Aikido Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) List ============================================ Version 3.0 - Released 5th July 1995 Comments and queries to Kjartan Clausen Most recent version available via anonymous FTP from cs.ucsd.edu in the pub/aikido/ directory HTML on-line version available via the following URL: http://www.ii.uib.no/~kjartan/aikidofaq/ Disclaimer ========== No warranty of any kind is made in regard to the content of this document, including, but not limited to, any implied warranties of merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. The author of, and contributors to, this document shall not be liable for errors contained in it, or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing of, use of, or reliance upon information contained in this document. So there. Advanced Aikido FAQ =================== 1. The Philosophy in Aikido 1. Doka written by O Sensei 2. Mantrayana and Kotodama 3. Misogi and spiritual exercises 4. Aikido Dobun (instructive principles) by Morihei Ueshiba 5. The concept of Ki in Aikido 2. The Mental Practice of Aikido 1. Reishiki / Etiquette 2. The practice of seiza 3. The art of being together 4. Learning the martial arts 3. The Physical Practice of Aikido 1. Wrist strengthening exercices 2. Why are there no foot techniques in Aikido? The Aikikai Hombo Dojo perspective 3. Aikidotraining and pregnancy precautions 4. The History of Aikido 1. The History of Japan 2. Aikijutsu and Aikido Genealogy 3. Aikido development and history 4. Chronology of Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido 5. Other 1. What is a hakama and who wears it? 2. How to make a bokken 3. How different is Japan? 4. Why martial arts can never be standardized =============================================================================== The Secret Significance of Aikido ================================= poetic Songs of the Way Edited by Seiseki Abe Under the general supervision of Doshu, Kisshomaru Ueshiba Sensei Okui - The Secrets 1. Bu, the root of all that is, is thegreat spirit of the founding of our nation. This bujutsu, as a part of the Imperial Way (kodo), trains us in body and in spirit to achieve the martial spirit (buki) of Yamato-damashii (the Japanese Spirit) by means od AIKI ( a meeting of the ki) with the multitude of deities (Yorozu no Kami). So we train to unite the truth, happiness and beauty of the sincere sole. Bu builds sincere people who have not the slightest vulnerability or opening since they have completely unified their sole and their mind. Therefor our aim is to mutually cultivate (ourselves) in both the world of appearances and in the world of essences and thus to take charge of this world of the present and bring to profect harmony and beauty (our) Yamato-damashii (Japanese spirt). 2. In the narrow sense this means that we must perform austere physical training (shugo) with our bodies while our kokoro (spirit/mind) remains ever mindful of what it means to be a "seeker" (shugyo-sha) 3. In the broadest sense this means unification with the Great Deity. The most important law of Bu is the need for shugyo that fosters the foundation for expressing the Holy Sole of a Surpassing Love of all that is manifested in this world. An Auspicious Day, December, 1936. (by O-sensei) Bujutsu: The form and the spirit of the gods The parent of Izu and Mizu So precious! Put the active principle (yo) into the right hand Turn the left into the passive (in) And so guide the adversay. By means of the way Call out the misguided enemy Advance and presuade him with words of instruction Through the Sword of Love. Enlightement or delusion? Who is to say which person has which Like the evening moon they appear and fade Not one knows exactly when. The Way of the Gods! Give in to the life of the Universe of Heaven and Earth Thus draw nearer and nearer To a spirit who serves the Godhead To see the true things Harmonize the voice with shouts "Yah" Never be drawn into the rhythm of the enemy. I stand in the mountain stream So pure! The splashing sound of water against the stone Yet where is the person Who with such purity can speak (of the Way). Watch not his flashing blade Nothing can be seen there His fists will reveal where he intends to cut Causing the perverted enemy to attack I must then stand behind his form And so cut the enemy down. It is sincerity! First cultivate sincerity with all your heart So realize this truth The World of Reality and the World of Appearance are One. Whenever I seem to conforent Another dead end on my path That precious way of Izu and Mizu I bring to mind once more Should you lose the Way Without a doubt you will enter an "evil path" Give no reign to the spiritual horse. In a forest of the enemy's spears Surrounded! Then realize that those very speraheads Are your very shield. A person who In any situation Perceives the truth with resignation Would never need to draw his sword in haste Pour your spirit and heart Into daily technical training To approach the many through a single principle This is "The Way of the Fighting Man" The enemy comes running in to strike At the instant of the attack Avoid his strike with one step And counter attack in that instant. To see the true things Harmonize with the voice which shouts, "Yah" Never be drawn into the rhythm of the enemy With "Eiii" cut him down! That emeny that lurks within Instruct him with "Yah" Guide him with "Toh" First master the techniques of Aiki The way of the Gods Then no enemy will ever attack His sword raised to the attack The enemy flies at the man he thinks before him But from the very start I was standing behind him "To command the forest of enemy blades arrayed before you Know that the enemy's spirit/mind is your shield." Rip away from your soul The shabby rags it wears Open the way to Heavens destiny So let it shine! When you assume chudan Move the enemy's spirit into the midst And grasp the rhythm in the same fist. Even through surrounded by a great number of enemy View them as one person And so fight on! The enemy may assume gedan But stay as you are in chudan Move your blade neither up nor down. If you wish to weaken The enemy's sword Move first, fly in and cut! Though the enemy's spears and buts are before you and behind With their very weapons as your shield You must cut in and gain victory. Without the slightest opening Nor the least thought of the enemy And his encircling swords Step in and cut! The rays of the rising sun flow in My mind is clear Going to the window, I run about the Heavens Shining like the dawn. Stand with the "First-moving Sword" held in the heavens Close quickly and release your strike Cutting diagonally. Even the most powerful human being has a limited sphere of strength. Draw him outside of that sphere and into your own, and his strength will dissipate. "You must realize this! AiKi cannot be captured with the brush Nor can it be expressed with the mouth And so it is that one must proceed to realization" In Jodan Your every self must become jodan Then in that way The attacking spear can be crushed Victory will be yours The rays of the rising sun flow in My mind is clear Going to the window, I run about the Heavens Shining like the dawn. Left and Right Cut or parry Discard all thought of them The human spirit must rush instantly in! Assume gedan and see The spirit of the positive (yo) as in shadow (in) Recongnize the cuts and thrusts of the enemy's blade As merely seigan Mobilize all (your) powers through AIKI Build a beautiful world And a secure peace Though you may train In this sword work or in that What will it mean Unless you do your utmost Speeding down from Heaven The God of Light descends Illuminating all the world Even to the bottom of the seas. Reflecting through the Heavens All darkness is made light Descending, the vastness of the great sea Is filled with the voices of Joy. Deep in the glow of Izu Which Shines in the Heavens above There is the reverberating sound Of the King of the Eight Powers Blend with (ki-musubi) the Universe of Heaven and Earth (tenchi) Stand in the center (of all) In your heart take up the stance Of "The Way of the Mountain Echo" The spititual essence of the Heavens and Earth Congealing becomes the Way of the Cross-Shape + Harmony and Joy make up the Floating Bridge That binds this world together. This world is built up Of living-life (iki-inochi) of the breath of life (iki-inichi) and the saving power of the Universal (iki-inochi) All spinning and flourishing The jewel-like Aiki of the Spirit (tama-no-aiki) Izu! By ritual purify, wash clean the sole. The true form of the All-pervasive Universal Principle cries out (Izu-no-mitama) In the midst of the Light courageously With martial valor does it howl. Shining and echoing is the kotodama An honored form of the Holy Parent That single, spiritual origin (of all that is) Since Ancient days The virtues of training in the Two Ways Both of the Sword and of the Pen Has brought realization in the body and in the sole. The techniques of AIKI Follow the Principles of Kusanaqi Thus they protect the Way of the Buddhas, the (Shinto) gods, And this world of manifestations. The form and beauty that is the world of Heaven and Earth Has become one family. At the beginning of the world There came from the Heavens The Curved Stone, the Mirror and the Sword To build up a nation At the beginning of the time "Bu" came down from the Heavens To serve the defense of the land So says the Emperor's sacred voice. Even when a single enemy has called you out Be on your best guard An entire host of the foe Is on your left, right, in front and behind. Aiki! The root of the power of love A love that must grow ever broader. Aiki cannot be captured with the brush Nor can it be expressed with the mouth And so it is that one must proceed to realization (satori) Aiki! A way so difficult to analyse (But one needs only to) follow The narural rotations of the Heavens. You must realize this! Aiki can not be captured with the brush Nor can it be expressed with the mouth And so it is that one must proceed to realization (satori) In the first half of this publication you have read the poems (known as do-ka or songs of the way) which were written by the late founder (of Aikido) Morihei Ueshiba Sensei in the period before World War II. The later half presents similar works produced during the post war period. All the poems in each section are simply arranged in the order of the Japanese kana syllabary that expresses the first sound of each poem. In general, the use of the kana and pronunciation of the characters has not been adjusted to coincide with modern standard usage. In hopes of allowing each person the chance to study directly at theMaster's feet, I have avoided making any attempt at interpretation, leaving it to you, reading with both your body and your heart, to take what is in each poem for you. Let me close with O-Sensei's own words: " Since ancient days there have been numerous masters, sages and budo saints and yet there have been none who have completely accomplished the Great Way (Dai-do). I myself am still immature and yet I have entered onto this Great Way and now I find myself in the middle of the final shugyu (austerities). Everything in the entire world is made by means of the 75 sounds of the kotodama. I as yet do not understand but by mastering the truly necessary things one by one I will go forward with all my strength in the direction that gives birth to the techniques of Takemusu Aiki". I sincerely pray that by heartfully reading these poetic works again and again you amy receive some sort of realization (of their meaning) from Aiki News March 15, 1982 by Seiseki Abe Aiki is the power of harmony between all things Polish it ceaselessly You people of the Way The great and honored God Taught us the way to govern the world By creating the 75 sounds ( of the Kotodama). In these teachings listen most To the rhythm of the strike and thrust To train in the basics (omote) Is to practice the very secrets of the art. Through the 75 movements of compassion The events of this world Evermore do flourish Oh great and honored Deity! With "Eiiii" cut him down! That enemy that lurks within Instruct him with "yah" Guide him with "Toh". Blend the ki within the self (ki-musubi) Stand erect in the veru center Polish the spirit/mind (kokoro) "The Way of the Mountain Echo". In the self-mind standing always In the very center of it I do live The stance (kamae) of Love is " The Way of the Mountain Echo" The Way of our Gods! The clear and those red and white The Way of AIKI is one of the divine techniques To which only a narrow gate does lead. The honored techniques if KI May manifest the spirit of the Grear Snake Or that of Bees To make such spirits (tama) appear Is the Way of Takemusu The precious techniques of KI! They, the spirits (tama) does subdue and pacify IN these techniques of misogi purification Please direct us, Oh gods of Heaven and Earth! In a landscape abundant with advanced weaponry The Living soles become one in prayer With the virture of the workings of the God of Creation (samuhara). The Way of the God! (kannagara) The well-practiced sword Must be made transparent and shining Through the grace of the Divine. The Ki of the Great Origin Is Full and abundant The Heavens and the Earth, all Creation itself From here began The multitudinous worlds of this existing universe All at once are opened. Plum Blossoms! The second opening of the Great Stone Door. The strycture of the myriad worlds of this universe Is brought to completion by its divine Parent (mi-oya) And so I will leave it be As she left it. Except for blending with the void There is no way to understand The Way of Aiki. The Pine, the Bamboo, and the Plum The make up of Ki that we are training to purify From where do they arise? The Water and Fire of the change in the self. With a mighty roar The encompassing love of the lord Gives birth to the great Universe His holy works thus come into being. The bejeweled spirit-sword of Susanoo Down to the world did come There to shine in the eastern sky. Fully knowing it to be A matter of life and death before us We may chose to withdraw But the enemy will not allow it. The vast Universe! The Way of Aiki to to become The light of all mankind Opening all the world. Takemusu comes to be Through Aiki with fire and Water of the Holy Parent The workings of this union are The superlative beauty of the works of God. Though we may honor it We can never praise enough The godly technique of the Way of Aiki The godly technique of the small gate. The "Cross Of Aiki" (Love-Ki) Of the structure of the Great and Swift God The meritorious deeds (samuhara) of the God of the Eight Powers. With the sakaki and the tuski Purify the spirit The motherly parent of Izu Is here in the workings (samuhara) of god. Always and always Pour yourself into technical training To face the multitude as if it were one Is the Way of the Shugo-sha. To the Technique of Tsurugi Neither brush nor word of mouth can render due service Saying nothing you must go fourth And so must you know (satori) The way of Izu has become The Aiki of Heaven Earth and Man Oh, let us keep this Way Ye Gods of the Universe (ten-chi) Let us bind togather Heaven and Earth, God and Man So we may guard and protect This age of ours. Sharply sparkling The spirit/mind of the person of the Way (do-jin) Penetrates through to reveal The evil devil that lurks inside the self The time is now! Make straight the bonds that link Heaven, Fire, Water and Earth Let me stand as your guide. The sun, the moon and the earth All have become Aiki Standing on this bridge The great expanse of the sea is The Way of the Mountain Echo. Stand on the bridge that was built Through the Aiki of fire and the water In the great expanse of the void There is the Mountain Echo. Training everyday I smile again to see The King of the Eight Powers About to give his battle cry. The purification techniques (misogi-waza) I have learned from GOD and Revelation Aiki is built by the god(s) Masakatsu and Agatsu By Aiki with the spirit of the Godly Parent Save and invigorate You own body and soul. Inviting him in he approches A wind in made to blow Cut it off, retain it and perfect it Through the Aiki (love-ki) of God. For the sake of my heart There appeared a perfect void On the floating bridge. A benefaction of the Lord. Pondering (the state of) this world I fall into a lament Only to be reinvigorated again When the light of the tumbling clouds Builds the "vigorous force" inside me. "Build up the world" This command he did grasp Received from the honored mother of the nation Thus stands Katsuhayabi On the Floating Bridge of the Heavens Looking at this world Only a coward complains of what he sees As for me Let me stand courageously In the face of God's rage. Though only one enemy calls you out Be on your nest guard To deal with one adversary in the spirit of facing ten thousands Is the Way if the Warrior. Aikido! With links and ties too numberless to be known Is found in the body and souls of the people They who will enlighten the world. Ah, the precious Izu and Mizu Together, the Cross of Aiki Advance with courage In the voice of Mizu -------- Masakatsu Agatsu: True victory is victory over Oneself One must first learn to control oneself before attempting to harmonize and control others. Without good balance and control over oneself, one can neither avoid an attack nor apply an effective technique on others. It is through self-control that one can learn to enjoy a harmonious way of life. -------- Izu and Mizu: These two words are taken from the metaphysical works of the Omoto religenand Shinto and are related to the theory of Kotodama, According to the works of Onisabruo Deguchi as presented in the book "The Founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba" by Doshu, K. Ueshiba Sensei, Izu is the word that indicates the actual Universal, Allencompassing Deity or Principle, while Mizu is a word that is used to name the functioning of that Principle of Deity in this world for the dake of saving it. The two sounds are associated with the theory of Kotodama and with the concepts of Yang (Jap. Yo) and Yin (Jap. In) -------- "The Way of the Mountain Echo" This is a difficultimage to define clearly, especially since it is rarely used today by the present teachers od Aikido. A mountain echo repeats back to the caller the same thing that was originally shouted. In O-Sensei's "Way of the Mountain Echo" the images seem to be something akin to the concept of AIKI, in the sense of responding to or adapting to whatever it may be that your partner delivers and dealing with each encounter as if it were a completly new and fresh event. Associated with this may be the image of emptiness of the echo before anyone calls out to it, the fact that an echo makes no distinction between different callers and recognizes no differance in languages, or content of the message. It may also involve the idea of purposefulness of the echo's calling back although it never fails to do so whenever called uopon and to do so with all it's effort. Another possible interpreation or nuance could be the fact that the echo's answering call always brings pleasure to the caller. -------- The pine, bamboo and plum (sho, chiku, bai) are common images used in popular Japanese culture. They are auspicious symbols: The pine is longevity and endurance, since it is ever-green and stays green even in winter, and it lives a long time and grows gnarly and beautifully weathered with age, like people who age well. The bamboo is flexibility and strength, as it bends in the wind or under a weight of snow, but never breaks. The plum is the Japanese plum, which is the first to blossom before the sakura cherry blossoms, so it signifies strong beauty in the face of winter harshness, albeit a fleeting beauty. The plum blossom also matures into the ume fruit, which is salted and pickled and is reputed to be a cure-all; a sort of Japanese chicken soup. Sho chiku bai. That's the name of a sake (Japanese alcohol) brand, too. The shochikubai is often grouped for New Year's decorations so that the household will be blessed with those attributes for the coming year. In Japan, we decorated our tea ceremony practice hall with shochikubai decorations for New Year's, and the doorways of Japanese homes and companies are decorated with kadomatsu (made of various combinations of bamboo, pine and plum) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mantrayana and Koto(dama/tama): a suggestive mapping (1.1) ========================================================== copyright 1994, 1995, Fred Little Interstitial poetry by Kukai ---------------------------- The superficial similarities between the use of mantra in the Japanese Buddhist tradition and the use of koto(dama/tama) in the Shinto tradition are many. At the simplest level, both imply an inherent power of language. This, in itself, is not remarkable. Most religious traditions include the notion of sacred speech. What is notable is the way in which, despite the historically diverse interpretations given to the idea of koto(dama/tama), contemporary kotodama theory and contemporary kototama practice show significant evidence of having been shaped by Buddhist, particularly Shingon, concepts and practices. On one level, this is not surprising, given the many years of coexistence of Shinto and Buddhist practices in Japanese temples and shrines, whether under the rubric of honji suijaku, ryobu shinto, or some other syncretic system. In other respects, demonstration of this kind of mutual influence serves to deconstruct some of the more nationalist/racialist claims which have at times been advanced regarding the Japanese nation, the Japanese language, and the Japanese people, both positively and negatively. What distinguishes all such claims -- whether they are framed admiringly or pejoratively -- is the particularism with which they locate Japanese thought somewhere outside the global continuum. Recognizing mutual conditioning influences between Shingon Buddhism and Shinto in Japan is to place Japan within a larger continuum of Pan-Asian culture at the very minimum. This particular context -- that of the theoretical and practical relationship between mantra and koto(dama/tama) -- touches on the core concerns of much contemporary language theory, and by extension, our fundamental conception of consciousness. Kukai's language theory, as expounded in the *Shoji Jisso Gi* and the *Ungi Gi*, not only anticipates the insights of deconstructionism and the concerns of the Language Poets by a millennia, but it also skillfully resists the modern tendency to reduce the whole complicated business to a cheap and solipsistic parlor game. That he is a pivotal, and popular, cultural figure in Japanese history has profound implications for the way in which we view Kukai -- and the Japanese response to Kukai -- in global intellectual history. As noted above, any attempt to deny mutual influence and assert the existence of a "pure" form of either Shinto or Shingon is dubious, at best, and this lack of purity extends to key concepts (such as mantra and kototama) within each system. Despite the fact that there have been several reactions against the "foreign influence" of Buddhism in Japan, for the most part, the syncretic tendencies of Buddhism and the essentially intuitive character of much Shinto tend to mediate the conflict that might otherwise result. As Reverend Yamamoto of Tsubaki Grand Shrine puts it: "The relationship is long and complicated but somehow over the centuries both managed to work out a relationship that involved arguments as well as compromise.....No matter the era, no single Buddhist leader or founder of a Buddhist Sect ever overlooked the existence of Shinto." It would then, be quite a surprise if either mantra or kotodama/tama were easily distinguished or susceptible to quick and clear definition. Though mantra is often distinguished from dharani or vidya, the basis for the distinction is not immediately apparent. Yamasaki renders vidya as denoting "knowledge or learning" and connoting "incantation," and dharani as denoting "all-holding" and carrying the connotation of [verses used in] "controlling the senses and concentrating the mind." He proceeds to note that "Shingon uses the general term mantra to refer to all types of esoteric incantation." The temptation, then, is to distinguish dharani and vidya from mantra on the basis of the understanding of the user. In this view, mantra would be regarded as multi-layered, or oriented toward the establishment of correspondence between the multiple aspects of unitary reality, whereas vidya and dharani would be oriented toward the production of specific effects. The situation with regard to koto(dama/tama) is even less clear. The word koto(dama/tama) seems to predate the introduction of Chinese characters to Japan, and the subsequent choices of characters used to represent the word seem to suggest an archetypal grouping rather than a single, easily defineable concept. Koto has been written as ["word/language/speech" Nelson 4309] and as ["thing/matter" Nelson 272], while tama has been represented by [Nelson 2923, "spirit/jewel/jade"], [Nelson 5056 ], and [Nelson 5278]. In historical terms, this vagueness of meaning, accompanied by a very limited number of early references has permitted scholars to turn the word to a variety of disparate conceptual uses without fear of overt contradiction from the textual record. Iori Joko has identified 9 uses of koto(dama/tama) in Nara and Heian Era texts (see Appendix A), and while all of these uses are suggestive of a relationship between the divine and mundane functions of language, none can be considered definitive. Ms. Joko is, I believe quite rightly, critical of the tendency to narrowly construct koto(dama/tama) as "word-spirit" to the exclusion of other, more nuanced, understandings, as well as the practice of imposing contemporary understandings on historical usages of koto(dama/tama). As her review of the history of scholarly works treating the subject indicates, depending on one's inclination, one can see kotodama as representing a) a unique correspondence between (Japanese) words and that which they signify, b) a unique correspondence between the grammatical structure of (the Japanese) language and the structure of the world, c) the general blessing of the Gods which has been granted to (the Japanese) people, d) the notion that (Japanese or other) words are "alive" and have distinct souls, e) the quality of intentional ritual speech and action necessary to approach the divine, f) the use of intentional ritual speech to produce effects in the mundane world. While it should go without saying that the foregoing list is not exhaustive -- additional possibilities will appear in due order -- I would point out that a) a broad reading of the term "word-spirit" is inclusive of all of these understandings, and b) contemporary kototama practice aims precisely to deconstruct and reconstruct our mundane language usage, laying bare its warp and its weft. Through a comparison of specific practices within the Mikkyo and Shinto traditions and commentaries on those practices, we will see that even in practices which present themselves as representative of the non-Buddhist Japanese tradition, elements which are distinctly Buddhist do appear prominently. One example of this can be found in the Tsubaki Grand Shrine waterfall misogi ritual. In describing how he undertook this ritual, Rev. Yukitaka Yamamoto says: "I...decided...to discover the nature of the Shinto tradition I had inherited and what the life and work of a priest should be. I decided I must undertake kugyo, a kind of ascetic discipline aimed at steadily purifying the sould so that it comes closer to the life of the kami. I sought the solitude of the waterfall and the the soul and other rituals of preparation, I purified myself and entered the waterfall to commune with the kami. When I felt ready, I would then enter the old haiden, the outer worship hall, and sit in silence, contemplating the meaning of an old norito, words of ceremonial. In that way I performed chinkon or Shinto spiritual exercises." Though Reverend Yamamoto clearly identifies the ritual as a "Shinto spiritual exercise" it is worth pointing out that elsewhere in the volume he includes a map of the temple which indicates a Buddhist shrine within the temple precincts. This is not remarkable in itself, but in combination with the fuller description of the ritual (previously posted as Rowing Exercise--Long) the depth of the inter-relationship becomes clearer. Compare Yamamoto's instruction: "Place the left hand on your hip and your hand with two fingers extended in a gesture that resembles the Boy Scout Salute....with each invocation you cut the air in a sweeping gesture with the right hand...." and its association with Sarutahiko Okami, a fearless warrior deity, with Saso's description of the union with Acala in the Lotus Mandala meditation: "The meditator learns the saving compassion mantra of Acala, and the sword- and-scabbard mudra of the Pole Star, shared with the Taoist, Shinto, Shugendo, Yamabushi, and other esoteric movements in Asia. The thumb of left and right hand is pressed down over the fourth and fifth fingerxs, with the index and third (fire) fingers extended, like a sword. Yamamoto and Saso go further, noting that the use of the mudra is in the removal of "impurities" (Y) or "thoughts and desires" (S). Although some details of performance differ, and the specific words used to describe the effect of the meditation are in keeping with the respective philosophical orientations of Shinto and Buddhism, it seems clear that we are dealing with a shared practice. Shared practices can also be found in the spiritual system espoused (for taught would be overstating the case) by Morihei Ueshiba, founder of the art of aikido. At the age of seven, Ueshiba was sent to Jizodera, a Shingon temple near Tanabe, in Wakayama prefecture, "to study the Confucian classics and Buddhist scriptures. He was enthralled by the miracle tales....of Kobo Daishi (the posthumous name give to Kukai, the progenitor of Shingon Buddhism in Japan)" The lingering influence of these early studies can be observed in his mature formulation: ichirei-shikon-sangen-hachiriki [one rule, four souls, three fundamentals, eight powers] which he represented in the form of a square, a circle, and a triangle. The associations of these "three fundamentals" are mineral, liquid, and fire respectively, which corresponds closely to earth, liquid and fire associated with the same three geometric elements in stupas such as that of Kobo Daishi on Mount Koya. Admittedly, there are two additional signifying elements in such stupas: the half-circle/lunar disc and the teardrop, associated with the wind/sky and space/void, respectively. But although he does not use the standard esoteric icongraphy, the complete sequence of associations if found in the "four souls" and "one-spirit" formulation: sachi-mitama, nigi-mitama, ara-mitama, kushi- mitama, and ichirei [ ] associated with earth, water, fire, heaven, and primordial void, in that order. {see appendix C}. Additionally, there are several ways in which the eight powers (represented graphically by the eight "sides" of the square, circle, and triangle) can be easily mapped into the buddhas and bodhisattvas at the heart of the Diamond and Matrix Mandala. There are also self-apparent differences between the "core" syllables of Diamond/Matrix mantra recitation and Ueshiba-ha practice, and it would be silly, at best, to try to establish a one-to-one correspondence between the two systems. A/Va/Ra/Ha/Ka is quite distinct from A/O/U/E/I. But it is my belief that the Ueshiba system should be regarded as an innovative reworking rather than a wholesale departure. For example, despite differences such as that noted above, Ueshiba's practice does employ the five-syllable phrase TA/KA/MA/HA/RA fairly prominently, as befits both its similarity to A/Va/Ra/Ha/Ka and its position in the Kojiki as the primordial "High Plain of Heaven." While it seems clear that Ueshiba insisted that all elements of his system have some kind of ancient textual authority in the native Japanese tradition, even where he uses that tradition, his use is often characterized by radical recastings, the single best example of which is his relocation of the syllable SU to the absolute center of the material realm. "There was no heaven, no earth, no universe, just empty space. In this vast emptiness, a single point suddenly manifest[ed] itself. From that point steam, smoke, and mist spiraled forth in a luminous sphere and the kototama SU was born. As SU expanded circularly up and down, left and right, nature began, clear and uncontaminated. Breath developed into life and sound appeared. SU is the "Word" mentioned in the Christian Bible." In his commentary, Stevens explains that: "SU is held to be a more likely candidate because it represents the actual act of breathing, not merely the act of opening the mouth like A . . . .as SU continued to expand the kototama U appeared. Simultaneously, U spun into the kototama YU and MU and extended out into the kototama A-O-U-E-I. The reference to the Christian Bible, though initially startling, is of a piece with Ueshiba's belief that his system was, more than a particular doctrine, a set of structural principles found in all "true" religions. This belief in the complementarity of Shinto and Christianity is found in the writings of Reverend Yamamoto, and Nakazono Sensei, referenced herein, and in Dr. Jigohei Tanaka's pamphlet Ko-Shinto and Globe State, which primarily concerns itself with justifying the institution of the royal family in Japan. Of course, given the limited number of sounds, particularly vowels, which the human mouth is capable of producing, some low order correspondences are inevitable in systems of this type. Likewise, the tendency toward numerical categorization is so ubiquitous in Asian cultures that one might be able to draw the same sorts of parallels between 9th Century Buddhist doctrine and 20th Century governmental propaganda campaigns in the People's Republic of China. But once we move into categories of two digits, the likelihood of a chance correlation is considerably diminished. Just such a category is found in Masahilo Nakazono's analysis of the underlying structure of kototama practice, Inochi: The Book of Life. Nakazono's presentation and analysis of the practice and underpinnings of kototama is considerably more systematic than the fragments of Ueshiba's lectures and writings which Stevens has thus far assembled. For the most part, Nakazono's presentation coincides with the extant fragments. Inasmuch as Nakazono was one of Ueshiba's foremost students, this is to be expected; but there appear to be significant variances as well. In particular, while Ueshiba's teachings appear to be predicated on the idea of concurrent manifestation of kototama and the physical universe we inhabit, Nakazono stresses that understanding the kototama in the sequence in which they first manifest themselves in the physical realm will result in an understanding which is conditioned by and limited to the physical realm. While his instructions for practice are substantially the same, as a matter of analysis, he presents the kototama as divided into "mother-sounds" (U-A-O-E) and "half-mother sounds" (WU-WA- WO-WE) which, under the influence of the "parental-sounds" (I- WI) interact with their associated "father-rhythms," both centrifugal (T-K-S-H) and centripetal (Y-M-N-L), generating the kana of the Japanese syllabary. Insofar as WU is nothing more or less than sound generated by the gap between U and a second iteration of U, it is not counted. This leaves seventeen fundamental building blocks which Nakazono refers to as "the seventeen hidden gods." Pervading all aspects of the action of these "seventeen hidden gods," in Nakazono's understanding, is the principle of "Ana-Mana- Kana." Ana is the source of the life rhythm of phenomena of the a priori universe...Ana manifests as the vibration of the human brain, Mana...The vibration of Mana, the rhythm itself coming out as sound , is Kana, the word of God.....When Kana and Mana exactly mesh, that is the moment we grasp the truth. Grasping the truth means the a priori universe manifests exactly, through the order of Ana-Mana- Kana, as human capacity. At that moment of grasping the perfect truth, the human being.....says, 'Yes! Good!" Although he explicitly identifies Kana with sound, it is difficult to overlook the denotative meaning of the word: syllabary, more specifically the written syllabary. The jump to Kukai's Shoji Jisso Gi is a short one: Ana is reality, Mana is vibration, Kana is letter. Nakazono repeatedly makes the point that to study kototama is to practice returning to pure consciousness....we should face the objective phenomenal world as a white piece of paper, with no name there.....The moment to moment time and place of our inner sense is pure consciousness itself....We should face the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, grass, trees -- all of these phenomena -- with a white paper mind. And we should practice giving them a new name. Our basic human consciousness is pure like but.....there are three different principles of action. He then identifies "three different principles of action" (Amatsu Kanagi, Amatsu Sugaso, and Amatsu Futonorito) with particular arrangements of the "seventeen hidden gods"and the "child-sounds" (the balance of the basic 50 syllables of Japanese language) and catalogues (See *Inochi* for details) specific sensory, motor, and conceptual aspects of human existence that can be correlated with those "seventeen hidden gods" and "child sounds." In combination with his emphasis on the "purity" of human consciousness and the use of kototama to penetrate to the pure desire that it contains, it is again, difficult to escape the correlation of his "seventeen hidden gods" with the seventeen purifying desire" deities of the upper-right court of the Diamond Mandala. So what? It would be very simple to say, in chorus with Fritz Staal, that: ...nothing is sacrosanct about such interpretations. They are the predictable professional views of philosophers, theologians, priests, and exegetes all over the world. They need not be taken seriously as possible explanations, because they themselves stand in need of an explanation. They do not throw any light on the nature of mantras, for example. Of course, Staal answers his ow""n question in two very significant ways. First he suggests that: "All we can do in the present context is emphasize that mantras cannobe understood unless we take their musical character into account. This explains in turn why mantras cannot be explained wholly or, perhaps, even partly in terms of language." And later: "It appears likely that mantras are not merely independent of language in a conceptual of logical sense, but that they predate language in the development of man in a chronological sense." And lastly: "Another fact may have some bearing on this matter and may be related to the similarities among language, mantras, and bird songs: Birds, like humans, have neural lateralization." Which brings us to the pivotal work of Dr. Manfred Clynes, who opens his book Sentics with these observations (for further information on the technical basis of Dr. Clynes observations, please consult Appendix F) ...there is a definite organization of cells in various layers of the brain structured to process visual information according to specific data processing designs. Independently, we found that in humans for every distinct quality of the visual field, be it color or form, there was a definite physiologic response pattern measured as the electric activity of various parts of the brain. We could say there was a clear one-to-one-to-one correspondence between the visual stimulus, the observations of the space-time patterns of the electric brain response, and what was perceived by the viewer. That is, the quality of red has a distinct physiologic code representation in the brain that displays crucial similarities across all people. The objects of sight are colors, forms -------------------------------------- These unique qualities or entities do not exist in isolation, however, but are in relationship with other brain functions. In particular, there is a class of qualities which is inherently linked to the motor system, so that its uniqueness is complete only with the inclusion of the dynamics of the motor system as an integral part of their spatio-temporal existence (emphasis mine). It is because of this inherent link to the motor system that these qualities can be communicated. This class of qualities is referred to commonly as emotions...We shall use the term [sentic] to denote the brain state and its corresponding experience generally associated with the word "emotion." The expressive aspect of the sentic state is named "essentic form" regarding which Clynes asserts: Endowed with them are both sentient and nonsentient beings. ...symbiosis of the production and recognition of essentic form is of more primitive evolutionary origin than speech phoneme production and recognition....this principle was beautifully demonstrated by the experiment of Bentley and Hoy. They bred a hybrid species of cricket that possessed a new mating song, intermediate between those of its parent species. Without ever having heard it before, females of the new species were attracted by the sound of the new mating song, rather than by those of the parent species. This illustrates that the genetic program for recognizing the mating song was simultaneously transformed with the mutation of the program for producing the song. Of them are conditioned and unconditioned aspects ------------------------------------------------- To see whether the specific essentic forms we discovered were universal to human nature we carried out studies in several different cultures. ...In a pilot study we sought to measure essentic form in a remote Mexican village....We did learn ....the importance of adequately translating the key words denoting the sentic states. If these words are imperfectly translated, then observed differences are ambiguous....significant "cultural" differences appeared in that essentic form only when no really adequate word could be found in translation. They delude some and induce others to attain enlightenment ---------------------------------------------------------- We wanted to concentrate on the old Japanese culture, so we studied mainly a group of Zen Buddhist monks and practitioners in Kyoto....In their daily lives it seems most Japanese subjects were constrained by a severely limited range of emotional expression, yet they seemed to be remarkably uninhibited in their ability to produce essentic form with our method. Some subjects enthusiastically expressed their sense of discovery of these forms in themselves, and found it a liberating experience. Others, with considerable experience of Zen, provided restrained yet highly characteristic collections of essentic forms. These subjects involved thir bodies less in physiologic emotional reactions and appeared to concentrate more on the mental enjoyment of the sentic state idiologs....The result: Differences between individuals of different cultures turned out to be no greater than those within a group from a single culture. Conclusions ----------- In the foregoing I have been guided by Kukai in the matter of regarding thought (or emotional states), or mudra (or gesture) , and mantra (or sound), as perceptually variant aspects of common phenomena, thus the illustrations of commonality of ritual gesture are treated as equivalent to commonality of liturgy. Although most kotodama scholarship seems to concern itself with narrowly drawn literary, historical, or anthropological questions, as I stated initially, the most significant aspect of Kukai's theory of signs (at least in the present context) is its relationship to our fundamental understanding of the relationship between signs such as language or gesture and consciousness itself. Contemporary kototama practice provides us with a window into the historical diffusion of Kukai's ideas into the broader culture, and the process by which his conceptualization has been adapted and nativized as an expression of Shinto. Moreover, kototama practice in the context of the international growth of aikido represents the largest single axis of transmission of this body of knowledge (albeit in fragmented form) since Kukai's initial formulation. It is particularly appropriate in light of the dynamic relationship between practice and theory in Esoteric Buddhism that we look at this form of mantra/koto(dama/tama) study and practice as it moves beyond the confines of Japan and the Japanese interaction between Buddhism and Shinto. While each has developed an elaborate system of correspondences which may be perceived in the relationship between reality, sound, and letter, Kukai, Ueshiba, and Nakazono all condition those correspondences with implicit and explicit cautions that these are not concrete structures or Platonic categories, but rather are "conditioned and unconditioned aspects," in Kukai's phrase. The correspondences I have indicated among these systems faintly indicate a path through the matrix of theory and practice. It is but one among many. Staal's speculation on and Clyne's apparent experimental confirmation of the existence of deep structures of communicative sign production and perception below the level of conscious manipulation of language are of a piece with Kukai's express insights regarding the inter-relationship between "pure consciousness" and "conditioned perception." Similarly, it is such an insight, or awakening, which is the stated goal of the practices espoused by Ueshiba, Nakazono, and Stephens. To the extent that these similarities are not the result of a process of doctrinal dissemination and historical causality, in the light of Clynes' work, we must conclude that they are the result of study and experimention concerning common manifestations of consciousness, and are, thus, none other than common manifestations of consciousness, which is, after all, the point. Appendix A ---------- Date Text Author Form ca. 1170 Kiyosuke ason shu Fujiwara-no-Kiyosuke Waka 1103 Horikawa-in hyakushu uta Minamoto-no-Toshiyori Waka ca. 1100 Okagami Anonymous Prose ca. 1000 Kamo-no-Yasunori no musume shu No personalname given Prose ca. 898 Okagami Emperor Daigo Waka 849 Shoku Nihon koki Monks of Kofukuji Choka 733 Manyoshu V-894 Yamanoue-no-Okura Choka ca. 702 Manyoshu XIII-3253-3254 Anonymous Choka /Hanka Unknown Manyoshu XI-2506 Anonymous Tanka Appendix D ---------- Sentic State A state of emotion; a state encompassing a quality of experience linked with the motor system in a unique way that makes it capable of specific communicative expression. Essentic form The form that has developed biologically for the communication of a specific emotion state or quality. It is a spatio- temporal form, with a clear beginning and end, that can be expressed by various motor outputs: a smile, a gesture, the tone of voice, etc. In each case it is the essentic form that carries the emotional message as a precise dynamic form. It is the biological arc that bridges the isolation between individuals. Essentic forms are produced and sensed by symbiotically developed nervous system programs. They also serve as the emotion communication elements in music and art. Biologic Design Principles for Sentic Communication --------------------------------------------------- 1. Exclusivity Principle: A sentic is a single-channel system; only one state can be expressed at any one time. 2. Equivalence Principle: A sentic state may be expressed by any of a number of different output modalities. 3. Coherence Principle: Regardless of the particular motor output chosen to express a sentic state, its dynamic expression is governed by a brain program or algorithm specific for that state which shall be called essentic form. 4. Complementarity Principle: The production and recognition of essentic forms are governed by inherent data processing programs of the central nervous system, biologically coordinated so that a preceisely produced form is correspondingly recognized. The recognized form in turn generates a sentic state in the perceiver. 5. Self-generating Principle: The intensity of a sentic state is increased, within limits, by the repeated, arrhythmic generation of essentic form through E-actons. 6. Experience of generalized emotion: Sentic states may be experienced and expressed as pure qualities or identities, without reference to specific auxiliary relationships to generate or receive these qualities. 7. Communicative Power as a Form Function: The power of essentic form in communicating and generating a sentic state is greater the more closely the form approaches the pure or ideal essentic form for that state. Appendix F ---------- On the Measurement of Essentic Form "In order to arive at this [standardization of essentic form], let us consider that a sentic state can be expressed in a variety of modes-- from tone of voice to gestures using many different parts of the body. This is the sentic principle of equivalence, and if valid, it should allow us to select an arbitrary motor output of sufficient degrees of freedom for the measurement of essentic form. A mode....that seems to fulfill the requirements is the transient pressure of a finger....The dynamic pressure of a single finger on a finger rest has the possibility of being readily repeatable, and can be easily measured....It was necessary....to measure not only the amount of the momentary pressure but the angle of its direction. This is done with two pressure transducers, one measuring the vertical component of pressure and the other the horizontal component....In practice, the horizontal and vertical components of pressure [in time] are recorded as separate curves and the shape of these curves constitute the visual representation (emphasis in original) of essentic form." (See diagram) Select Bibliography ------------------- Herbert, Jean. Shinto. Stein & Day, 1967. Ishida, Hisatoyo. Esoteric Buddhist Painting. Kodansha, 1987. Joko, Iori. "Reassessing Kotodama: Usages and Interpretations." Unpublished ms. provided courtesy of author. Kukai. Major Works. Translated with an account of his life and a study of his thought, by Yoshito S. Hakeda. Columbia University Press, 1972. Nakazono, Masahilo. Inochi: The Book of Life. Kototama Institute, Santa Fe, 1979. Saso, Michael. Tantric Art and Meditation. Tendai Educational Foundation, Honolulu, 1990. Saunders, E. Dale. Mudra: A Study of Symbolic Gestures in Japanese Buddhist Sculpture. Bollingen/Princeton University Press, 1985. Staal, Frits. "Vedic Mantras," collected in Mantra. Ed. Harvey P. Alper. SUNY Press, 1988. Stevens, John. "Kototama: The Secret Sounds of Aikido." Unpublished ms., provided by courtesy of author. Tanaka, Jigohei. Ko-Shinto and Globe State. Zen-Itsu-Kaku, Tokyo, 1970. Ueshiba, Morihei. The Essence of Aikido. Compiled by John Stevens. Kodansha, 1993. Ueshiba, Morihei. Budo: Teachings of the Founder of Aikido. Translated by John Stevens. Kodansha, 1991. Yamamoto, Yukitaka. Kami no Michi: Way of the Kami. Tsubaki America Publications, 1987. Yamasaki, Taiko. Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Budhhism. Shambhala, 1988. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is Appendix C of Kami no Michi: The Way of the Kami; The Life and Thought of a Shinto Priest by Guji Yukitaka Yamamoto. Copyright 1987, Tsubaki America. Some minor editorial corrections have been made, and Japanese and/or technical terms have been marked as shown in parens (Tori Fune). Tori Fune is one element in the ritual observed at Tsubaki Grand Shrine. The rest of the ritual has been included for completeness of context. Complete copies of Rev. Yamamoto's book may be obtained from: Tsubaki America Publications Department 1545 West Alpine Stockton, CA 95024 Misogi and spiritual exercises ============================== Before Misogi The mind and body should be conditioned before misogi. On the night be- fore, it is recommended that meat should not be eaten and alcohol should not be drunk. The senses should be freed by avoiding any physical substances that might cloud or distort them. They should be ready to be receptive. Preparation Those taking par assemble in front of the Shrine office at the agreed time, and from there they proceed into the hall beside the Haiden to receive a simplified form of oharai called shubatsu. Since the waterfall, which is called Konryu Myojin (Myojin means "gracious kami") is a kami, there is need for purification before entering. Thereafter, we move to the dressing rooms where men don white loincloths and hachimaki, headbands, and women don long white kimono-like robes and hachimaki. After coming out of the dressing areas, we move down to an open area above the entrance to the fall and face the Honden. We bow twice, clap twice, and bow once. We are now ready to commence the warm-up exercises. Exercise I: Furitama (Soul Shaking) ----------------------------------- 1. Stand with your legs about shoulder width apart. 2. Place your hands together with the right hand over the left. Leave space between them big enough for an imaginary ping pong ball. 3. Place your hands in that position in front of your stomach and shake them vigorously up and down. 4. While shaking them concentrate and repeat the words: Harae-do-no-Okami -- an invocation to the kami of the place of harai. The Object of Exercise I The purpose of shaking the sould is to generate awareness of it within your self. Kon (the soul), in Shinto, is one of the four important elements, along with Mei (life), Rei (Spirit) and Ki (which means Spirit in its causal aspect - Ki is a kind of energy source). Kon is the most important of the four since human beings can also be described as Waketama (separated individual souls), which is another way of saying "children of the kami." Exercise II Torifune (Bird Rowing) ---------------------------------- 1. Stand straight and put your left leg forward. 2. Clench both fists with your thumbs inside. 3. Lean forward and move your arms as though rowing a boat starting from your left knee and ending near your armpits. As you "row" shout "Yie." 4. Perform this 20 times and then repeat Furitama 5. Changing to a right leg stance, repeat the Torifune shouting "Ei" and "Ho" alternately. Do this 20 times and then repeat Furitama. 6. Return to the left foot forward stance and remake the clenched fists as before and bring the hands up to the chest to a shout of "Yie" and thrust them down and forward with hands opened and fingers extended to a shout of "Se." After this, once again repeat the Furitama. Object of Exercise II The basic purpose is to introduce a dimension of physical calisthenics along with the spiritual. Since misogi is a psychophysical experience, both types of warm-up exercises are necessary. Exercise III Otakebi (Shouting) ------------------------------- 1. Stand up straight leaving a space between your feet. 2. Place your hands on your hips. 3. Follow the michihiko (leader) as he shouts the following three invo- cations: Iku-tama! Taru-tama! Tama-tamaru-tama! 4. Follow him in repeating three times the long invocation: Okami! Okami! Kunitsu-Okami! Sarutahiko Okami To-toshi-ya The Object of Exercise III Shouting Iku-tama activates the soul which is just coming to awareness. Taru-tama affirms the awareness that you can realize the infinite in your soul. Tama-tamaru-tama confirms both and keeps the soul activated at its quantum level. The closing invocation addresses Sarutahiko Okami, head of the earthly kami and acknowledges him to be of great power. Exercise IV Okorobi (Yielding) ------------------------------ 1. Stand as in Exercise III. 2. Place the left hand on your hip and your hand with two fingers extended in a gesture that resembles the "Boy Scout Salute." 3. Three kami are invoked here and with each invocation you cut the air in a sweeping gesture with the right hand as follows: Kunitoko-tachi-no-Mikoto! "Yie!" Sarutahiko-no-Okami! "Yie!" Kokuryu-no-Okami! "Yie!" At each time of cutting the air, you should take a step forward with your left foot and then back again. The Object of Exercise IV By specifying these three important kami, Kunitokotachi-no-Mikoto (the earthly kami), Sarutahiko-no-Okami (kami of guidance and head of the earthly kami) and Kokuryuon-no-Okami (kami of water, life, and ki) you can be united with them, remove your impurities and receive their power as your own. Exercise V Ibuki (Breathing) ---------------------------- 1. Stand with your feet apart. 2. Lower your hands and arms towards your knees. 3. Lift your arms above your head by extending them fully outwards. 4. Inhale while raising them. 5. Exhale slowly and deliberately while lowering your hands again. 6. Place hands and arms down by knees and exhale completely. 7. Repeat five times. 8. Turn to face the waterfall, bow twice, clap once and open your arms palms upwards towards the fall. 9. You are now ready to go down the steps toward the waterfall. The Object of Exercise V The purpose is to conclude the preparation by taking deep breaths which have the effect of raising the metabolism of the ki to its highest level of sensitivity and receptivity by absorbing the ki of the universe. Exercise VI. Nyusui (Getting into the Water) -------------------------------------------- 1. Just prior to entering the water, you will receive from the michihiko, Sakashio (purifying salt) that will be sprinkled on you. 2. Receive a ladle with Japanese sake and salt. Spray it from your mouth in three mouthfuls into the stream. 3. The michihiko will reciete the nine letter prayer as follows: Rin-Pyo-To-Sha-Kai-Zin-Retsu-Zai-Zen 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 4. The michihiko then cuts the air symbolically nine times, and shouts "Yei!" The Meaning of the Prayer and the Square In Shinto, the numbers from 1 to 9 are used to symbolize the secular world and its impurities. Before entering the water, the cutting of the square implies removing the impurities of existence from its nine areas. 5. Enter the water and spray water on your face, chest and loins. 6. Clap your hands twice and bow once. 7. Cut the air from right to left with your right hand as in Exercise IV 8. Approach the fall and enter, right shoulder first. Turn round and face the michihiko holding your hands in front with middle fingers together pointing away from you. 9. Shout the following: Harae-tamae-Kiyome-tamae-ro-kon-sho-jo! Continue until the Michihiko shouts "Yei" as a signal to come out. The Meaning of the Final Prayer The expressions harae and kiyome ask for the purifiying of the individual by the washing away from all tsumi from the ro-kon-sho-jo, from the six elements of human beings that Shinto identified, the five senses and the mind. After misogi participants go back to the Haiden after drying off for a period of chinkonto, spiritual practice, to pacify the soul. This in turn is followed by a naorai a ceremonial drinking with the kami which has the effect of strengthening the vertical musubi. In other words the links between people and the kami become stronger. As participants celebrate, the horizontal musubi also becomes stronger. The connections of kami-human being and human being-human being become more effective and person in relation to person and person in relation to kami can begin to understand and become what destiny decreed at birth. This is the goal and ideal of misogi and ultimately of Shinto -- to enable, as once scholar has put it, homo sapiens to rise to homo excellens. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aikido Dobun ============ One spirit Four souls Three elements Eight powers Dobun (instructive principles) by Morihei Ueshiba. -------------------------------------------------- As taught by Sadao Takaoka Shihan Wakayama Aikikai dojo Original translation by: Haruko Kado Recompiled in English by: K.C. Brodbeck Parts taken from Aikido Newsletter 2/10/1974 Mototsumitama (literally translated as the Great Basic Metaphysical Substance of being) of the one spirit, four souls, three elements, and eight powers, make up the Great God. The Great God is the living infinite mother who has spread spiritual and physical prosperity throughout space. Space was once empty, with no Heaven and no Earth. Suddenly a pinhole opened up in this empty space. This pinhole was the very origin of existence. From this hole, Ki of the Great God, which was finer than steam, smoke or mist, gradually came forth to form a circle which surrounded the pinhole and gave birth to the Kotodama of Suu. This birth was not only the birth of the physical world, but of the spiritual world as well. The universe then began its natural respiration taking a deep breath of expansion, and as it expanded sound flowed from it. This original sound was the kotodama Suu. Suu then continued expanding in four directions and formed a pulsating circle. When Suu has developed it turns into U. The constant work of Suu produced the kotodama U. The kotodama U, which is the origin of spirit as well as substance, divides into two and works as opposing forces which function independently. Each of these two functions has its own Mitama (spirit). One of these forces flows up and generates the kotodama A, while the other function falls to Earth and creates the kotodama O. With A going up and O going down an opposing force is created, and held together by Ki, an attraction is formed. Takamagahara ( high planes of heaven ) represents the universe. It teaches us what the law and order of the universe should be and how the gods reside within it. Everyone s family represents Takamagahara and each individual has Takamagahara within him\herself. All the elements of this universe constantly breathe and flux and live every moment of our lives. In other words, Takamagahara is the great celestial globe which has successfully accomplished its formation and wishes. It is the very origin of creation of heaven and earth. To come to understand the wishes of Takamagahara and pursue the tasks of the gods to satisfy their will is Aikido. Clarify the Ki of space, the Ki of the self-curdling island (Onogorojima), the KI of the universe, and all the ways which mitama come into your body. Make all the breathings of the universe match your own. Use these lines as the law, and make them accomplish the mission of the universal heaven. The basic principle to pursue in each direction is called Aikido. Aikido should be the doctrine endowed by god to clarify the workings of the universe. The past, the present, and the future are the routes which the universe should follow. This includes the human body, as it has the universe within it. Purify the universe and harmonize it with the three worlds of the manifest, the spiritual, and that of the gods. Following this continually is Aikido. The core of the universal dynamism consists of 75 sounds. Each one of these sounds obeys three rules: triangle(Iku-musubi), circle(Taru-musubi), and square(Tamatsume-musubi). The kotodama, A, O, U, E, I, manifesting the mind of the Founding god( Kuni no Katachi no Kami), interacting with the neutral god (Toyokumo no Kami), the functions of the Five gods came into being. When the eight powers interact with each other, the light, pure ones went up to the heavens, and the heavier, impure ones fell to the Earth. Each time the heavens and the Earth interacted, some functions fell to Earth, expanding it. This was done by the god of Tamatsume-musubi. With the three elements, Iku-musubi, Taru-musubi, and Tamatsume-musubi, influencing the process, the universe grew and continues to grow today. Aiki is this interaction and use of kotodama. It is the one spirit, four souls, three elements, and the eight powers. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, one hundred, one thousand, one million, and the great Mitama of all These words represent the one spirit, four souls, three elements, and the eight powers. Ueshiba sensei never failed to recite these words in his prayer before and after Aikido practice in order to teach us to assimilate ourselves within the universe. By doing so, we can produce techniques which make the three elements visible in the manifest world. Wishing for world peace, Ueshiba sensei always preached that human beings are also a part of the universe. The Three Elements ------------------ Ueshiba sensei told us in his Dobun that the Three Elements are gas, liquid, and solid. After studying this for a long period of time, I came up with my interpretation for this. I think that these three elements are three stages. When O sensei said gas, he wanted to tell you to match your breath with that of your opponent. Liquid indicates that you should absorb your opponent s strength. Solid implies that you should use your breath and perform the technique. In other words, in the gas stage we should lead our opponents with our Ki. In the liquid stage we should assimilate ourselves with our opponent. In the solid stage we gradually apply ourselves in the desired directions to complete the technique. The Four Souls -------------- Historically in Japan four separate aspects of functions of mitama have been recognized. The first is Kushimitama, or the heavens, which give light to all things in order to purify their KI. The second is Sachimitama, or the Earth, which lavishly provides and never expects anything in return. The active and valiant Aramitama, or fire, is indispensable for any type of development. The harmonious Nigimitama is the water that can flow anywhere and rules the Earth. The Eight Powers ---------------- The eight powers are always contrastive to each other. Moving force and stopping force, dissolving force and curdling force, pulling force and releasing force, joining force and separating force, work actively in the universe to sustain life and the Earth. This is also true within ourselves, as we are part of the universe and have a universe within our bodies. I draw an analogy from the Ken-zen-ichi-jyo sword tactics which were written in the twelfth century. In Ken-zen-ichi-jyo we learn that if an opponent gives you his full 100% attack, you should receive the attack with zero. If he gives you 90% then you receive it with 10. 80-20 70-30 60-40 40-60 30-70 20-80 10- 90 0-100. I believe this is much easier to understand than the definitions given by O sensei. If we meet 100% with 100% we end up with a 50-50 connection and we cannot proceed with the desired function. Fire and water are two basic examples of the opposing powers. Fire naturally flows vertically, while water flows horizontally. Water puts out fire, and fire evaporates water. Many people ask about Aikido with relation to religion. I don t believe in religions because I know that history has seen a lot of conflicts among religions which have caused many great battles. Instead I believe in the god of fire and the god of water. It is such a simple concept that I wish people all over the world could come to support the idea. The final set of contrastive powers is positive and negative. When explaining these two forces I use the terms plus and minus. Correct breathing is critical to using these forces effectively. Take a breath as you pronounce A, O, U, E, I. Try to let your body learn to breathe the kotodama, and not your brain. In doing so you will not need commands from your brain to move as quickly as possible. In Aikido, zero (or nothingness) is necessary most of the time. Kokoro (heart and mind) is one thing while Ki is something else. Many people believe that they are identical, but it they are not. Heart and mind remain innocent for your entire life, while Ki is always fluctuating. You must purify yourself to become nothing. What you do in Aikido never fails to reflect the state of your Ki. If your Ki is clouded, you cannot accept or lead your opponent. I really hope that everyone can learn to master the Aikido that Ueshiba sensei taught and lived. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reishiki/Etiquette ================== From The Iaido Newsletter #13 June 1991 Just why, exactly, do we bow to the instructor and to our fellow students when we practice the Japanese martial arts. Is there something here that we as free, equal, democratic Canadians should be offended by. After all, many Canadians will no longer consider bowing down to the Royal family, why should we bow to anyone else. To make matters worse, in some arts we bow down to a picture or even crazier, to a wall. Where did this behavior come from. Right off, let's make it clear that bowing and the other forms of etiquette in the martial arts do not indicate subservience. They indicate respect which is entirely different. The forms of polite action in the dojo have meaning beyond an acknowledgement of the Japanese root of the arts. Origins of Reishiki in North America ------------------------------------ It is, of course from their Japanese roots that the etiquette of the martial arts derive. The men and women who first introduced budo to the west also brought the methods of teaching that they were given by their instructors. These methods included reishiki. After a generation or two in North America the bowing and scraping may be getting to seem a bit artificial. This is only natural since we express our politeness in ways other than the bow. We shake hands, and call people "sir". We open doors for people. We have dozens of ways to express politeness and respect that we think of about as often as a Japanese would think of bowing, not often. Perhaps we should examine in further detail just what it is that we are doing when we bow in such a perfunctory way, and how we, as Canadians can use these transplanted rituals to our own advantage. Origins in Japan ---------------- In Japan itself reishiki was developed to a high degree in the Tokugawa period (1603-1868) with various schools of the art arising. The great neo-confucian movement of the age was a major impetus, infusing the act with the hierarchical meaning that it carries today. The idea that all authority came from above and that everyone had his or her own place in the order of things was reinforced by the degree of bowing between people. The Imperial court had, from earliest history, always stressed reishiki and the bushi (who were originally country bumpkins) had in the course of association picked up the habit. The court of the Shogunate adopted these manners and from them the samurai throughout the country began to use the forms. Reishiki for the samurai ------------------------ It did not take long, however for the bushi to create their own, distinctive forms of etiquette. Even in the Tokugawa era the action of bowing went beyond a simple acknowledgement of authority into the realm of how to act properly at all times. Put simply, it was reishiki that allowed the Edo samurai to go about his business without giving or taking offence and without letting his alertness drop for a moment. It was a matter of safety as much as a matter of correct action and courtesy. With constant attention paid to each outward movement, the mind of the warrior could not be other than awake at all times. With no daydreaming the possibility of accidents was reduced and no actions were taken (or accepted) that were not intentional. It is this aspect of the samurai etiquette that is "appended" to the martial arts in this country. The bows are not a form of submission, but a way of practicing safely and with alertness. "Budo begins and ends with Reishiki". This does not mean that we bob our heads at the start and the finish of a class, it means that Budo is Reishiki. Manners are not "added on", they are part and parcel of the art. Reishiki in North America ------------------------- There is nothing wrong with bowing to your instructor for no other reason than to say thank you. He or she has worked hard for many years to achieve the level of skill that can now be passed on to you. That commitment should be appreciated since the work that has gone before makes your learning easier. The bows and the other forms of politeness then, tell the teacher and yourself that you appreciate the effort and that you respect it enough to give your best effort to learn what you can. In this manner, reishiki has the purpose of forcing you to concentrate on what you are doing. One of the reasons to take up martial arts training is to lose the ego. If you cannot bow to someone else without feeling as if you are submitting somehow to them, then you have no chance of obtaining egolessness. In this case, the bow is a shock on a fundamental level to the idea of yourself as a distinct entity. This shock is even greater in a society that does not bow any more. The greater the shock to the idea of a distinct self, the more open you will be to new ideas and the greater the chance that you will learn something. Reishiki goes beyond simply bowing in the modern dojo, just as it did two hundred years ago. Etiquette defines how you enter and leave the room, how you move past your fellow students, how you sit or stand and how you practice. If everyone is following the same code of behavior, everyone will know what to expect in a class. What this means, simply, is that nobody is going to step in front of you when you least expect it and you can worry about other things instead. At the same time, the specific actions of reishiki have the effect of giving you a more alert position so that when the unexpected does occur you can deal with it. Specific Reishiki ----------------- Each art and each instructor in the art will establish a distinct code of behavior for the students. The main thing to remember is to act at all times with full awareness of what you are doing and why. What follows is a discussion of several forms of Reishiki that are common to most Japanese dojo. Bow at dojo entrance As you enter and leave the specific room or practice area you stop, put your feet together and bow toward the practice surface. This is often described as a prayer to the dojo that you will practice well and hard. If you don't want to pray to a wood and cement structure, make it a small meditation to yourself. You leave the busy and confused world outside and enter the wholly concentrated world of the dojo. This is the first step and is followed by a series of actions that remind you on a subconscious level that the outside world should be left outside. On a more mundane level, stopping before you step onto the practice surface is simply good sense. Stepping out without looking can get you hit over the head with a sharp object. Bow to shomen This is a bow performed at the start and end of each class which is directed toward the high point in the room, or perhaps at a photograph, scroll, or even toward a Shinto shrine. The bow is another transition step from the outside world to the dojo. It is also a moment wherein students can reflect on the history of their art since this is the time when gratitude is expressed toward the founder and the previous instructors of the art. Bowing to shomen also reminds you where it is, this is important in how you move around in the dojo. Bow to sensei At the start and end of a class, students have a chance to make a formal bow to the instructor. This should be done carefully and with full attention since this is your chance to show your gratitude for the patience and ability of the sensei. It also expresses your willingness to learn and your request to be instructed. At many times during a class you will have a chance to thank the instructor for advice or correction. By making this bow with full awareness you will ensure that you are paying full attention to what is being said. It is all too easy to half listen and say "thanks" and then go right on practicing something badly. Bow to partner If you have the opportunity to work with a partner, you will bow to each other. Again, bow carefully and with attention. You are saying to your partner, "please practice with me" and "thank you for your cooperation". A sloppy bow will lead to sloppy practice and the potential for accidents as one student bows while the other attacks. Always remember that the senior students, and the instructors can tell a lot about your attitude by how you observe the etiquette of the dojo. Shoes Shoes or slippers should be worn on the way to the dojo to avoid picking up infections and passing them on to your fellow students. These shoes are taken off at the practice area and should be lined up neatly facing away from the dojo floor. They are lined up neatly and out of the way simply to prevent someone tripping over your mess. They are lined up ready to be put on as you leave so that there is little fuss at the end of the class. By placing the shoes so that you are ready to leave the class you are showing that you intend to pay attention and learn. If you don't learn, you can't leave. Walking All movement in the dojo should be done with full awareness and control at all times. It is considered rude to flap your arms around and swivel your head about as you look at everything except what you should watch. Look where you are going at all times and you will be safe as well as polite. Walking politely means being able to stop without falling over at any point in your stride, under control. If you pass other students who are practicing, wait until they are finished and see you, don't disturb them. This is a safety rule as well. If you are moving down a line of seated students, move along behind them, not in front between them and the instructor. This cuts their view and also exposes yourself to attack. In effect you are daring them to attack. This shows that you are not paying attention. If you must pass in front of them extend your right hand and bow forward slightly to apologize for your blocking their view. This places your hand in their view before your body so that they have a chance to stop any potentially dangerous actions. Better to lose a finger than an eye. A common rule is never to expose your back to the shomen or highest point in the room. High ranking visitors will be seated close to this point and it would be rude to show them your backside. More importantly the rule is an exercise in knowing where you are in relation to the environment at all times. Standing When you are standing it is impolite to slouch against a wall, put your hands in your pockets, cross your legs or generally to be slovenly. All of these prohibitions are to prevent you from moving into a position that exposes you to attack and injury. It would be paranoid to assume that someone is going to sneak up behind you and attack, even during a martial arts class. It is not paranoid to assume that someone might fall into you from behind. By being polite when you stand you are in the best position to prevent an injury to yourself. Sitting You should be no less polite when you sit down. In Japan it is generally considered rude and ugly to have your limbs spread out away from your body. Think about this cultural foible in terms of sitting with your legs out in front of yourself during a class. Now think what would happen to your knees if someone were to land on them during a practice. On the other hand think how you would feel if you were to trip and injure a fellow student. Again a rule of etiquette is in reality a safety rule. Your legs and arms should always be tucked in and protected from injury. The idea that it is rude and unsightly to have your elbows sticking out at the sides is also more than a safety rule, it is a good posture training rule. In almost no case is it of advantage for a martial artist to have their elbows out away from the centre of the body, so why allow students to get into the habit. Weapons The majority of the rules of etiquette in the modern Japanese budo can be traced to the use and practice of the sword. With several students swinging very sharp blades at the same time, certain modes of behavior were developed for the sake of safety. When the swordsman moved out of the dojo the need for a code of behavior that kept the swords inside the scabbards was even more obvious. In fact, one of the excuses for a fight was the practice of saya ate or hitting someone's scabbard with your own as you passed. Passing on the right side of another swordsman thus became a dangerous (and then rude) practice. One passed so that one's sword was out of reach. It also became polite behavior to place your sword a certain way at certain times since this showed your intent, either peaceful or otherwise. The act of touching someone's blade or even of stepping over it was not only impolite but an act of aggression. Most of the elaborate rules for handling the katana can be traced to the simple need to keep it under control and to make it plain to others that your intentions were peaceful. Next time you begin to bow during class, take a moment and think just why you are bowing and what purpose the act holds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The practice of seiza ===================== From The Iaido Newsletter #12 May 1991 Seiza is a method of sitting which, in some places, is used as psychotherapy. It is a way of sitting on the knees that is used extensively in the martial art of Iaido. Practice of seiza can involve this art or it can be done simply as a sitting exercise. "Quiet sitting" using the seiza posture is a way to overcome the generalized fears of life and the underlying fear of death. It is an excellent way to regulate the body functions. It can bring the mind closer to the world "as it is" rather than its usual residence in "things as they should be". In other words, seiza is a method of breaking through the illusion of everyday life. When sitting, the endless cycles of thought which are so crippling to mental health are broken and the clean freshness of simply living in the world is allowed to come forth. To sit in seiza bend your legs and place the left knee on the floor. Place the right knee down about two fist widths from the left. Now flip down the toes and place the feet onto the floor so that the big toes just touch each other. Lower the buttocks down so that they rest on or between the heels. Straighten up and let the lower back move forward so that there is an S shaped curve to the spine. Rounding out the lower back to the rear or trying to sit back too far will cause muscle fatigue. The weight should be centered somewhere between the top of the feet and the knees, more toward the feet. The head is carried in balance on top of the spine. The ears should be in line with the shoulders and the nose in line with the belly button. Note that putting the nose into this position moves the back ever so slightly off of a strictly vertical position. In Iai this is important as it will encourage "seme" or pressure to the front. Pull the chin in slightly and stretch the back of the neck. This should feel as if someone is pulling straight up on the hair to stretch the spine. To find this centreline you can rock in circles from the hips, slowly reducing the swings until coming to rest in a stable position. This centering is important to prevent muscle cramps or fatigue while sitting. Another way to check the posture is to imagine a string attached to the top of the head on the inside. The string drops down inside the neck and trunk and is attached to a weight at the height of your tanden. If you bend your head forward or curve your trunk too much the string touches the body shell. If you lean too far forward or back the weight bangs into the hip girdle. Put the weight in the front half of the hara. Relax the shoulders and let the arms fall downward naturally. The right hand is placed palm upward on the lap with the little finger edge lightly touching the lower abdomen. The left hand is placed on top of the right, palm upward as well. The fingers should be together without strain. Place the tips of the thumbs together so that they are just touching with no pressure. The thumbs and fingers should make an oval shape around a point about 2 to 3 inches below the navel. This point is called the tanden or seika tanden and corresponds roughly to the centre of balance. The left hand over the right represents the calm ("Sei" or "In" in Japanese) aspects covering the active ("Do" or "Yo") aspects. The thumbs unify the two. The tanden is seen as the centre of being around which the Hara or hip girdle is organized. The centre is the point from which your life is lived. Variations of this form are sometimes used but this is the most balanced and relaxed method of sitting. Without tipping the head forward lower the eyes and look at a spot centered about one metre in front of the knees. The nose should be in the field of vision or the head has dropped forward. This serves to half close the eyes cutting out most of the visual input without providing the conditions to fall asleep. Place the tongue on the roof of the mouth and place the teeth lightly together. Draw the air out of the space between the tongue and the palate. This will cut down on saliva production and the need to swallow. Breathing is done in a very specific fashion and is the most important aspect of the practice. The ancient Taoists believed that breath was life and that each person was only allotted so many. Deep slow breathing was seen as life prolonging. Inhale easily and quietly through the nose using the diaphragm. The belly should expand forward while the chest should expand without any musculaular assistance at all. Keep all tension and muscular effort out of the upper body. The shoulders should not move upward at all but don't hold them down, simply let gravity do the work. Breath in until the lungs are full and no further, let the breath dictate the turnover to exhalation. Don't hold the breath or do anything special, simply begin to exhale. The exhalation is even more gentle than the inhalation. There should be no noise or fuss, simply breath out softly, letting the belly collapse. Breath out until the need to breath in is felt, then change over to inhalation. When exhaling don't let the belly go flabby, keep it alive with some tension or tone, without actually tightening the muscles. Never force the breath at any time. With continued practice the rhythm will slow down to perhaps two breaths a minute but don't try to reach any goals, just breath quietly. Following your breath, count both inhalations and exhalations or, later, exhalations only. Count from one to ten and then start over. If the count is lost, start at one again, don't try to remember the last number, it's not important. Getting to ten should not be a contest or a goal, just count. Any thoughts that arise should be noted but then ignored. Just look at them and then let them go, don't chase them or follow any line of reasoning. Go back to the counting. All thoughts have the same worth, nothing, when sitting. When sitting...sit. Return to the counting. The same goes for any light displays, hallucinations, panic, fear or other illusions. Simply sitting...sit. When the thoughts don't run so fast and furious you can drop the counting and just sit. If the thoughts become distracting, count again. Eventually, try to sit in seiza for about 30 minutes early in the morning and again at night. When starting the practice shorter times are advised until the legs are flexible and the circulation adjusts. If the legs begin to fall asleep, rise up off of the knees to allow circulation. Alternatively, roll up a blanket or something similar and place it between the lower legs to raise the hips up off of the heels. A small amount of pain is to be expected but don't make it a test of willpower to sit as long as possible. Ideally the sitting should be done in a quiet room with soft illumination and few visual or other distractions. Music is inappropriate since the idea is not to be distracted, rather than the other way 'round. Eventually the practice can be done anywhere with any amount of activity nearby. When the sitting is finished or when the legs must be relieved, bend forward from the waist and place the forehead on the floor while keeping the hips on the heels. Place the hands palm upward on the floor beside the head, now lift them up a few inches. This symbolizes being open (and accepting) to anything that the world cares to offer. Breathing in this position for a short time before sitting up again will allow longer practice times. There is a vast literature of self-help and meditation and there are many who are willing to teach secret methods of healing the soul for a price. All that is really necessary is a place to be alone and a few breaths. If some support is helpful then seiza can be done in a group but this is not necessary. Just sit...Simply sit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The art of being together ========================= by Sean Hickey (From The Iaido Newsletter, #11 March 1991) "What is it that makes the Budoka?" It is this question that begins a recent column by "Black Belt"'s Dave Lowry and it is this question he addresses. Lowry attributes the defining quality of a budoka as "sabi-shiori" -- "solitary aloneness". Sabi-shiori is that quality which separates budoka from each other, that quality which brings the realization that martial arts (budo) are in essence a solitary pursuit. It is what brings a lone Iaido-ka to do his forms in an empty dojo, or a karate-ka his kata alone in a field somewhere. Certainly, everyone realizes that it is not the physical side that makes budo different from sports. Boxers punch. Wrestlers throw and pin. Fencers wave swords. But they are never mistaken for Karate-ka, Judo-ka, or Iaido-ka. But, I feel that there is a whole attitude to being a budo-ka that goes beyond, but does not include, sabi-shiori. There is a balance to be achieved that creates a lifestyle, and awareness, a way of thinking. If you watch a football game, you will certainly spot one player who has that concentration and thought, that separateness, that marks sabi-shiori; but you will not mistake him for a budoka, for he is still missing much. Professor Kano, the founder of Judo, stressed the idea of "mutual welfare and prosperity", an idea absent in sports. This idea is strong in Japan, where it is not uncommon to see rival companies sending each other gifts for being such good competition. They realize that without competition their edge would be lost. This figures prominently in the experience of the budoka as well. Without others, our training would bring little. "Mutual welfare and prosperity" means that as your partner's attacks improve it forces your defences to improve, which forces your partner to improve his attacks. While sabi-shiori recognizes the solitary in the budoka, "mutual welfare and prosperity" recognizes the social. As we train for ourselves, we train for others, who in training for themselves, train for us. There is a whole range of attributes that make a budoka. Awareness develops through the years of training. Budoka are made sensitive to body language through their time spent recognizing attack from feint. This awareness gives you a split second edge if someone hostile is threatening. If you are an "Aikidoka" or Judoka, pay attention to how you get up from kneeling or how you turn around. Most likely, you use the same "tai sabaki" in regular life as in the dojo. Training has incorporated certain things into your daily life and made you aware of the mechanics of your body. In a very real sense, budo, is training for life. You develop awareness of body and spirit, yourself and others through budo, and yes though it sounds a cliche, as we strive to be better fighters we strive to be better people. I titled this "the art of being together" partially to to contrast it with Dave Lowry's title "the art of being alone". But by "being together" I do not mean as in a group, but in "having it all together". Being together is being able to draw in those influences and aspects that are part of being a budoka and striking a balance between them -- the best balance possible. There is both physical and mental in budo, neither can be neglected. Neither can sabi- shiori, the aloneness, and "mutual welfare and prosperity", the social nor any of the other diverse elements that I couldn't even begin to name. When it all comes together, and is balanced, is the time we look and say "this is who budo is all about". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learning the martial arts ========================= From the second issue of The Iaido Newsletter, Dec. 1989 Occasionally in the martial arts you encounter a student who has a natural talent for translating something said into body movement. These students are a genuine pleasure to teach, correcting themselves and rarely needing to be shown more than once what to change. Personally I can't stand these people. Not being this type of student, I have to struggle for every piece of knowledge and be corrected at least 23 times for each point learned. I suspect most of us are the same way. Just what is it that those perfect students have that we don't. How do they learn so easily, and how do all of us learn the budo at all. Memory types ------------ One thing is certain, the type of learning done in the classroom will not suffice on the dojo floor. No amount of listening and note taking will make a bit of difference to the performance of a motion. Learning and remembering the words doesn't get the job done. How many times have you been told to put one foot forward, remembered which foot is supposed to be forward, and then gone ahead and put the other foot out there for the instructor to stomp on. It's embarrassing! Take heart, there may be a very good reason why you are not doing it correctly. Recent work on memory has been pointing toward a theory that Budo instructors seem to have known for a couple of hundred years. Our memory for facts, words and other linguistic type things may not be the same as our memory of motions. Most research so far has concentrated on the rational memory. How we deal with words, numbers and other pieces of datum. Even here there seems to be a couple of different mechanisms of storage, one example being the difference between long and short term recollection. What has come to the surface recently however is that motional or "somatic" memory may have nothing at all to do with the mechanisms of memory studied so far. So much for "psychocybernetics" and visualization? (More on these later.) So what would this "somatic" memory mean. It means that the body has its own mechanism for learning and remembering what it should do. In high school we were taught that by doing the basketball drills we were setting up motor-response feedback loops or some such gobbledygook. Maybe we were just allowing the body to learn and remember. This has some pretty profound implications as to how we should learn the budo or any other physical art. It also has some pretty stinky ramifications for us here in the University since it implies that we are probably quite unprepared to learn. After all, our training is toward the rational mind. We know how to listen and remember words, numbers and other data but nobody has ever taught us how to learn with the body. Kuchi Waza vs Teaching ---------------------- Why say that Budo instructors have known of this somatic memory for hundreds of years? They don't talk. Well, that's a little extreme, they talk your ears off if you give them a chance. Just like the rest of us. What I mean is that they don't talk when they are trying to teach you how to do the movements of your art. They show you once, maybe three times then they tell you to do it. At least the good ones do, the ones that you can learn from. There is a bit of a split in the ranks of martial arts instructors. There are those who practice kuchi waza and those who don't. Kuchi waza means mouth techniques and it is not a complimentary term. It means someone who talks at you and tells you how to do something without doing it. Someone who says and doesn't show. The way that budo is taught is that the instructor does it, looks at you and says please do that. You do it and he looks pained. He does it again and you do it again. He looks a little sick and goes back to basics. The practitioner of kuchi waza tells you how to do it, you do it, he tells you that was wrong and then goes on to tell you how you should have done it. If you still can't get it he goes on to a more complicated technique. At least it sounds more complicated. Of course some things must be explained, why you do this motion here, what the metaphysical implications of this are, and other such information suitable for those who have to know. It's just that none of these things are strictly necessary to learning the art. If you don't believe that, how do you think that a man who knows no English can teach a class full of people who speak no Japanese. It happens all the time. How to learn ------------ So how do we as students help ourselves along and perhaps keep the instructor from looking a little green whenever he watches what we're doing. The secret is contained in the way that good instructors teach. They demonstrate once, you do. This doesn't give the rational mind any chance at all to pick up all of the information needed to do the technique. It is the way that these instructors have developed to shut down your "discriminating mind" and bring out your "everyday mind". You simply can't think about it, you see, you do. Just like driving a car. See the pedestrian, miss the pedestrian, think about what you just did. This is what those perfect students have learned. They have the knack of taking what their eyes see and translating it into body motion without getting caught up in whether this or that foot is forward. They see the technique and somehow "feel" their body moving in the same way. In effect they've already done it once by the time they stand up to try it. This doesn't mean they've thought about it! If you want to really mess one of these people up, ask them which foot they had forward. They won't know and will have to go through the technique again to figure it out. You already know that trick, its the same as asking a golfer whether he breaths out or in on his swing. Really messes them up. Of course I did say that these perfect students could be "told" something and correct themselves. This is true. The mechanism is the same one that messes people up when they start thinking about how they do something while trying to do it. (Hit the golf ball, step with which foot.) The mind and the body are not two separate things. Getting back to visualization and psychocybernetics (a very 70s word for visualization). Quite simply, a good student can take something heard and bypass the rational mind to apply the information to the body. This is the same mechanism as looking at the instructor and then doing the movement. They "see" the words in their "mind's eye" and translate that sight to the "feel" of the new motion in the body. Here is the problem. Only a good student can do this. The rest of us are trained to put "heard information" through the rational mind. If we hear it, it goes into the discriminating mind, especially if we are University students used to sitting in lecture halls and listening. This means that the words get nowhere near the "somatic" memory and go into rational storage instead. Therefore when we try to do the motion in the corrected way, it comes out the same as before. Our bodies have "heard" nothing at all that is new. So how do senior students help juniors learn. Don't for goodness' sake explain what Sensei just showed them. Let them do it instead. At the most, show them but keep the kuchi waza for after practice. What the masters say: Basics ---------------------------- Any master, any sport. They all say the same thing. "Well, I spent a lot of years on the basics and I think that that's what got me where I am today". You think maybe it's all a conspiracy to hide their real secrets from us beginners? Maybe there isn't any secret. Maybe by doing so many years of basics they learned, and their bodies remember. No pill, no secret technique, no special initiation, no flashy uniform, just a lifetime of practicing the basics. Surely this makes sense. You need a certain "library" of words and concepts before you can do nuclear physics. Why wouldn't you need a library of motion before you can do the advanced techniques of a martial art. With the basic vocabulary the instructor can go on to teach the advanced concepts without a lot of time wasted defining terms. AH HA. Maybe that's why doing eight months worth of six martial arts doesn't get you as far as four years of one. The words and concepts of zoology aren't the same as for physics. Not to say that they aren't sort of close, which may be what tempts us to do multiple martial arts. Learning from books ------------------- Yeah, right, like this article will teach you how to be one of those perfect students. Books have a certain use but learning a martial art? Books can teach the history of your art, they can give you the comforting or encouraging words of teachers that are passed away, and they may even give a certain number of useful tips to those senior students who have a large enough vocabulary to understand just what the hell the writer is talking about. Books may even twig you as to whether your instructor is pulling your leg or not about what he said last class but learn from them? X for beginners, An introduction to Y, Z made easy. Run away. Look for books for seniors and instructors, read them now and then in a year or two when they may say something else. Just don't expect your somatic memory to get anything out of words on a page. Of course those damn perfect students probably can. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wrist Strengthening Exercices ============================= From: Keith Nielsen - knielsen@FUN.DIRECT.CA On getting stronger wrist, try the following for a while: Take a 1 litre Coke bottle (or similar) and fasten a 4-5 foot rope to the top. Take a 1 foot piece of broom handle or whatever and fasten the other end of rope to it (make sure it doesn't slip). Now the real fun begins! You hold that lovely contraption in front of you with your arms fully extended, and wrists close the the rope... and turn and turn and turn. until you've brought that bottle all the way up. Then (wheeee isn't this fun?) you *Slowly* un_turn it down. Repeat ad-nauseum until your now wimpy but soon to be strong as steel wrists burn like the bloody hubs of hell itself. Do about three times a day for one month, don't quit. I mean it! Do it with real vigil and then see how tough sempei's little nikkyo is! ha ha ha ha (manic laugh). -------- From: Neil McKellar - mckellar@CS.UALBERTA.CA My instructor is fond of saying that if I just come to class and practice, my wrists will get stronger. I used to worry about some of the exercises he would have us do. My wrists are pretty well buggered anyway (and I've been in aikido for four years) from the kind of abuse they took before they were really strong enough (or before my ukemi was good enough). I must say, though, that his ideas work. I still worry about these from time to time, but.... 1. Push ups (ikkyo variation): Lie down on stomach with legs apart; place the _back_ of the hands on the mat with the fingers pointing in; push up. Repeat for a 10 count (increase as the wrists get stronger). Notes: this may be dangerous if the wrists are already quite flexible. Also, make sure that the hands are under the chest/shoulder area. As the hands move apart, the amount of flex required increases. (ouch!) 2. Push ups (nikkyo variation): Same as ikkyo push ups but point the fingers _out_. Notes: these hurt even more than ikkyo push ups, so they're probably really bad for you. :-\ It took me most of a year to figure out that, unlike ikkyo pushups, the further apart the hands are the lower the pressure on the wrists. Place the hands out _away_ from the shoulders for these. 3. Practice as uke: Grip firmly at all times with _all_ the fingers. Notes: this may not go over well in dojos where a light grip is emphasized/preferred. 4. Practice as nage: Spread the fingers _out_ as though reaching in different directions with each finger. Coming from a karate background, it took me a while to get into this habit (always want to keep the fingers close together). However, it does make a noticable difference in technique (for me anyway). If you have access to those JPEG images of Julian doing technique, he demonstrates this. (I found them sort of spooky to look at since his form looks very similar to my instructor's.) 5. Weapons: Regular practice with jo and bokken will also strengthen the the grip and the wrists. Your milage will vary. I would say that the push up exercises are somewhat risky, but I post them here because this is part of the training my instructor encourages. If you don't like them, stick with the last three since they are low risk to the joints and help develop fundamentals. -------- From: James Sadler - jdsadler@KIWI.AUSSY.INGR.COM re; push ups on back of hands. They're tons of fun, but to make life easier for nikkyo keep the hands further apart to reduce pressure on the wrist, for ikkyo the closer the wrist the easier it is (for some reason some folk have problems figuring this out :-) ). The pressure on the wrist can be a bit much if the wrist are fragile to start with, so start doing the pushups on your knees rather than your toes in order to reduce wait over the wrist. I also enjoy using nikkyo/sankyo warm ups with a partner SLOWLY winding on the pins and you just holding out for as much as you can manage and slowly sinking to the mat( for nikkyo) or rising up on your toes (sankyo). When you tap uke releases the pressure (hopefully :-) ) and you repeat 10 times each side. Then you get to do unto uke what uke just done to you :-). Also for wrist/grip building, squeeze the heck out of a tennis ball as many times as you can stand. -------- From: "Craig G. Hocker" - cgh6m@DARWIN.CLAS.VIRGINIA.EDU Here's one I used to do, but consult a physician first before attempting. They may be bad if you have stuff like tendonitis or injuries. I call them nikkyo push ups. 1) Place your hands fairly wide (like doing Lat push ups) 2) Keep your feet together 3) Now, instead of doing push ups on the palms of your hands, turn over your hands so your palms are facing the ceiling and you are doing push ups on your wrists. Arms should vaguely resemble a nikkyo configuration (i.e. 90 degree angles). Dave Yow! You might mention that your physician will gag when he hears what you plan to do. It is amazing the kind of crazy stuff people come up with. It will be real easy to injure yourself with the above suggestion. I think it would be much more sensible to do various controlled wrist stretches in combination with resistance exercises such as those used by golfers to strengthen their wrists and forearms. Talk to a sports physician if you can. Better ukemi is what you need in the long run. Have you thought about trying to relax through the wrist more ? You have more leeway to feel when it is time to submit to a nikkyo if you don't tighten up forearm muscles. Extend ki through the wrist bend out to and beyond the fingers. -------- From: Jeff Frane - gummitch@TELEPORT.COM Amen. I'm convinced that the normal course of aikido training should offer all the wrist strengthening people normally need. If it hurts too much, go ahead and tap out. Craig's last paragraph is the key: good ukemi means learning to relax into the pin, rather than push against it. Pushing against pins like nikyo is what really hurts -- or stiffening against them. I would only add to Craig's remarks that loosening more than the forearm is essential: nikyo works on the elbow, through the elbow to the shoulder and on to uke's center. If it finds tightness *anywhere* on its way, it's gonna hurt! Far more important than "strengthening", IMHO, is learning to relax. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Question: Why are there no foot techniques in Aikido? ===================================================== The following article appeared in "The Aikido", the Hombu Dojo Newsletter Answer: One characteristic of Aikido is the absence of foot techniques and because of that, Aikido techniques attain dignity. Movement of the hands, not only in Budo but in all human endeavours, is intellectual compared to the movement of the feet. The first step in human development came when our ancestors rose to stand on their feet. This is pointed out by many zoologists. An upright posture freed humans from the use of their hands for locomotion. We started to make and use tools. As time progressed, humans became more intelligent which eventually resulted in the creation of the atomic bomb and the electronics of today. Conversely, other primates which cannot stand perfectly on two feet remain primitive. It has been said that the development of the brain and the hands' peripheral nervous system are greatly related. Other relationships exist between our hands and our bodies such that nowadays even a ball called "healthy Ball" which stimulates the hands to prevent the effects of aging is sold. The other reason for the absence of foot techniques in Aikido is that they are used far from an opponent and the feet cannot reach the opponent. The basis of Aikido is the use of bare hands without harming an opponent and the purpose is to arrest an opponent only by restraining violence. Aikido is *budo* which foremost respects fundamental human rights. Related to this, our main techniques are "Throw" and "Hold". The training at Aikido Hombu Dojo (Headquarters) are shown in the following list. * Warm-ups * Basic movements * Ukemi - mae, ushiro * Kokyuho - seated, standing * Katamewaza basics - ikkyo, nikkyo, sankyo, yonkyo, gokyo * Nagewaza Basics - iriminage, shihonage, kaitennage, kotegaeshi, tenchinage * Practical Techniques - Henkawaza, futarigake, tanto dori, bokkendori, jodori As you can see from the list, Aikido techniques are applied before grappling takes place, so the main items are "Joint techniques" and "Techniques against Strikes". These two kinds of techniques are prohibited in Judo and Sumo. If these types of techniques were allowed in competition, many people would suffer injuries. The training style of Aikido is different from competition. The winner and loser roles are predetermined and the roles are alternated. This is for safety. For example, struggling against a "Joint Technique" will almost certainly result in injury. In order to avoid letting an opponent grapple with you, the following two movements are necessary for effective technique: 1. How to dodge (1) Irimi (step out with trailing leg first) (2) Tenkan (step out with leading leg first) 2. How to expel (1) Uchi harai (use of hands) (2) Soto harai (use of hands) These two movements are also used in Kendo and Bayonet fighting. However, in Aikido there are no techniques involving cuts, strikes and kicks because, since the meaning of Aikido is to arrest, these murderous techniques are unnecessary. Therefore, the reason why there are no foot techniques in Aikido is because the two movements of dodging and expelling are effective before techniques are applied." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aikidotraining and pregnancy precautions ======================================== I am an Aikido student who has recently become pregnant. What special precautions should I be taking? ----------- -------------------------------------------- From Aikido Today Magazine (Vol. 4, No. 1 Spring 1990) The article is from the column 'Ask Mark', written by Dr. Mark Adachi. The value of exercise in prenatal care has been a controversial topic for many years. In the past, it was standard medical practice to forbid any sports or vigorous exercise for the entire term of pregnancy. Recently, though, prenatal exercise has been recognized as an aid in controlling weight, reducing musculoskeletal pain, easing delivery, and speeding postnatal recovery. The prenatal exercise programs most often recommended include stretching, back and abdominal muscle strengthening, and mild aerobic conditioning. While Aikido no doubt meets many of these requirements, there are some serious problems with Aikido practice during pregnancy. The first and foremost of these problems has to do with ukemi. Ukemi should be recognized for what it is: a highly controlled method of preventing injury from falls. No matter how well ukemi is performed, uke's body still falls to the mat, the net force of the fall being directly related to the uke's body mass and acceleration. The traumatic force involved when uke's body hits the mat is considerable, and it must be dealt with in some safe way. This is usually not a problem, but, when uke is pregnant, even a fraction of this traumatic force may shock the fetus, possibly resulting in miscarriage -- especially in first pregnancies and in the first trimester of pregnancy, when the likelihood of miscarriage is increased. In the first trimester all falling, even forward and backward rolling, should be avoided. In addition, much of the Aikido repertoire consists of pinning techniques, which result in uke landing in a prone (face-down) position. The direct shock of the abdomen hitting the mat in these techniques is not safe early in the pregnancy, and lying in this position is nearly impossible later in term due to the abdomen's increased size. Pregnant women should also beware of kansetsu waza (joint locking techniques) such as ikkyo, nikyo, and sankyo. Among the many hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy is an increase in relaxin -- a polypeptide hormone that allows the opening of the pelvis during delivery. As its name suggests, this hormone relaxes the ligaments of the entire body. The relaxation may cause some minor joint instability, increasing the likelihood of sprains and strains. Pregnant women should therefore be especially careful with techniques that may put large amounts of torque on their joints. If being uke is not a good idea during pregnancy, what about being nage? In general, practicing in the role of nage can be continued well into term if two considerations are kept in mind: First, care must be taken to maintain an adequate oxygen supply for the fetus. If exercise becomes too strenuous, the mother's cardiovascular system, which must support both her and the fetus, will shunt blood away from the fetus. Also, exercise may put the fetus into oxygen debt if the mother's blood is not able to carry enough oxygen. It is therefore advisable for the expectant mother to limit her maximal heart rate to 140 beats per minute or less -- quite a bit lower than the usual limit, which is 220 minus one's age. It is also advisable for the expectant mother to limit periods of aerobic exercise to fifteen minutes. Second, it is wise for pregnant Aikidoists to avoid certain common Aikido movements. As a fetus grows, a pregnant woman's center of gravity shifts, causing the swayback posture characteristic of the expectant mother. The condition of having the increased curve, called hyperlordosis, makes a woman's posture biomechanically weaker and predisposes her to chronic lower back pain. Unfortunately, the posture Aikidoists adopt when using the hara or koshi in many strong kokyu movements is also slightly hyperlordotic and stressful for the lower back muscles. So, pregnant women should avoid these movements -- or, at least, be very careful when attempting them. A general rule of thumb regarding pregnancy and sports (Aikido included) is that usually, if a woman has been actively involved in an athletic activity before becoming pregnant, she can continue until the third trimester. So, if a woman has been actively involved in Aikido practice prior to pregnancy, and if she observes the precautions I have mentioned, she should be able to continue Aikido practice for quite a while into her term. But, if a woman has stopped training before becoming pregnant, she should not start up again during pregnancy. And even highly athletic women almost always restrict their activities drastically during the third trimester. There are women, of course, who continue right up to delevery -- but this is rare, and the wisdom of these womens' decisions is questionable. Women vary tremendously in the problems associated with their pregnancies. So, pregnant women should consult with their obstetricians regarding their individual cases. For more information on this topic, ask your doctor for the ACOG (American Colleges of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) guidelines for exercise and pregnancy. Much of the information in this article was drawn from these guidelines. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japan, history of ================= Copyright - 1993, William B. Hauser, Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. Modern knowledge about the first peoples to inhabit the Japanese archipelago has been pieced together from the findings of archaeologists and anthropologists and from the myths of ancient Japan. Although the date of the first human habitation is not known, anthropologists have identified one of the earliest cultures in Japan as the Jomon culture, which dates from about 8000 BC. A hunting and gathering culture, it used stone and bone tools and made pottery of distinctive design. In the 3d century BC, Jomon culture was disrupted by a new people, known as Yayoi, who probably emigrated from continental Asia. They introduced rice cultivation, primitive weaving, wheel-made pottery, domesticated horses and cows, and simple iron tools. Yayoi culture overlaid and fused with the earlier Jomon culture. Early historical period ----------------------- The earliest written Japanese histories, the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters, 712) and the Nihon shoki (Chronicles of Japan, 720), include legends about the origins of the Japanese people and attribute the foundation of the state to a mythological emperor Jimmu in 660 BC. Another legend concerns the empress JINGO (AD c.169-269), who allegedly conquered Korea. These records provide more reliable chronicles of Japanese history from the 5th century. Yamato Period Beginning in the 3d or 4th century AD a new culture appeared--either from within Yayoi society or from the Asian mainland. Its leaders left massive tombs with pottery, figurines, armor, jewelry, weapons, and other evidence that they were mounted warriors with long iron swords and bows. From this culture emerged rulers from the Yamato plain in the southern part of the main Japanese island of Honshu; they claimed descent from the sun goddess and achieved political unity--apparently in the mid-4th century. By placing the sun goddess at the head of the SHINTO deities the hereditary Yamato emperor reinforced his leadership position. Initially, the emperors ruled through alliances with other tribal chieftains, but the latter were gradually subordinated by a system of court ranking. This development was influenced by Chinese concepts of statecraft, learned through Japan's military endeavors in Korea. Japan also adopted Chinese script, and BUDDHISM was introduced from Korea about 538. In the 6th century the centralized control of the Yamato court began to break down. At the end of the century, however, the regent Prince SHOTOKU TAISHI reasserted court authority. He promulgated (604) a 17-article constitution based on the Chinese political theory of centralized imperial government, redefining the sovereign's position in Chinese terms. Imperial authority was further asserted by the Taika reforms of 646, by which, following Chinese precedent, all land was claimed by the emperor and an elaborate taxation system was initiated. In 702 the Taiho Laws, comprising new civil and penal codes, were promulgated. Nara Period The first permanent capital was built at NARA in 710. In the following century tribal elites were replaced by a hereditary court aristocracy, and status became the basis for official influence. Japan was thus transformed from a tribal into an aristocratic culture. Court patronage made Buddhism a major force, which in turn reinforced state power. Nara was the center not only of government but of the major Buddhist temples; in 752 the statue of the Great Buddha (Daibutsu) was dedicated there. Buddhist priestly intrusion in state affairs provoked a reaction, however. Finally, Emperor KAMMU (r. 781-806) asserted imperial independence and established a new capital at Heian (modern KYOTO) in 794. Heian and the Fujiwaras In Heian, safe from Buddhist interference, imperial authority increased; however, the simplification of government that accompanied the move to Heian allowed the Fujiwara family to assert great influence. The Fujiwara had the privilege of intermarriage with the imperial house, and many emperors were married to Fujiwara women or were their sons. Fujiwara men proved capable administrators, and they used their family ties to dominate the government. In 858, Fujiwara Yoshifusa (804-72) had his grandson, the infant Emperor Seiwa, placed on the throne and made himself regent. Until the end of the 11th century the Fujiwara used the position of regent to dominate the emperors, adults as well as children. Under imperial patronage two new Buddhist sects emerged in Heian. Tendai and Shingon, more Japanese in spirit than earlier Buddhist sects, ended the monopoly of the Nara Buddhist establishment. A reassertion of tribal, or clan, authority also accompanied the move to Heian. The imperial land system established by the Taika reforms decayed, and land increasingly fell into private hands. Aristocrats and religious institutions assembled huge tax-free estates (shoen). Private armies were created, and a class of rural warriors (SAMURAI) emerged. Notable among the samurai class were the Taira and Minamoto families. Initially local military leaders, both clans were drawn into court politics. In 1156 they applied military force to settle a court dispute, and a war in 1159-60 left the Taira as the effective rulers. The Taira dominated court politics by force and by marital ties with the imperial line. In 1180, Taira Kiyomori placed his grandson Antoku on the throne, briefly reviving the Fujiwara practice of using the regency to dominate the government. The Shogunates -------------- In 1180 the Minamoto revolted against the Taira and in the Gempei War (1180-85) defeated them and established the Kamakura shogunate, the first of the military governments that would rule Japan until 1868. (See SHOGUN.) Kamakura Period The shogun Minamoto YORITOMO (r. 1192-99) assigned military governors and military land stewards to supplement the civil governors and estate officials. While establishing military authority, however, Yoritomo failed to ensure the effective succession of his own family. His sons were first dominated, then eliminated, by the Hojo clan, which from 1203 held the position of shikken (shogunal regent). After 1221, when the retired emperor Go-Toba failed in his attempt to overthrow the shogunate, military authority was increased. Warriors, while largely illiterate and unskilled in administration, proved effective governors. The Hojo upheld the military virtues on which the shogunate had been founded and proved apt successors to Yoritomo. In 1274 and 1281 the shogunate was tested by two Mongol invasions (see MONGOLS). The Japanese warriors, assisted by storms that came to be described as divine winds (kamikaze), drove away the invaders. The Kamakura period was also one of spiritual awakening. Buddhism was simplified, and new sects--PURE LAND BUDDHISM, True Pure Land, and Lotus (see NICHIREN)--guaranteed salvation to all believers. By the early 14th century, however, political and social stability were breaking down. In 1334 the Kamakura shogunate was destroyed when Emperor Go-Daigo reasserted imperial authority (the Kemmu Restoration). Many powerful military families such as the Ashikaga flocked to assist the emperor. He failed to reward them properly, however, and in 1336 he was driven from Kyoto and replaced by another puppet emperor. Go-Daigo established a rival court in Yoshino, and for 56 years there were two imperial courts. Ashikaga Period In 1338, Ashikaga Takauji was made shogun, creating the Ashikaga shogunate. The Ashikaga reached the height of their power under the third shogun, Yoshimitsu (r. 1368-94). He controlled the military aspirations of his subordinates and ended (1392) the schism within the imperial house. The shogunate rested on an alliance with local military leaders (shugo), who gradually became powerful regional rulers. The great shugo, however, became increasingly involved in the politics of the shogunate, and by the mid-15th century many had lost control of their provincial bases. Their weakness became apparent in the Onin War of 1467-77. Beginning as a dispute over the shogunal succession, it turned into a general civil war in which the great shugo exhausted themselves fighting in and around Kyoto, while the provinces fell into the hands of other shugo and eventually under the control of new lords called daimyo. The war effectively destroyed Ashikaga authority. The shogun Yoshimasa (r. 1440-73) simply turned his back on the troubles; he retired (1473) to his estate on the outskirts of Kyoto, where he built the Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku) and became the patron of a remarkable artistic flowering. The Onin War marked the beginning of a century of warfare called the "Epoch of the Warring Country." In the provinces new feudal lords, the daimyo, arose. Independent of imperial or shogunal authority, their power was based on military strength. They defined their domains as the area that could be defended from military rivals. Ties were fixed by vassalage, and land holdings were guaranteed in return for military service. The daimyo concentrated their vassals in castle towns and left the villagers to administer themselves and pay taxes. The castle towns became market and handicraft industrial centers, and a new style of urban life began to develop. This was the Japan found by the Europeans who began to visit the country after 1543. The Portuguese began trade in 1545, and in 1549 the Jesuit missionary Saint FRANCIS XAVIER introduced Roman Catholicism. Christianity conflicted with feudal loyalties, however, and was completely banned after 1639. At that point all Europeans, except the Dutch, were also excluded from Japan. Period of Unification Between 1560 and 1600, Japan was reunified by a succession of three great daimyo: Oda NOBUNAGA, Toyotomi HIDEYOSHI, and Tokugawa IEYASU. Nobunaga began the military process in 1560 and by 1568 had extended his influence to Kyoto. He set up a puppet shogun and established control over central Japan. After Nobunaga's death (1582) during a rebellion, Hideyoshi continued the military unification of the country, completing the process in 1590. The use of firearms (supplied initially by the Europeans), the construction of fortified castles, the disarmament of the peasants, and a major land survey were the chief tools of pacification. When Hideyoshi died in 1598, centralized authority was secure, and the warrior class had been segregated from other members of society. The third great unifier, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was a military leader who emerged as the guarantor of Hideyoshi's young heir, Hideyori. In 1600, Ieyasu defeated his military rivals at Sekigahara and asserted his predominance. He was appointed shogun in 1603, but in 1605 he turned that office over to his son and devoted the rest of his life to consolidating Tokugawa control. In 1615, Hideyori was attacked and finally eliminated, and when Ieyasu died the following year, the Tokugawa held unchallenged feudal supremacy over the whole country. Tokugawa Period From their castle town of Edo (modern TOKYO), the TOKUGAWA ruled Japan as shoguns until 1867. A careful distribution of land among their vassal daimyo, relatives, and outside daimyo ensured their control of the major cities--Kyoto, OSAKA, and NAGASAKI--and the chief mines. Thus they controlled the main economic centers and strategic military points, while unrelated daimyo administered some 250 autonomous domains. The daimyo spent half their time in Edo attending the shogun and left their families as hostages when they returned to their domains. The Tokugawa period saw the flowering of urban culture and a monetized commodity economy. Edo had a population of over 1 million, and both Kyoto and Osaka had more than 400,000 people. The samurai stood at the top of a legally established four-class system. From illiterate warriors they were transformed into military bureaucrats who served both the shogunal and daimyo governments. Below them were the peasants, artisans, and merchants. Although despised, merchants became essential to urban life. A national market system developed for textiles, food products, handicrafts, books, and other goods. Osaka was the center of the national rice market, where daimyo exchanged their rice for cash to support their Edo residences and the traveling back and forth to their domains. After 1639 the Tokugawa pursued a policy of almost total seclusion from the outside world. Nagasaki, where the Chinese and the Dutch were allowed trading quarters (the Dutch on an offshore island), was the only point of contact with foreign countries. By the 19th century considerable ferment existed in Japanese society. Peasant uprisings had become commonplace, and the samurai and even the daimyo were badly indebted to the merchant class. Thus the old socioeconomic system had virtually collapsed, while the shogunal government displayed increasing extravagance and inefficiency. In the early 1840s the national government attempted a series of reforms to improve economic conditions, but they were largely ineffectual. The shogunate, therefore, was already in a discredited position when U.S. Commodore Matthew PERRY forced Japan to abandon its seclusionist policy in 1854. With the arrival of Perry's ships the Tokugawa shogun turned to the daimyo for advice and thereby undermined shogunal control over foreign policy. The imperial house, long excluded from politics, was drawn into the controversy, and the slogan "revere the emperor, expel the barbarians" was soon heard in the expanding political debate. In 1858 the shogun signed disadvantageous commercial treaties with the United States and several European countries. Tokugawa leadership was questioned, and numerous samurai attacks were made on the foreigners now allowed to enter Japan. By 1864 most activists realized that the foreigners' military power prevented their exclusion, and they turned against the Tokugawa instead. Samurai from the domains of Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, and Hizen played major roles in pushing for reforms. In 1867 they finally forced the resignation of the shogun, and imperial government was restored under the young Meiji emperor in 1868 (see MEIJI RESTORATION). Modern Japan ------------ The Meiji Period In less than half a century Japan was transformed from a secluded feudal society into an industrialized world power. During the Meiji period, corresponding to the reign (1868-1912) of Emperor Meiji, centralized bureaucracy replaced the balance of power between the Tokugawa and the autonomous domains. A conscript army replaced the military authority of the samurai. Restrictions on residence and employment were abolished, and people flocked to Edo, now renamed Tokyo and adopted as the imperial capital. The government imported foreign advisors and technology for industrial, commercial, and educational purposes. Official missions were sent to examine modern Western societies. Adopting the slogan "rich country, strong army," Japan determined to gain a position of equality with the West. Government stability was crucial to this objective. In 1873 a new tax system provided a secure revenue base and abolished the feudal land system. In 1877 the conscript army defeated a major samurai revolt led by SAIGO TAKAMORI, a leading figure in the imperial restoration. Inflation reduced the value of government revenues, and between 1881 and 1885 a rigorous deflation policy initiated by MATSUKATA MASAYOSHI stabilized the currency. Education was basic to Japan's emergence. Beginning with 40 percent male and 15 percent female literacy, the Meiji government required primary education for all children and established (1872) a centralized school system. In 1881 domestic political pressure forced the oligarchical government to promise a constitution by 1889 and representative government by 1890. The statesman ITO HIROBUMI took charge of drafting the new constitution. A cabinet was established in 1885, a peerage was created, and in 1889 the constitution was promulgated as a gift from the emperor. Japan thus became a constitutional monarchy, with a bicameral legislature (Diet) composed of a house of peers and an elected lower house. Suffrage was very limited, however; only 1 percent of the population was eligible to vote in the 1890 election. Moreover, the prime minister and cabinet were responsible only to the emperor, who was still regarded as a divine figure. Representative government evolved slowly, but the Diet had some control of the budget and gradually increased its authority. Conflict between the Diet and the government leaders ceased during the SINO-JAPANESE WAR of 1894-95, in which Japan displayed its military superiority over the Chinese and secured control of Korea. The victory added to Japanese prestige, and in 1902, Japan concluded an alliance with Britain as an equal power. In 1904-05, Japan and Russia fought over Manchuria and Korea. Victorious in this RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR, the Japanese added southern Sakhalin to their empire of Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands; and in 1910 they formally annexed Korea. By 1905, therefore, Japan was a major military power in East Asia and an industrialized nation. When Japan entered World War I as an ally of Britain, the strains of industrialization were apparent in Japanese society. World War I and the Interwar Years During World War I, Japan seized several of the German holdings in East Asia, including Chinese territory on the Shandong peninsula. When the Chinese demanded its return, the Japanese government responded with the Twenty-one Demands of January 1915, forcing Chinese acceptance of extended Japanese influence in China. In 1917, Japan extracted further concessions of rights in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, setting the stage for its later open aggression against China. In 1918, HARA TAKASHI became prime minister in the first cabinet based on a party majority in the Diet. Although the political parties were essentially controlled by business interests (see ZAIBATSU), they were a major step toward more democratic forms of government--a trend that was continued by the expansion of the electorate in 1925 to include all males over 25. Although repressive toward the growing labor movement, the party governments of the 1920s and after attempted modest reforms, cutting back the army and enacting some social legislation. They also pursued a less aggressive foreign policy than that of prewar Japan. At the WASHINGTON CONFERENCE of 1921-22, Japan signed a naval arms limitation treaty that replaced the Anglo-Japanese alliance and established a balance of power in the Pacific. In 1930 further naval limitations were agreed to at the London Naval Conference. The Japanese military felt, however, that the politicians were compromising the nation's security and the emperor's right to supreme command. As the World Depression of the 1930s set in, the discontented began to rally to the cry of the militarists that the civilian governments were corrupt and that military expansion and the acquisition of new markets and sources of raw materials would cure Japan 's economic ills. Right-wing terrorism increased (3 of Japan's 11 prime ministers between 1918 and 1932 were assassinated), and in 1931 Japanese officers in Manchuria acted without government authorization in precipitating the Mukden Incident and occupying Manchuria. Unable to stop the army, the civilian government accepted the establishment of the puppet state of MANCHUKUO in February 1932. Three months later military and civilian bureaucrats replaced party politicians in leading the government. From then until August 1945, the succession of cabinets and the young emperor HIROHITO, who had succeeded to the throne in 1926, were essentially the tools of the military extremists. World War II Japanese economic and political penetration of northern China proceeded against minimal Chinese resistance until 1937. In July 1937, however, the Second Sino-Japanese War began with a clash at the Marco Polo bridge near Beijing (Peking). By 1940 the Japanese controlled eastern China and had established a puppet regime at Nanjing (Nanking). In the same year Japan allied with the Axis powers of Germany and Italy, which were already at war in Europe. Having occupied the northern part of French Indochina in 1940, Japanese troops moved into southern Indochina in July 1941. The United States and Britain reacted to this move by imposing a total trade embargo on Japan. Faced with economic strangulation, Japan had the choice of withdrawing from Indochina, and possibly China, or continuing its expansion in order to secure oil supplies from the Dutch East Indies. The latter alternative would mean war with the United States, and Prime Minister KONOE FUMIMARO negotiated to avoid that contingency. In October 1941, however, Konoe was replaced by the more militant Gen. TOJO HIDEKI. On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese forces launched simultaneous attacks on PEARL HARBOR in Hawaii, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Malaya. The United States immediately declared war, and WORLD WAR II entered its worldwide phase. At first the Japanese forces achieved great success, conquering the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Malaya and Singapore, and Burma. The tide turned in June 1942, however, with the defeat of a Japanese fleet by the U.S. Navy at Midway Island in the Pacific. A war of attrition now began to force the Japanese back to their home islands. Japanese merchant shipping was disrupted, and industrial production declined as industries and cities were subjected to Allied bombing raids. Shortages of food and supplies increased along with military defeats. The atomic bombing of HIROSHIMA and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 and the Soviet declaration of war on Aug. 8, 1945, were the final blows. Emperor Hirohito intervened and ordered the army to surrender unconditionally on Aug. 14, 1945. Postwar Japan The Allied occupation, under the command of U.S. Gen. Douglas MACARTHUR, lasted from 1945 to 1952 and resulted in political, social, and economic reforms. The emperor denied his divinity and was placed in a symbolic role. Government was democratized, and a new constitution with a bill of rights went into effect in 1947. Women received the vote and rights to property and divorce. The peerage was abolished, war criminals punished, and a massive purge of right-wing extremists (and later of Communists) conducted. The great zaibatsu concentrations of economic power were broken up, a major land reform was carried out, and education was liberalized. Article 9 of the constitution renounced the right to use force in foreign policy. As millions of soldiers and civilians were repatriated from overseas, the devastated country