match in active competition:
“In addition, he entered the prestigious Imperial Martial Arts Tournament (Tenranjiai) in 1929 as the judo representative from Miyagi Prefecture and placed within the top 12 after being forced to withdraw due to an injury.”
Kenji Tomiki: “The Second Jigoro Kano” – by Stanley Pranin
Showa Emperor’s Cup
Roundtable Discussion
There was an interesting comment about Morihei Ueshiba from Rear Admiral Chikatami Honda (海軍少将本田親民), Managing Director of the Kodokan, in the Roundtable Discussion about the Emperor’s Cup.
Rear Admiral Chikatami Honda
Apparently, Honda was concerned about the danger involved in Morihei Ueshiba’s approach, and preferred the emphasis on personal development in Judo training.
Here are the comments from Chikatami Honda:
“I have one observation concerning the Judo currently being practiced at the Kodokan.
To put it simply, there is a man named Ueshiba who is practicing some extremely dangerous methods of gyaku-reversal/locking techniques.
There are people in the Navy, such as Admiral Takeshita, who are learning from him, and there are many others who are studying his methods as well.
Its principal aim is to defeat the opponent with a single blow.
Someone once advised me about this. He said that the Judo of the present-day Kodokan, as General Todoroki had just said, would be of no use in a situation where one actually had to fight for one’s life, because it does not go so far as to “deliver the finishing blow”.
(*This refers to an earlier comment by General Shinzo Todoroki: “To speak frankly, very few people practice Judo among either veterans or active military personnel. The reason is that Judo techniques are seen as extremely graceless. Practitioners immediately go to the ground and do nothing but scramble desperately to win with newaza (ground techniques). This is seen as incompatible with the military spirit.”)
From that point of view, someone suggested that perhaps the Kodokan ought to adopt something like what Ueshiba teaches.
He apparently even made this suggestion in front of Master Kano. He said, in effect, “You should take a look at this; it will be of great interest.”
…
I have no particular objection to what Master Kano and I have seen, but I did not think that this was a reason to become his student.
As for the criticism that Kodokan Judo is deficient because, ultimately, in a contest, it has no means of delivering a decisive finishing blow, there is actually much that can be said in its defense.
That would take rather a long time to explain, but there are thousands of words that could be said concerning the origins, essence, purpose, and effects of Kodokan Judo.”
This position was summarized in Ushitora Miyashita’s reply to Honda’s comment:
“I think it is an excellent thing that Master Kano conceived of Judo as a method for training both body and mind and devoted himself to researching it.”
It’s interesting to note that Morihei Ueshiba’s art was criticized as being overly dangerous in 1930, while it was Judo, with its sporting competitions, that was the art of personal development.
Here is a similar comment, from “Mr. Kimura’s Aikido Memories, Part 2“, about training with Morihei Ueshiba in 1938:
“Aikido in the old days was to throw them down and kill them, everything was throwing techniques, I was told to throw them at an angle that would drive their head into the ground. When it was time to be thrown by Sensei during training we’d scramble away. We didn’t train until the throwing was over. so we didn’t get taught.”
Morihei Ueshiba said something similar when he (at first) refused an invitation to demonstrate his art to the Imperial family in 1941, as quoted by Gozo Shioda:
“I can’t show false techniques to the Emperor. Basically in aikido, the opponent is killed with a single blow. It’s false if the attacker is thrown, leisurely stands up, and attacks again. [On the other hand], I can’t go around killing my students.”
Morihei Ueshiba was reassured that the regular techniques they did in training would be acceptable, and the demonstration went ahead. Ironically, both of the uke – Gozo Shioda and Tsutomu Yukawa, came away with injuries.
The common narrative in modern Aikido is that Morihei Ueshiba, having experienced a kind of enlightenment, radically altered his technical approach after the war, changing it to an “Art of Peace” and “loving protection” of the attacker.
There are several difficulties with this argument.
The first one being that there is no real evidence that Morihei Ueshiba actually changed his technical approach.
Morihiro Saito, for example, maintained that what Morihei Ueshiba taught in Iwama after the war was most similar to the content of “Budo – Moritaka Ueshiba’s 1938 Technical Manual“.
Further, “Aikido Maki-no-Ichi – O-Sensei’s First Book on Aikido“, published in 1954, which Morihei Ueshiba used as an instructional manual after the war, is identical in content to “Aikijujutsu Densho – AKA Budo Renshu, by Moritaka Ueshiba“, published some twenty years earlier.
Fortunately, we can see for ourselves that Morihei Ueshiba’s technical approach was essentially unchanged from before to after the war in this video comparing pre-war and post-war Aikido.
