Tag: Morihei Ueshiba

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
War and Peace – Morihei Ueshiba, Lost in Translation
“The Art of War” vs “The Art of Peace“
Translation can be a tricky and often thankless task.
That gets more problematic these days with the rise of AI translation methods.
I’ll note here that AI translation is often very, very, good, but on niche topics, like Aikido, it’s often very, very bad, and that’s largely due to small mis-translations that are difficult to catch unless you have the ability to read and understand the original text. In other words, AI can accelerate translation, but not replace it (yet).
For example, I’ve seen both Gemini Pro and ChatGpt mistranslate things as simple as Morihei Ueshiba’s name. Another AI translation text translated the phrase “The Art of Peace” in English as “The Technique of Peace” in Japanese – “technique” in the sense of something like “shiho-nage”. Obviously, this leads to the possibility of misunderstanding to a reader who does not (or can not) compare the translation to the original text.
Still, critical evaluation of translated text, and alternative translations, are an important part of examining the historical record.
I’ve discussed some of the issues surrounding translation in modern Aikido here:
“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“
“Drinking wine with O-Sensei“
I would also like to direct your attention to this essay from Aikido Journal founder and editor Stanley Pranin, “O-Sensei’s Spiritual Writings: Where did they really come from?“, which highlights some additional issues with source materials:
“Recently, due to the publication of a series of books whose authorship has been attributed to Morihei Ueshiba, founder of aikido, I have felt compelled to weigh in on the subject of what O-Sensei actually did write during his career as a martial artist. The answer is in brief, “almost nothing.”
The published books containing quotations attributed to Morihei Ueshiba available in various Western languages are based on “sanitized” Japanese versions of Morihei’s words.”
Translations are also influenced by the style choices made by the translators themselves (this is discussed, a bit, in the linked essays above).
Interpretive translations, often referred to as “poetic” translations, are usually more readable and attractive to the average reader, and can sometimes give greater insight into the nuance of the original text…and sometimes not, the drawback being that one is at the mercy of the translator’s interpretation and bias.
Literal translation, on the other hand, can be much more accurate, depending upon the type of source material, the drawback being that it can miss some or all of the nuance of more abstract material.
The best translations attempt to reach some balanced middle ground appropriate to the source material.
However, whatever the style choices that are made by the translator, accuracy and faithful representation of the source material counts.
This is one of those (to borrow a catchphrase).
Here is a popular quotation from “The Art of Peace”, translated by John Stevens:
“The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace.”
One of the difficulties with the texts translated by John Stevens is that he virtually never cited or included his original sources, making it extremely difficult (often impossible) to determine what was actually said by Morihei Ueshiba. Not to mention that the source materials themselves were sometimes comprised:
“What is problematic for Prof. Stevens is that he has no way of verifying the authenticity of the Japanese text that he is using as a source.”
“Beautiful! Inspiring!… But Did O-Sensei Really Say It?” – Aikido Journal
In this case, the original text appears to have been drawn from “Aiki Shinzui” (合気神髄).
“Aiki Shinzui” was largely assembled from lectures that Morihei Ueshiba gave after the war and then compiled by Sadateru Arikawa and Masatake Fujita for the Aikikai’s “Aikido Shimbun” (合気道新聞).
This work was translated into English by John Stevens and published as “The Secret Teachings of Aikido“, but… please keep in mind the caveats given here.
As a caution (and as Stanley Pranin noted above), those lectures were edited for content by the Aikikai, with much of the more problematic content eliminated. For example, the ultra-nationalist sentiments that Morihei Ueshiba continued to express after the war, and much of the more difficult esoteric language through which Morihei Ueshiba made his explanations:
“Basically, my view is this. Almost without exception, quotes of O-Sensei published in Japanese were heavily edited by the staff of the Aikikai Hombu Dojo prior to publication. Although I would not go so far as to say that these edited writings violate the spirit of O-Sensei’s thinking, they alter considerably the vocabulary and forms of expression employed by Morihei, and strip out much of the Shinto-based religious context he would customarily use in his speech.”
“Hey Stan! Did O-Sensei really say this?” by Stanley Pranin
Additionally, there were numerous difficulties with the transcriptions themselves, leading to numerous errors – a Japanese researcher actually made a long (but still partial) list of some of those errors some years ago.
Masatake Fujita and Morihei Ueshiba
Masatake Fujita himself discussed the difficulties that he experienced in “Interview with Aikido Shihan Masatake Fujita, Part 2“:
Q: I’ve heard that you were the one running the tape recorder at those sessions…
A: That’s right. At that time the machine was still an open reel tape recorder about the size of a mikan (orange) crate. But when I held the microphone in front of his eyes he’d strike a pose and become formal. (laughing) So in order to record the natural voice of O-Sensei, as much as possible I tried to hold the microphone where he couldn’t see it and record him in secret. Then we would write it down and edit it for the Aikido Shimbun. Arikawa Shihan had a passion for that, and I would assist him, so I did the editing for both the Aikido Shimbun and “Aiki Shinzui” (合氣神髄 / published in Japanese in 2002).
Q: The words of the Founder are really difficult to understand, were you able to understand them?
A: No, no, I didn’t understand any of that stuff! (laughing) I really had to study hard. Also, when I was editing O-Sensei’s words it was especially difficult to determine which were the correct Kanji to use.
Q: It must have been very difficult to just listen to the lectures and then put it all together afterwards!
A: It was very difficult, so it took many years. It was especially difficult to transcribe the words from tape. It could lead you to a nervous breakdown! (laughing) I worked on it for a long time.
So, moving on – finally…
Here is the original Japanese quotation, from “Aiki Shinzui” (合気神髄):
合気はまず己れから始まる。己れを磨き、己れに与えられた天命を果たせ。
And here is a direct translation of the Japanese from “Aiki Shinzui” above:
“Aiki begins with oneself. Polish yourself and fulfill the heavenly mission that has been given to you.”
As you may have noticed – “The Art of Peace” does not exist in the original Japanese, as it does not appear in in any of the original Japanese quotations from which these quotations were drawn in the publication “The Art of Peace”, since… it’s not really a phrase that Morihei Ueshiba even used, and that’s something that’s commonly misunderstood.
What John Stevens did was to replace the words “Aiki” and “Aikido” where they appeared in the original Japanese text with the phrase “The Art of Peace”, significantly altering the nuance and context of the quotations.
Actually, this was done at the request of the publisher, for marketing purposes – hoping to profit off of the enormous commercial success of “The Art of War” by producing a “companion volume”.
It worked fairly well commercially, but at the cost of altering and rearranging the original meanings and, particularly in the case of the “The Art of Peace” which consists entirely of out of context quotations, eliminating the context of the statements that would actually give them meaning.
I’ll end this with another comment from Stanley Pranin:
“A serious attempt to faithfully transcribe, edit and annotate the corpus of recordings of O-Sensei’s speeches and lectures has yet to be undertaken. Readers of the currently available materials should bear this in mind when researching the philosophy of the aikido founder.”
“O-Sensei’s Spiritual Writings: Where did they really come from?” by Stanley Pranin
Edgar Allan Poe famously stated “Believe none of what you hear and believe half of what you see.” – and that caution might well be applied to the translated word as well.
August 30, 2026
Arms and Elbows: Morihei Ueshiba, Lost in Translation
Morihei Ueshiba and Gozo Shioda
Budo – Moritaka Ueshiba’s 1938 Technical Manual
In 1938, Morihei (Moritaka) Ueshiba published the technical manual “Budo” – Yoshinkan Aikido founder Gozo Shioda (above, from the manual itself) was one of the students featured as partners in the photographs.
Prince Kaya Tsunenori
Budo was originally published as a simplified military manual for Prince Kaya Tsunenori, the superintendent of the Toyama Military School where Morihei Ueshiba was an instructor (the original Japanese text is available here). In many ways it was a simplified version of the more complex Aiki-jujutsu Densho, published earlier and then republished after the war and used as an instructional manual as Aikido Maki-no-Ichi.
Some of the translation issues with the “Budo” manual were discussed previously in Morihei Ueshiba, Budo and Kamae.
Here is another example from the same manual – item number 49.
In “Budo: Teachings of the Founder of Aikido“, translated by John Stevens, this item appears as:
There is no photo (either in the original Japanese text or the English translation), and no explanation, but it was felt that “Developing Arm Power” was important enough to mention.
This is not uncommon for “secret” items, whose content would be imparted through “Kuden” (口伝), oral transmission.
In many traditions the oral transmission would be limited to a select few students, or possibly only a single student – the explanation that would “unlock” the physical training.
This particular item is included in a section on “finishing exercises” (終末動作) that includes Tai-no-Henka (體の変化), and “Ki Power Development” (気力の養成), the exercise otherwise known today as seated Kokyu-ho (座技呼吸法), both foundational conditioning exercises that Morihei Ueshiba typically included in every training session.
Coincidentally (or perhaps not), Morihei Ueshiba often stated, as repeated by Morihiro Saito, that a student could learn all the essential principles of Aikido through just these three core exercises, Tai-no-henka, Morotedori-kokyuho, and Suwariwaza-kokyuho.
So let’s look at the original Japanese entry for this item:
Most of the text is the same.
This entry is noted as item 49, to be “imparted orally” (口授ス).