experienced acute shortages of food, housing, clothing, and other goods and services. The government under YOSHIDA SHIGERU worked to implement reforms and achieve economic recovery. The outbreak of the Korean War (1950-53) aided that recovery by increasing Japanese exports. It also prompted the United States to press for rapid conclusion of a Japanese peace treaty. In 1951, Japan signed not only a peace treaty but a mutual defense treaty with the United States. It resumed full sovereignty in 1952 but continued to be very much under U.S. protection. From 1954 until 1972 the Japanese economy expanded rapidly; the gross national product increased at a rate of over 10 percent annually. Building on its prewar industrial base, Japan imported modern technology and machinery. Factories were replaced, and economic development was the main focus of national policy. Central planning helped the government control the structure of the economy. Labor, resources, and capital were used where the growth potential was greatest, and by the early 1970s Japan was the world's largest producer of ships and a leader in the production of cars, steel, and electronic equipment. The 1972 return to Japan of Okinawa, which had been under U.S. occupation since 1945, signaled the end of Japanese subordination to the United States. Japan handled the U.S. rapprochement with Communist China by establishing its own diplomatic ties with that long-time enemy in 1972. Highly dependent on imported petroleum, Japan also weathered the crisis caused by Arab cutbacks in oil exports in the 1970s. The Liberal-Democrats, the conservative party that has dominated Japanese politics since 1954, has emphasized economic growth. Scandals led to the resignations of Prime Ministers TANAKA KAKUEI (in 1974) and TAKESHITA NOBORU and Uno Sosuki (in 1989). The party lost its majority in the upper house of parliament in July 1989, although it regained control in February 1990 elections under Prime Minister KAIFU TOSHIKI. In October 1991, after Kaifu lost the support of Takeshita, he was replaced as party leader and prime minister by MIYAZAWA KIICHI. The death of long-reigning Hirohito in January 1989 marked the end of an era; he was succeeded by his son AKIHITO. In the 1980's and into the 1990s, Japan played an increasingly visible role in global affairs, becoming the world's largest provider of development aid in 1988. It has been the leading exporter of manufactured goods since 1985. Japan has close links to the United States and Western Europe and is more dependent on Middle Eastern oil than any other country. It gave financial aid to the anti-Iraq coalition in the PERSIAN GULF WAR in 1991. In 1992, Japan agreed to send troops abroad for the first time since World War II as part of UN peacekeeping operations. -------- Bibliography: Beasley, W. G., The Meiji Restoration (1972), The Modern History of Japan, 4th ed. (1981), Japanese Imperialism 1894-1945 (1987), and The Rise of Modern Japan (1990; repr. 1991); Borton, Hugh, Japan's Modern Century: From Perry to 1970, 2d ed. (1970); Burks, Ardath W., Japan: Profile of a Postindustrial Society, 2d ed. (1984); The Cambridge History of Japan, 6 vols. (1989- ); Chapman, W., Inventing Japan: The Making of a Postwar Civilization (1992); Duus, Peter, The Rise of Modern Japan (1976); Hall, John W., Japan: From Pre-History to Modern Times (1970; repr. 1984); Hane, M., Premodern Japan (1990); Harries, M. and S., Soldiers of the Sun (1992); Hunter, J. E., Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History (1984); Jansen, M. B., Japan and Its World: Two Centuries of Change (1980); Keirstead, T., The Geography of Power in Medieval Japan (1992); Morton, W. Scott, Japan: Its History and Culture (1970; repr. 1984); Murdoch, James, A History of Japan, 3 vols. (1926; repr. 1964); Packard, J. M., Sons of Heaven (1987); Reischauer, Edwin O., Japan, 4th ed. (1989); Sansom, George A., A History of Japan, 3 vols. (1958-63); Shiratori, Rei, ed., Japan in the Nineteen Eighties (1983); Toland, John, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (1970; repr. 1982); Totman, Conrad, Japan Before Perry: A Short History (1981); Tsurumi, S., A Cultural History of Postwar Japan (1987); van Wolferen, K., The Enigma of Japanese Power (1989; repr. 1990); Yoshida, Shigeru, Japan's Decisive Century: 1867-1967 (1967); Yoshitsu, Michael M., Japan and the San Francisco Peace Settlement (1983). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aikijutsu and Aikido Genealogy ============================== * Shinka Saburo Yoshimitsu, 12th Century, Daido-ryu * Saigo Chikamasa, 1829-1905, Oshikiuchi o Takeda Sogaku, 1858-1943, Aikijujutsu + Yong Sul Choi, Hapkido, Derivative Traditional + Shodo Morita, Nihon Goshin Aikido, Derivative Traditional + Matsuda Hosaku + Okuyama Yoshiji, Hakko-ryu, Derivative Traditional + Nakano Michiomi, Shorinji Kempo Derivative Traditional + Yamashita Minoru, Shindo-ryu + Yamada Saburo, 1926-1976, Yamate-ryu Derivative Traditional + Takeda Tokimune, 1925-, Daito-tyu Aikibudo, Aikibudo, Main-line Traditional + Ueshiba Morihei, 1883-1969, (with Uyeshiba Kisshomaru) Aikido, Derivative Modern + Tanaka Setaro, Shinriaku Heiho + Mochizuki, Yoseikan + Fukui Harunosuke, Yae-ryu + Shioda Gozo, Yoshinkan + Otsuki Yutaka, Otsuki-ryu + Inouye, Shinwa Taido + Hoshi Tetsuomi, Hoshi-ryu Kobujutsu + Hirai Minoru, Korindo + Tomiki Kenji, Tomiki-ryu + Noguchi Senryuken, Shindo Rokugo-ryu + Tomei/Tohei Koichi, Ki no Kenkyukai/Shinshin Toitsu + Ueshiba Kisshomaru, 1921-, (with Ueshiba Morihei) Aikido, Main-Line Modern ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aikido development and history ============================== Aikido's founder, Morihei Ueshiba, was born in Japan on December 14, 1883. As a boy, he often saw local thugs beat up his father for political reasons. He set out to make himself strong so that he could take revenge. He devoted himself to hard physical conditioning and eventually to the practice of martial arts, receiving certificates of mastery in several styles of jujitsu, fencing, and spear fighting. In spite of his impressive physical and martial capabilities, however, he felt very dissatisfied. He began delving into religions in hopes of finding a deeper significance to life, all the while continuing to pursue his studies of budo, or the martial arts. By combining his martial training with his religious and political ideologies, he created the modern martial art of aikido. Ueshiba decided on the name "aikido" in 1942 (before that he called his martial art "aikibudo" and "aikinomichi"). On the technical side, aikido is rooted in several styles of jujitsu (from which modern judo is also derived), in particular daitoryu-(aiki)jujitsu, as well as sword and spear fighting arts. Oversimplifying somewhat, we may say that aikido takes the joint locks and throws from jujitsu and combines them with the body movements of sword and spear fighting. However, we must also realize that many aikido techniques are the result of Master Ueshiba's own innovation. On the religious side, Ueshiba was a devotee of one of Japan's so-called "new religions," Omotokyo. Omotokyo was (and is) part neo-shintoism, and part socio-political idealism. One goal of omotokyo has been the unification of all humanity in a single "heavenly kingdom on earth" where all religions would be united under the banner of omotokyo. It is impossible sufficiently to understand many of O-sensei's writings and sayings without keeping the influence of Omotokyo firmly in mind. Despite what many people think or claim, there is no unified philosophy of aikido. What there is, instead, is a disorganized and only partially coherent collection of religious, ethical, and metaphysical beliefs which are only more or less shared by aikidoists, and which are either transmitted by word of mouth or found in scattered publications about aikido. Some examples: "Aikido is not a way to fight with or defeat enemies; it is a way to reconcile the world and make all human beings one family." "The essence of aikido is the cultivation of ki [a vital force, internal power, mental/spiritual energy]." "The secret of aikido is to become one with the universe." "Aikido is primarily a way to achieve physical and psychological self- mastery." "The body is the concrete unification of the physical and spiritual created by the universe." And so forth. At the core of almost all philosophical interpretations of aikido, however, we may identify at least two fundamental threads: (1) A commitment to peaceful resolution of conflict whenever possible. (2) A commitment to self-improvement through aikido training. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chronology of Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido ================================================ December 14, 1883 - April 26, 1969 Abridged from Encyclopedia of Aikido (Stanley Pranin, Aiki News) Note: These are documented events during the life of Morihei Ueshiba. -------- 1883 - Morihei Ueshiba born December 14 in Tanabe, Kishu (Wakayama Prefecture) 1900 - Moves to Tokyo in September, starts stationery store 1901 - Briefly studies Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu Jujutsu 1903 - Marries Hatsu Itogawa, a distant relative, in Tanabe - Joins 61st Army Infantry Regiment of Wakayama, late December 1905 - Departs for Manchurian Front (Russo-Japanese War) 1906 - Discharged from army, returns to Tanabe 1908 - Receives certificate from Yagyu-ryu Jujutsu 1910 - Travels to Hokkaido 1911 - First daugher born (Matsuko) 1912 - Leads settlers from Kishu to Hokkaido (Aza-Shirataki, Kamiyubetsu villege, Mombetsu County) 1915 - Meets Sokaku Takeda (Daito-ryu jujitsu) at Hisada Inn in Engaru 1917 - First son born (Takemori), July 1918 - Serves as town councilman in Kamiyubetsu village, June 1918-April 1919 1919 - Leaves Hokkaido in December due to father's illness - Turns land and property over to Sokaku Takeda 1920 - Meets Onisaburo Deguchi of Omoto religion in Ayabe, Kyoto Prefecture - Father (Yoroku) dies in January - Returns to Tanabe - Moves with family to Ayabe (site of Omoto religion) - Builds "Ueshiba Juku" dojo - Second son born (Kuniharu), August - First son dies (Takemori), August - Second son dies (Kuniharu), September 1921 - Third son born (Kisshomaru - birth name Koetsu), June 1922 - Mother (Yuki) dies - Sokaku Takeda visits Ayabe along with family to teach, staying from circa April 28 to September 15 - Receives "kyoji dairi" (teaching assistant) certificate from Takeda (September) 1924 - Goes to Mongolia with Onisaburo Deguchi with goal of establishing a utopian community. (February to July) The party, led by Onisaburo Deguchi, including Ueshiba, is captured and held prisoner by the Chinese military for plotting the overthrow of the existing government. Released after short period of internment through intervention of Japanese consulate and returned to Japan. 1925 - Gives demonstration in Tokyo for former Prime Minister Gombei Yamamoto 1927 - Moves to Tokyo with entire family - Establishes temporary dojo in billiard room of Count Shimazu's mansion in Shiba, Shirogane in Sarumachi 1928 - Moves to Shiba, Tsunamachi, site of temporary dojo 1929 - Moves with family to Shiba, Kuruma-cho, sets up temporary dojo 1930 - Moves to Shimo-Ochiai in Mejiro - Jigoro Kano of Judo observes demonstration by Ueshiba in Mejiro dojo and dispatches several students from Kodokan, including Minoru Mochizuki, to study 1931 - Dedication of Kobukan dojo in Ushigome, Wakamatsu-cho 1932 - Budo Sen'yokai (Society for the Promotion of Martial Arts) is established with Ueshiba as its first head 1933 - Technical manual "Budo Renshu" published 1935 - Film documentary of Aikid Budo made by Asahi Newspaper Company in Osaka. Only known pre-war film of Morihei Ueshiba (Available from Aiki News) 1937 - Ueshiba's name appears in enrollment book of Kashima Shinto-Ryu 1938 - Technical manual "Budo" published 1939 - Invited to instruct in Manchuria 1940 - Attends martial arts demonstration in Manchuria commemorating 2600th anniversary of Japan 1941 - Gives demonstration at Sainenkan dojo on imperial grounds for members of the imperial family - Teaches at military police academy - Invited to Manchuria to instruct during University Martial Arts week - Becomes martial arts advisor for Shimbuden and Kenkoku universities in Manuchuria 1942 - Name "Aikido" becomes official and is registered with Ministry of Education - Invited to Manchuria as representative of Japanese martial arts to attend Manchuria-Japanese Exchange Martial Arts demonstrations in commemoration of 10th anniversary of Manchurian Independence (August) - Moves to Iwama, Ibaraki Prefecture - Kisshomaru Ueshiba becomes Director of Kobukai Foundation 1943 - Aiki Shrine built in Iwama 1945 - Kobukai Foundation ceases activity due to post-war ban on martial arts - Iwama dojo completed 1948 - Hombu Dojo moves to Iwama, office opened in Tokyo - Kisshomaru Ueshiba becomes Director of Aikikai Foundation 1949 - Regular practice resumes at Tokyo dojo 1955 - To Osaka for several weeks to instruct in dojo of Bansen Tanaka 1956 - Hombu Dojo moves back to Tokyo from Iwama - Several foreign ambassadors invited to public exhibition 1958 - U.S. television documentary "Rendezvous with Adventure" filmed (Available from Aiki News) 1960 - Receives Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon from Japanese government 1961 - Invited to Hawaii by Hawaii Aikikai (February) - Television documentary made by NHK company (Available from Aiki News) - All-Japan Student Aikido Federation established with Ueshiba as president 1963 - First All-Japan Aikido Demonstration (October) 1964 - Receives Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, as Founder of Aikido 1968 - New Hombu Dojo building completed 1969 - Gives final demonstration January 15 at Kagami Biraki celebration - Dies April 26 - Ashes buried at Kozanji, Tanabe - Hair preserved at Iwama, Kumano Dojo, Ayabe and Aikikai Hombu Dojo - Made honorary citizen of Tanabe and Iwama - Wife, Hatsu, dies in June ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What is a hakama and who wears it? ================================== A hakama is the skirt-like pants that some aikidoka wear. It is a traditional piece of samurai clothing. The standard gi worn in aikido as well as in other martial arts such as Judo or Karate was originally underclothes. Wearing it is part of the tradition of (most schools of) aikido. The hakama were originally meant to protect a horseman's legs from brush, etc., -- not unlike a cowboy's leather 'chaps'. Leather was hard to come by in Japan, so heavy cloth was used instead. After the samurai as a class dismounted and became more like foot-soldiers, they persisted in wearing horseman's garb because it set them apart and made them easily identifiable. There were different styles of hakama though. The type worn by today's martial artists - with "legs" - is called a joba hakama, (roughly, horseriding thing into which one steps). A hakama that was kind of like a tube skirt - no legs - another and the third was a very long version of the second. It was worn on visits to the Shogun or Emperor. The thing was about 12-15 feet long and was folded repeatedly and placed between the feet and posterior of the visitor. This necessitated their shikko ("knee walking") for their audience and made it extremely unlikely that they could hide a weapon (retainers suited them up) or rise quickly to make an attack. The 7 folds in the hakama (5 in the front, 2 in the back) is said to have the following symbolic meaning: 1. Yuki = courage, valor, bravery 2. Jin = humanity, charity, benevolence 3. Gi = justice, righteousness, integrity 4. Rei = etiquette, courtesy, civility (also means bow/obeisance) 5. Makoto = sincerity, honesty, reality 6. Chugi = loyalty, fidelity, devotion 7. Meiyo = honor, credit, glory; also reputation, dignity, prestige In many schools, only the black belts wear hakama, in others everyone does. In some places women can start wearing it earlier than men (generally modesty of women is the explanation - remember, a gi was originally underwear). O'Sensei was rather emphatic that EVERYONE wear the hakama, but he came from a time/culture not too far from wearing hakama as standard formal wear. Saito Sensei tells the following story about hakama in O'Sensei's dojo in the old days: Most of the students were too poor to buy a hakama but it was required to wear one. If they couldn't get one from an older relative, they would take the cover off an old futon, cut it, dye it, and give it to a seamstress to make into a hakama. Since they had to use cheap dye, however, after awhile the colorful pattern of the futon would start to show through and the fluff from the futon would start to work its way out of the material. In "Principles of Aikido", in the section on hakamas, Saotome Sensei mentions that Hombu dojo was quite a colorful place when he was training there, with all colors of hakama. Traditional hakama were not just solid colors either they often had patterns wowen or printed onto them too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How to make a bokken ==================== Wood selection: You must balance weight, strength and crush resistance according to what you are going to use the wood for. Price, especially if you are making your own is not as crucial since you will pay more for a cheap "maple" bokuto from Taiwan than you would for that much ceylon ebony. Weight is crucial especially for the Aikido types who tend to go up against sensei not having the faintest idea what he is going to do. If your bokuto (OK Boken... OK OK Bokken) is slower than his (due to massive weight) you often get clunked. I make sure my boken is lighter than sensei's if I can manage it. (Gifting him with a heavy one usually works). Strength is related to the "absolute" strength of your wood, and to the "relative" strength of your bokuto compared to your partner's. A good Brazillan Blackwood bokuto will simply destroy a red oak bokuto within about three hits. Crush resistance is the ability of the wood to dent without the fibres breaking causing splintering. You also need to worry about the grain pattern of the wood. No knots, and a smooth grain that doesn't run out half way down the blade. The grain must run down the blade (obvious) and also be lined up so that it runs from back to edge (not so obvious). THIS MEANS THAT BLOCKING WITH BOKUTO SHOULD BE DONE WITH THE EDGE not the shinogi as is being suggested in some of the mail here. (There are some thoughts on blocking like this from some senior Japanese sensei as well, I'll try to find the relevent item in the newsletter and post it soon). This is the reason ironwood is usually not good for bokuto, the grain usually goes all over hell and you're sure to get some that go the wrong way about 1/2 way down the blade. North American Hardwoods: Hard Maple: Good crush resistance, tight grain, good strength and weight for everyday practice. White Oak: Often poor crush resistance due to porous grain, if a tight grained piece can be found, will often make an excellent bokuto. Red Oak, Pin Oak etc. are NOT suitable. Hickory: My favourite, it often shows heartwood and outerwood of two different colours, one harder than the other. Hickory is slightly "shaggy" and so must be sanded fairly often. Excellent crush resistance and strength with fairly low weight. Probably the best all round North American wood for weapons. White Ash: Usually a bit light, but strong. Open pores make it "crushable" like oak. A tight grained piece makes a good weapon for smaller students who can't safely use heavier bokuto. I've used other woods such as cherry, elm, beach etc. but the suitability generally depends on the piece of wood more than the species. Exotic Woods Here are some of the woods I've used for bokuto. Purpleheart: Deep red colour, nice straight grain, a little bit crushable but can be an excellent everyday bokuto if you want more weight. Ebony, Makassar: Fairly strong, black with brown stripes, more suited for lone practice (suburi) than partner practice. Moderately heavy. Ebony, Ceylon: Black, VERY expensive and hard to find in suitable grain patterns (as if you could see the grain in some pieces) I've seen these bokuto literally explode on contact due to stress cracks inside the wood. Not recommended for use in partner practice. Brazilian Blackheart (redheart): Was being imported as an ebony substitute, but not any longer. It would not glue to anything due to the resins in it, and it had a bad habit of dulling tools. This is the strongest wood I've ever seen, I weigh 230 pounds, my Tachi Uchi no Kurai (Iaido partner practice) weighs at least that much, and we use a pair of these to demonstate. Some of the kata require full stop blocks against a full strength strike. These things don't even dent. Interestingly, I once accidentially sliced a piece off one of them with my "dull" aluminum iaito. Ipe: Another very hard wood. This one is a lighter brown that, with a good finish, shows rainbow coloured flecks that make it look like you are actually seeing into the wood. Not as heavy as blackheart (not much is). The sanding dust from this wood is green and turns blood red when you wash with soap. A small note here, there is such a thing as carpenter's cancer (nasal cancer) and these exotics with their resins are great for it. Some of these woods can cause an almost instant irritation so be careful. Cocobolo: Deep red with black stripes and swirls. Grain tends to be screwy but it is so tight it doesn't matter. Heavy. Tools must be very sharp as the resins in this can literally bounce a spokeshave off of itself. Kingwood: Very pretty, more for looks than for partners. Expensive. Ziricote and Bokote: These are rosewoods, brown an black grain, the ziricote tends to be blacker and harder. It also produces a very irritating dust, I prefer working with bokote. Mainly for show but will stand light partner work. (Heavy if used against anything bought in the local martial arts store). Lignum Vitae: The hardest wood around. LV is used in steamships as a bearing for the propeller shaft, not steel ball bearings but just a chunk of this stuff. I've never found a piece big enough to make a bokuto out of. Made a shoto though, even with a crack it would pound anything else to pieces. Slightly greenish wood. Tulipwood: Not the North American wood that is like (is?) Poplar but the stuff that some company in England made sports car frames out of. Expensive, and hard to find a good piece. I've made a few canes out of this wood which is red and cream striped. Good properties. I've probably tried a few more woods but can't remember them right now, if anyone wants to try another let me know and I'll tell you if I've tried it. For a first try I'd recommend maple. It's a nice wood to work and can be found easily. Hickory is a bit more difficult to find since it isn't really a woodworker's wood. (More a tool maker's wood ie ax handles etc.) Poplar is showing up in some of the softwood lumberyards around here, it's a bit soft. If you're wondering about a new wood, try the thumbnail, rip and bend test. (Sounds painful? Let go of your thumbnail then.) 1. Press your thumbnail into the wood at a corner, does it crush easily. 2. Take a loose sliver at the end and rip it down, is it a long fibre or a short one? Does the fibre break easily (is it brittle) or does it bend? 3. Take a board and put one end on the floor, hold the other end. Look around and make sure nobody's in sight. Now lean on the board, if you hear it start to crack it's probably not very strong. If the wood passes all those tests, find a piece with good grain and start cutting. About long fibres, I once made a bokuto out of a wood called Ramin. It had very long, strong straight fibres and seemed to have good crush resistance. The first time the student used it the damn thing split right down the long axis. I swear that wood has absolutely no cross connections at all. Don't use Ramin. Parts of the bokuto ------------------- Here is a list of parts on the bokuto, they are the same as the names for the parts of a live blade. Kissaki: the tip. Mune: the back of the blade. Monouchi: the cutting portion of the edge, the 1/3 closest to the kissaki. Chu-o: the middle third of the blade. Tsuba moto: the third of the blade closest the handle. Tsuba: the guard, not present on most Aikido bokuto. Tsuka: the handle. Shinogi: the ridge between the mune and the edge. Shinogi-ji: the flat plane between the mune and the shinogi Jigane: the flat plane between the shinogi and the temper line (edge). Ha: the edge Tsuka gashira: strictly the pommel fitting, butt end of the bokuto. Obtaining a bokuto ------------------ The wooden sword is usually made from oak, maple or hickory if it is to be used in partner practice. These woods have a high degree of strength and impact resistance. Maple and hickory are especially resistant to the splintering which may occur after repeated denting of the blade in the contact with another weapon. Other, more exotic woods, such as ebony, cocobolo or blackheart are sometimes used for their density, the greater weight more closely matching the metal katana. These woods are expensive and often contain flaws which make them less suitable to use in partner practice but ideal for individual training. While the weight of the bokuto may approach that of a katana, the balance is always different. The katana, due to its metal blade and wooden handle, has a balance point much further forward than that of a bokuto. Specially shaped wooden swords called suburito are used to practice the individual cuts of a sword school. These weapons are designed to approximate the balance of a katana but are much different in shape and size. Often suburito of great weight are used to strengthen the arms and improve the posture. Once a student has decided to study the bokuto the selection of a good weapon is of great importance. The suitability of a sword will determine to a large extent the ease with which a swordsman completes his practice. A student will own a bokuto for many years if it is chosen carefully and one should look for several characteristics when buying the weapon. The shape and colour of the sword should be pleasing to the eye, the grip should feel smooth and free of stickiness which will cause blisters. The grip should also be large enough in the hand so that the fingers don't touch the palm. A badly sized handle can cause excessive cramping in the hands and a poor pattern of callous formation on the palm. The wood grain should be straight, with no knots and run from the handle to the tip. The growth rings should also run from the top of the sword to the edge. This pattern will give the strongest Bokuto possible. Look for a tight, closed grain which will resist denting. No warps or cracks should be seen. The wood should only be finished with tung oil or boiled linseed oil. Hard surface finishes such as varnish will cause the handle to be sticky. The weight of a Bokuto should be such as to allow the completion of a two hour practice which might include several thousand cuts. For this reason, students should consider beginning with a lighter sword and then moving to a heavier version when the arm and shoulder strength permits. A sword that is too heavy can cause muscle strain, and the slowness with which it must be moved can cause problems during partner practice. Making a bokuto --------------- With a few basic tools it is not hard to make a bokuto. The first consideration is which wood to use. The choice will depend on what style of sword is being made and whether or not it is to be used for partner practice. Once a source of suitable wood is found the actual piece must be chosen. Use a board that is about one inch thick and at least two inches wide for a bokuto. A suburito may require other dimensions. The grain must be straight and preferrably running along the wide dimension of the end of the board, rather than across it. I'm going to describe how to use a lot of power tools to make your bokuto, you don't need all of these, so adjust the instructions according to what you have. Much of the wood available these days is not fully dry. If it is practical, buy your wood and store it for several months to a year in conditions similar to your practice place. This will ensure that the wood is at a proper humidity level and any faults that are going to develop will do so before you start working. The easiest way of laying out a pattern for the curve is to use a bokuto you have already decided you like. If you don't have a pattern then cut the board to about 41 inches long and at least two inches wide. Check the grain patterns and decide which end of the board is weakest, this is your handle. If the grain has a curve then the curve of the sword will follow it. Decide how far along the blade the bottom of the curve will be. For Bizen style blades the point of maximum curve is close to the handle, for other styles it is closer to the middle of the blade. Mark out a curve so that the bokuto is about one inch tall (from ha to mune). The top of the handle and the point will touch one side of the board. The point of maximum curve on the edge touches the other side if the board is 2" wide. Cut out this sword blank with a band saw or a sabre saw. I even used a 5 1/4 inch circular saw for a few blades when I had nothing else. The small blade will make this curve. This is the time to decide what tip shape you desire, some sword styles leave the point blunt while others use a modified point. The commercial bokuto mimic the point of the katana. If you want a point cut the end at the angle preferred. If your bokuto is going to taper toward the tip (it should to look good), and you have access to a jointer, mark the taper on the concave and convex sides and by using a series of longer and longer passes over the blades, create the taper on the sides of the blade. If you don't have a jointer you'll simply do this by hand when working on the shaping of the blade. To carve out the shape some people prefer a wood rasp, some a plane. I prefer a combination of a spokeshave and a Stanley Surform depending on which wood I am using. I have a Workmate bench which is about the correct height for me to work on. Start with the blade section and do the handle last since the squared handle will allow you to keep the blade in the correct orientation while creating the long straight lines needed to produce a good looking bokuto. Clamp the wood so that you can cut out the back ridge. For this you also need to have the blade clamped straight up and down. Hold the spokeshave at the chosen angle and use long smooth strokes to cut the shoulders. A 45 degree angle will make a round looking blade while an angle more toward vertical will create a thin blade. This is a matter of taste. When you have these shoulders cut to a straight pleasing line then you can start on the edge. Turn the blade over and work the curve into the bottom of the blade. A more rounded edge will create a heavier sword with a more resistant striking surface. A sharper edge, while weaker, will have a more pleasing shape. Make sure while you are working that the edge is lined up with the top of the blade. Clamping the squared handle will help with this. The edge will often wander as you cut so be careful. It is at this point that you determine the balance of the blade by how much you taper the blade toward the tip. If you want to mimic the katana point use a Surform to cut a plane in from each side at the tip. If there is to be no point or a modified point then use the Surform to round off the edges of the tip and the base of the handle. Now is the time to even out any wavers in the lines along the back. Clamp the blade carefully and cut out the handle. This is an important step since the handle is what you grip and it must agree with the curve of the blade. As a general rule the handle should be an oval shape with the long axis of the oval arranged so that you know where your blade edge is facing. In other words, the top and bottom of the oval must line up with the mune and ha. If you have access to a fixed belt sander then use two hands to smooth off the wood. Your straight lines will become straighter at this point, and a lot of shaping can be done with a 36 grit belt. If the sander has a large flat bed you will have to create a padded "hump" on the bed with foam and masking tape so that the belt moves in a curve to fit the concave mune. If you don't have a sander, you must work much more carefully with the hand tools unless you like blisters on your hands from the hand sanding. Use several grits of sandpaper to smooth the wood and close the pores. After sanding apply boiled linseed oil or Tung oil to finish it. Do not use surface finishes like varnish, urethane or danish wood oil. These will create a sticky surface that will give you blisters. An oil finish allows the wood to soak up the sweat on your hands while keeping the grain from lifting too much. If you use linseed oil make sure it is boiled, raw oil will never dry. I prefer tung oil. If the blade feels good in your hands and is the right weight, the appearance is not important. This is a tool and it will soon be banged up so don't worry if it is not a museum piece. The bokuto should be carried in a bag to protect it from sudden changes in temperature and humidity. The wood is not fully sealed by the oil finish so changes in the atmosphere may cause warping or checking. Never store the bokuto for a long period without support along the length, and keep it out of the sunlight. Treat it with the proper care and it will be useful for many years of hard service. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How different is Japan? ======================= by Colin Watkin (from The Iaido Newsletter, Volume 6 number 8, #48 AUG 1994) Most budoka have a yen (pardon the pun) to go to Japan at some time in their lives, to broaden their knowledge of the arts and to try to relate them to the Japanese way of life. Going is of course dependant on one's family and financial situation. For those who have this opportunity, what should we expect and what is expected of us. I should start by saying that my title "How Different" is the uppermost thought in everyone's mind but at the same time it should be the last! For many, going to Japan is a dream come true. However, one has to step off the dream cloud to the reality that we are all human beings, and that the main differences are those of character, not of nationality. If my words appear to be a little harsh, it's because sadly I have seen so many people arrive here, and return thinking that certain people's peculiarities were "because they are Japanese". It is possible to live in Japan and at the same time be outside its culture. It seems that in some cases only a personal involvement of some kind will dispel the train of thought that the Japanese are so different. Japanese language: ------------------ Not being able to understand the language can be a tremendous drawback. Poor communication sometimes leads one to false conclusions. The history of martial arts and a lot of the language used to describe it goes back to chinese kanji (calligraphy) and is deep in meaning. For example the word keiko (practice/study) is translated as "to plant a seed". As opposed to "the pen is mightier than the sword" the Japanese saying is Bunbu Ichi (pen and sword in accord). We see communication problems all too many times in the west. A student not able to understand will simply copy their visiting sensei's actions. Then, on watching another sensei do things differently will assume that things have changed. Japanese, unlike other languages is politely suggestive and cautious, aimed at consensus rather than sharp clarification. To the foreigner with a limited amount of time in Japan wishing to acquire precise knowledge, this is indeed a frustrating problem. Two percent of Japanese (not the same 2%) use a wooden bath, eat peanut butter, and practice what is generally considered to be a sportlike activity called Kakutogi (combat techniques) which encompasses Kendo and Judo. With its warlike connotation the original word "budo" has not been used for some time in connection with education. At the end of the war General MacArthur wrote a letter to Japan's then Prime Minister Yoshida which said that it was the decision of the occupying forces that the practice of "all Martial Arts should be suspended forthwith", and that they would possibly be reintroduced at a later date based on the "individual merits of each art". This process took seven years. Nowadays Budo has little meaning in a country that is so preoccupied with copying the West. Going to Japan and seeing a country that looks "more western" than the west is one's biggest "culture shock". This preoccupation will cause Japanese people to completely drop their busy schedules to entertain what are respectfully known as gaijin (outsiders). Entertaining: ------------- Going as a guest to Japan is an important subject to touch on. The Japanese as people are no different but the system is! They communicate from a series of bubbles. The main bubble and innermost sanctum is the family. Next comes osananajimi (early childhood freinds). These bonds develop even further should people have other things in common, going to school together, work etc. The outer bubble is acquaintances, business contacts and other associations. These bubbles are distinctly separate, gently bouncing off each other, sometimes joining together and Japanese people are at ease with this system. As in the dojo, newcomers usually enter from the bottom of the hierarchy until their position is established. The visitor then is in their outer bubble. Sometimes visitors are entertained at home, but this is purely for their curiosity value. For the same reason, they may want to visit you! However, most Japanese prefer to meet out. Relationships: -------------- The Japanese family would perhaps be considered to be very old fashioned compared to the West. Of course this depends upon the way one has been brought up and the standards one sets for oneself. Do as I say, not as I do, is usually the regimen. Younger members of most families, particularly women, have mongen (lockup time). In saying youngest, I mean if the youngest daughter is 40, this rule will still apply. If one wishes to do one's own thing, the answer is to make a separate home. The foreign visitor is indeed fortunate if being given a homestay for a long period. However, be warned that you will possibly be accepted into the home as the "junior member" with limitations on where you go, who you meet, what time you come back. Most people who have the finances to go to Japan don't have any close family ties. The purpose in going is to study Martial Arts. However, with so many unattached pretty girls it is all too easy to get sidetracked. For this reason I should perhaps touch on this facet of relationships. According to Japanese tradition, the eldest son or daughter of a family is expected to live with and look after their parents when they get older. For this reason many people do not marry, as their first responsibility lies with their family. Further to this, as parents want some say in who their child will wed, many marriages are partially arranged with a view to securing the future of all concerned. Nowadays some Japanese people themselves are finding this system somewhat constrictive. Japanese use the grand name of Kokusai Kekkon (international marriage) for a mixed race marriage. However be warned that friendly Japanese people are a fiercely proud race who are naturally not keen on mixing things too much! Visas: ------ Japan has drawn vast numbers of people from poorer neighbouring countries. A lot unable to acquire work permits have been entering and working with Holiday Visas. This has forced Immigration to tighten its conditions of entry to Japan, and has undoubtedly made it harder for anyone wishing to stay and study. The generqal rule now is that you should acquire a Visa "before coming", stating your reasons for wanting to come. Also, it's necessary to find a qualified martial arts teacher in Japan who will take you into their dojo. Diplomatic rules between countries do vary, and people holding passports of other Asian countries could find it more difficult. To sum up, one could liken one's first visit to Japan to entering a dojo for the first time. Continued visits over a period of time will eventually allow you to form your own bubble and drift into warm and lasting friendships and associations and gain valuable experience in the sword arts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why martial arts can never be standardized ========================================== by Victor Figueroa Jr. (From The Iaido Newsletter Volume 6 number 12 #52 DEC 1994) As I see it, there are two reasons why the martial arts can never become standardized, regardless of the art. The first is simply - who can standardize the way people think? When one talks of standardizing technique or of instituting a standard combat system or even a standardized application of a well known technique, what one is doing is trying to standardize the human capacity for imagination and creativity. This is counter- productive, we need no thought police. No one can limit the human capacity for adapting to, and overcoming a changing situation. To quote Musashi's Book of Five Rings, "The warrior must win in one-to-one combat or in battles involving large numbers... this is accomplished by the virtue of heiho." What is Heiho (strategy)? This is a question that Musashi tried to answer throughout his book. Heiho is, in short, learning what you can from anyone who will show you, and applying it everywhere. Heiho is being aware of everything. Heiho is knowing the truth when it is spoken. Heiho is also knowing when and how to act. Heiho is many other things, I wish I could thoroughly explain it all, but I am still working on it. The key is that the ability to adapt is most important. By removing this fluidity, and adaptiveness in training and application, what we do is turn out a generation of pseudo- martial artists. These are people who, in good faith, eventually turn the martial arts into martial dance or worse. The second reason for the ineligibility of martial arts to be standardized is, that people, no matter how much they move or look or even think alike, can never be exactly alike. Since most of us reading this follow a stream (ryu), we already know that micro-differences exist within the same stream or even variation (ha) and can identify with the student who is told by "X" sensei that a certain way is the "correct way". This student is later told by "Y" sensei that the method of "X" is incorrect. "Y" sensei's version is later found incorrect by "Z" sensei. Differences in personal style are to blame, but before one begins to think of creating a "pure" or "universal" way, one must think of the nature of the martial arts. Most martial arts are the creation of one person or a small number of people. The techniques and concepts are like a pool of information. These "pools" are not just filled with martial technique, observations of body mechanics and the "secrets" of timing and power application, but also of the life experience, history, personal observations, philosophical concepts and personal style and flare of the originators. Regardless of stream or variation, there is a "pool" of information for every school. The "pools" may be very deep, filled with the life experiences of many masters, or shallower with the concepts of only one or two masters. All of them ultimately work out the same way. Add to this, the student and his or her abiliity to receive, internalize and then transmit the lessons. All these factors, for good or bad, combine to create what we call the martial art. If it is all subject to the views, ideals, concepts and personal experience of the practitioners, is it any wonder that variations exist. With such being the case, would not "standardization" be nothing more than creating another new "pool" of information. The idea of a "universal" system has inherent in it, the idea of limiting how that information is to be used, taught and thought about by future students. Without limitation on expression, observation and application, eventually two people will perform the "standardized" art differently. This leads to the development of a variation and we are back to the ryu-ha system. Given a few more years, and the system will lead to separate streams (ryu). I therefore suggest the term "standardized martial art" is nothing more than a contradiction in terms. As far as I am concerned, most people I've met who advocate standard technique, have their heart in the right place. They want students of swordsmanship to be taught "real sword technique" and not "chambara" (movie) sword technique. To accomplish this they call for an organization to teach, test and promote a "standardized system" (known to some of us iaido old-timers as Seitei gata iai). To meet this same end, I propose another idea, let us create a confederation of Japanese sword schools and related arts. No one person should run it (to avoid factionalism) and no one system should be put above any other. Rank, if deemed important enough to be fussed over, should be awarded by years invested in the sword arts, and by ability. Believe me, a beginner looks like a beginner when under pressure. The stress of course is on ability, not time since anyone can waste time. As for judging other people's ability, one need not know the system they are practicing, it is said that a master can reveal himself by a simple flick of the wrist, and from what I have seen this is true. What could an organization like this do? As I see it, promote Japanese swordsmanship, pool information and share it with members (through lending libraries by mail) and hold seminars, not to mention give demonstrations and publish information. I feel such an organization would weed out the bad information by supplying good, and create a base for students both old and new to draw inspiration, ideas and knowlege, while providing a sense of community and promote respect for individual differences. Such an organization might succeed in bringing swordsmanship from the obscure martial art that it is in the West, to something greater. The only problem is that we must not argue over who the "leader" should be and simply all become "workers" for the greater good of swordsmanship. If something is not done, I predict Japanese swordsmanship in the West will eventually die out.