Tag Archives: tempu

Interview, Translation

Interview with Aikido Shihan Masando Sasaki, Part 3

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The two faces of Masando Sasaki Sensei
"Aikido is the manifestation of the principles of the universe – connection and the union of opposites."
“Your belly won’t get full reading a cookbook; you have to eat!”
-Masando Sasaki Sensei
Masando Sasaki (佐々木の将人), 8th Dan, passed away on February 15th 2013 at the age of 84. Born in Yamagata Prefecture in 1929, he was a graduate in economics and law of Chuo University. Sasaki began aikido in 1954 while employed by the Self-Defense Agency, and was also was a member of the Tempukai and Ichikukai, and a priest of the Yamakage San’in Shinto sect.
This is the third part of a three part English translation of an interview with Masando Sasaki that was published in a collection of interviews with students of the Founder published in Japanese as "Profiles of the Founder" (開祖の横顔) in 2009. You may wish to read Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview before reading this section.There was a short introduction to "Profiles of the Founder" in the article "Morihei Ueshiba – Profiles of the Founder".Previous postings have featured English translations of interviews from that collection with Nobuyoshi Tamura sensei (Part 1 | Part 2), and Hiroshi Isoyama sensei (Part 1 | Part 2).

Interview, Translation

Interview with Aikido Shihan Masando Sasaki, Part 2

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Funeral for Masando Sasaki Sensei, February 20th 2013Tojo Ceremony Hall in Tsurugaoka, Saitama – attended by more than 700 peopleThe plaque to the right of center reads "Aikido Doshu Ueshiba Moriteru"
合氣は宇宙法則の陰陽結びの道で美しく投げ美しく受身を取る稽古から切磋琢磨の和の武道であるAiki is the Way of the universal principle of In-Yo connectionThrowing beautifully in training, falling beautifully in trainingAssiduous cultivation of the Budo of Peace
-Masando Sasaki Sensei
Masando Sasaki (佐々木の将人), 8th Dan, passed away on February 15th 2013 at the age of 84. He was one of the early post-war students of Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba, entering Aikikai Hombu Dojo in 1954. He was a colorful character, and often controversial. Concerned with the course of Japanese political affairs, he set up a spy school together with some former members the of the Nakano spy school (Morihei Ueshiba was an instructor at the Nakano spy school until 1942). Exposed in the United States through an article in Time Magazine, he was forced to resign from the Japanese Defense Agency.
This is the second part of a three part English translation of an interview with Masando Sasaki that was published in a collection of interviews with students of the Founder published in Japanese as "Profiles of the Founder" (開祖の横顔) in 2009. You may wish to read Part 1 of the interview before reading this section.There was a short introduction to "Profiles of the Founder" in the article "Morihei Ueshiba – Profiles of the Founder".Previous postings have featured English translations of interviews from that collection with Nobuyoshi Tamura sensei (Part 1 | Part 2), and Hiroshi Isoyama sensei (Part 1 | Part 2).

Interview, Translation

Aikido Shihan Hiroshi Tada: The Budo Body, Part 8

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Hiroshi Tada Sensei on the cover of Aikido Journal #101See “Interview with Hiroshi Tada” by Stanley Pranin from this issue
This is the eighth and final section of the English translation of an interview in Japanese with Hiroshi Tada. You may want to read the previous sections first:Part 1: explore Tada Sensei’s samurai ancestry and his encounters with Shotokan Karate Founder Gichin Funakoshi.Part 2: find out how Hiroshi Tada met Shin-Shin Toitsu-Do Founder Tempu Nakamura.Part 3: discover Tada Sensei’s thoughts on "telepathy" training.Part 4: read Tada Sensei’s thoughts on Japanese Budo and Kata training.Part 5: learn about the most influential person in the history of Japan, and their relationship to Japanese Budo.
Part 6: find out why Hiroshi Tada’s father was told never to read books on archery.
Part 7: discover why you should never eat watermelon after a fast.You may also be interested in "The Day I Entered Ueshiba Dojo", in which Hiroshi Tada recounts his first encounter with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei.You may notice that the tone of the interview is quite conversational. This is the way that it appears in the original Japanese – the original was not heavily edited, with the result being that the natural conversational tone was preserved. However, this also means that the discussion is sometimes less focused then a more heavily edited interview would be.

Interview, Translation

Aikido Shihan Hiroshi Tada: The Budo Body, Part 4

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Hiroshi Tada (3rd from right) at the 40th Anniversary of Aikikai SwitzerlandWith the Mayor of Neuchâtel and Ambassador and Mrs. Ichiro KomatsuFrom Aikido Shimbun number 585, published October 10th 2009
This is part 4 of the English translation of an interview in Japanese with Hiroshi Tada. You may want to read Part 1 first to learn about Tada Sensei’s samurai ancestry and his encounters with Shotokan Karate Founder Gichin Funakoshi, Part 2 to learn about how Hiroshi Tada met Shin-Shin Toitsu-Do Founder Tempu Nakamura, and Part 3 to learn Tada Sensei’s thoughts on "telepathy" training.You may also be interested in "The Day I Entered Ueshiba Dojo", in which Hiroshi Tada recounts his first encounter with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei.You may notice that the tone of the interview is quite conversational. This is the way that it appears in the original Japanese – the original was not heavily edited, with the result being that the natural conversational tone was preserved. However, this also means that the discussion is sometimes less focused then a more heavily edited interview might be.

Interview, Translation

Aikido Shihan Hiroshi Tada: The Budo Body, Part 3

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Hiroshi Tada cutting bamboo at a Tempukai summer training camp, 1959
One of Hiroshi Tada’s teachers, Tempu Nakamura, was famous for his bamboo cutting training. The bamboo was suspended from hollows cut into two strips of paper, which in turn hung from two upturned knives held by two assistants. The bamboo would be split without ripping the suspending top and bottom holes in the strips of paper. Koichi Tohei also continued this training method, as explained by his son Shinichi Tohei.
This is part 3 of the English translation of an interview in Japanese with Hiroshi Tada. You may want to read part 1 first to learn about Tada Sensei’s samurai ancestry and his encounters with Shotokan Karate Founder Gichin Funakoshi, and part 2 to learn about how Hiroshi Tada met Shin-Shin Toitsu-Do Founder Tempu Nakamura.You may also be interested in "The Day I Entered Ueshiba Dojo", in which Hiroshi Tada recounts his first encounter with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei.