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.