The title of the section is 臂力の養成 – “Hiriki no Yosei” – so it’s here that we run into some differences from the original English translation of “Arm Power Development” by John Stevens.
The Kanji 臂, somewhat archaic, is sometimes translated as “arm”, but is most commonly noted as an obsolete form of 肘 – “hiji”, or “elbow”.
Here it is in the digital edition of the Daijirin (大辞林) Japanese dictionary – “the outer side of the joint connecting the upper arm and the forearm”, with the Kanji from Budo (臂) noted as an obsolete form of the modern usage:
So now – rather than “Arm Power Development”, we have “Elbow Power Development” – a term that most Yoshinkan Aikido practitioners will instantly recognize as one of the basic conditioning exercises emphasized by Gozo Shioda, and as previously noted – Gozo Shioda actually appears in Budo a number of times.
Gozo Shioda and his son Yasuhisa actually note this usage, in both English and Japanese:
Total Aikido: The Master Course
Gozo Shioda and Yasuhisa Shioda
“Total Aikido” notes above, that in Aikido “Hiriki” (臂力) means:
“breath power (“Kokyu-ryoku”) as expressed through the elbow”
Of course, this is a significantly different nuance from “arm power”.
The text above also notes that this is “the basic form that we use to teach the body to develop breath power”, and as Gozo Shioda used to note – Morihei Ueshiba would constantly repeat “Kokyu-ryoku, Kokyu-ryoku, Kokyu-ryoku” when instructing.
The importance of this conditioning exercise is also emphsized in another version of the Budo manual, “Takemusu Aikido Special Edition BUDO:Commentary on the 1938 Training Manual of Morihei Ueshiba“, translated by Sonoko Tanaka and Stanley Pranin:
This time Hiriki no Yosei is demonstrated as the fundamental training and conditioning exercise Morotedori Kokyuho, as taught by Morihei Ueshiba after the war in Iwama and demonstrated here by Morihiro Saito and his son Hitohira.
Another way to consider this is to reflect upon these statements by Morihei Ueshiba’s teacher Sokaku Takeda:
「合気は常に前に出る…合気は肘から先に」
“Aiki always moves forward…straight forward from the elbow.”
Sokaku Takeda, prior to establishing Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu, was well known as a swordsman, a practitioner of Ono-ha Itto-ryu:
“The sword style incorporated into Daito-ryu is Ono-ha Itto-ryu”
Interview with Tokimune Takeda, Aikido Journal
A core principle of Itto-ryu is sharin zenten, the “entering wheel” (車輪前転):
Principles of Budo: Ono-ha Ittō-ryū
Budo Japan
“If you were to describe in words what happens when you do Kiriotoshi, it probably goes something like: “When the opponent cuts down, deflect his blade away with the side of yours and cut into him.” Because the direction your sword cuts is the same as your opponent’s, you would think this could not possibly happen in an actual situation, except by accident. This is because you think of the cut as a line or a point, or consider the probability of this happening. But the true nature of this phenomena of Kiriotoshi is found in the forward rotation of a wheel. You will be able to do uwadachi instantly by rotating everything forward like it was a tire moving forward around its axle and meeting your opponent’s sword as if you were enveloping his downward cut. This is not a mere contest of speed, nor an issue of the trajectory of his sword, nor is it a form of counterattack. This rotation is a principle related to all of the other techniques. For example, techniques one through five look completely different, but they are all Kiriotoshi because they put into practice the principle of sharin zenten that is common to all.”
It may be worth considering the role of the elbow, when connected and empowered through Kokyu-ryoku, in creating the entering wheel discussed above, and its relationship to Aiki.
In Kenji Tomiki’s “Introduction to Goshinjutsu” (護身術入門), published in 1974, Kenji Tomiki discusses the “Principle of the Lever”:
In the diagram above Kenji Tomiki gives a mechanical description of Yin/Yang (In/Yo) opposing forces around a central non-moving neutral pivot.
“Aiki is an absolute neutral, therefore the neutral possesses In and Yo”
Tokimune Takeda – Aiki Kuden and Hiden
Or, as is commonly stated in the Taiji Classics:
“Taiji originates from Wuji; it is the pivot of motion and stillness, and the mother of Yin and Yang.”
Kenji Tomiki approximates this classical body usage in modern mechanics as a force couple. According to Wikipedia this is defined:
A couple is a pair of forces, equal in magnitude, oppositely directed, and displaced by perpendicular distance or moment.
Further:
Its effect is to create rotation without translation, or more generally without any acceleration of the centre of mass.
I will leave the practical application of this in the body, a much longer discussion that benefits significantly from hands on instruction, as an exercise for the reader.
Arms or elbows…your choice!
August 22, 2026