What about love and loving protection? Well,this is the Aikikai’s current “Ethic Charter of Aikido“:
“The Spirit of Aikido: Aiki means Love. To accomplish the mission and responsibility to cherish and protect all things is the true way of Budo.”
Which seems to be a fine example of what would appear to be the post-war transformation of Morihei Ueshiba, and this actually quotes Morihei Ueshiba. The difficulty is with the timeline, since this quotation is actually based on a statement by Morihei Ueshiba from 1925:
“At that moment, I was enlightened: the source of budo [martial discipline] is God’s love—the spirit of loving protection for all beings. Endless tears of joy streamed down my cheeks. . . . I understood: budo is not felling the opponent by our force; nor is it a tool to lead the world into destruction with arms. True budo is to accept the spirit of the universe, keep the peace of the world, correctly produce, protect, and cultivate all beings in Nature. The training of budo is to take God’s love . . . and assimilate it and utilize it in our own mind and body.”
Of course, this is fine rhetoric and a worthy ideal, but there is an issue with the timeline and the narrative of a post-war transformation, since the rhetorical ideal comes from 1925…and Morihei Ueshiba did the precise opposite for the next twenty years.
Two decades during which he taught the police, the military, the Japanese version of the Gestapo, and volunteered his skills to actively assist in assassination plots. Two decades during which he insisted that his art “killed with one blow”.
More than that, the “one blow” narrative was so pervasive that it was a caution in the first of a list of rules for training that Morihei Ueshiba posted on the wall of his Dojo before the war…and after the war.
Although it was eventually taken down from the wall at Aikikai Hombu Dojo, it was still around in “AIKIDO, The Arts of Self-Defense” by Koichi Tohei, Edited by Morihei Uyeshiba, revised edition 1961:
“One blow in AIKIDO is capable of killing an opponent. In practice, obey your instructor, and do not make practice a time for needless testing of strength.”
Eventually, it was the people who came after Morihei Ueshiba, rather than Morihei Ueshiba himself, who substantially changed both the technical art and the ethical/philosophocal framework in an attempt to market the art to a more general post-war audience.
Not to mention that there were some additional issues with the translation of Morihei Ueshiba’s speeches in the post-war period – some of which are discussed in “War and Peace – Morihei Ueshiba, Lost in Translation“.
There is an interesting discussion of these two legacies, the two legacies of Morihei and Kisshomaru Ueshiba in “The Ueshiba Legacy – Part 1, by Mark Murray“.
Ironically, however, many non-competitive Aikido practitioners are often still seen to insist that Aikido is “too dangerous” for competition – while at the same time insisting on the mythology of a post-war “transformation”.
The 1934 Showa Tenran Shiai
Commemorating the Birth of the Crown Prince
But wait…that’s not all!
As promised above, here is an interesting footnote to the second Emperor’s Cup in 1934 from the commemorating volume for that event, again published by the Dai-nippon Yubenkai Kodansha company.
Jiro Takeda in the Showa Tenran Shiai
Kenji Tomiki is often said to have been one of two people sent to train with Morihei Ueshiba by Jigoro Kano, but that’s really just a common misundertanding.
Kenji Tomiki actually met Morihei Ueshiba in 1926 through an introduction of a friend at the Waseda University Judo Club, Hidetaro Nishimura, who was an Omoto believer.
After seeing a demonstration by Morihei Ueshiba in 1930, Jigoro Kano sent two of his students to train under him at Morihei Ueshiba’s Kobukan Dojo.
One was Minoru Mochizuki, who would go on to establish Yoseikan Aiki Budo, and was offered the opportunity to be adopted into the Ueshiba family as Morihei Ueshiba’s successor.
The second one was…the “other guy”, that few people remember today – Jiro Suzuki, who appears in the entry from the 1934 Emperor’s Cup above.
A Kodokan Judo 6th Dan, he is also listed as having trained in Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu (as Minoru Mochizuki did), Shinto Muso-ryu Jojutsu, Tanken-jutsu, Jutte-jutsu, and Kusarigama-jutsu.
It also notes that he trained in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu at the Ueshiba Dojo, receiving Ogi Hiden (奥義秘伝). This likely refers to a scroll similar to the “Hiden Ogi no Koto” (秘伝奥義の事) scroll that Minoru Mochizuki received from Morihei Ueshiba in 1932.
Find out more about Kenji Tomiki here:
A Letter from Kenji Tomiki to Isamu Takeshita
Aikido Shihan Kenji Tomiki’s Goshinjutsu
Kenji Tomiki: Judo Taiso – a method of training Aiki no Jutsu through Judo principles
September 6, 2026