Morihei Ueshiba

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Morihei Ueshiba 植芝盛平 (December 14, 1883 – April 26, 1969) was a famous martial artist and founder of aikido. He is often referred to as Kaiso 開祖 (founder) or Ōsensei 翁先生 (Great Teacher) by some aikidoka.

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[edit] Biography

Morihei Ueshiba was born in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan on December 14, 1883. During his childhood, the Ueshiba family lived in Maizuru (Kyoto Prefecture). His interest in martial arts stemmed from witnessing a beating of his father which affected him deeply. However, it was only after moving to the northern island of Hokkaidō in 1912 with his wife, as part of a settlement effort, that his martial art training took on real depth. For it was here that he began his study of Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu under its reviver Sokaku Takeda.

After Ueshiba left Hokkaidō he came under the influence of Onisaburo Deguchi, the spiritual leader of the Omoto-kyo sect in Ayabe. In addition to the effect on his spiritual growth, this connection was to have a major effect in introducing Ueshiba to various elite political circles as a martial artist. The Ueshiba Dojo in Ayabe was used to train members of the Omoto-kyo sect. He was involved in the first Omoto-kyo Incident, an ill-fated attempt to found a utopian colony in Mongolia.

Ueshiba eventually distanced himself from both these teachers however, their effect on him and his art can not be overstated. The real birth of Aikido came as the result of three Enlightenment experiences of Ōsensei. The first happened in 1925, after Ōsensei had defeated a naval officer's bokken attacks unarmed and without hurting him. Ueshiba then walked to his garden and

Suddenly, the ground began shaking. A golden vapor wafted up from the ground and enveloped me. I was transformed into a golden image, and my body felt as light as a feather. All at once I understood the meaning of creation: the Way of a Warrior is to manifest Divine Love, a spirit that embraces, loves, and protects all things.

His second experience occurred in 1940 when,

Around 2am as I was performing misogi, I suddenly forgot all the martial techniques I had ever learned. The techniques of my teachers appeared completely new. Now they were vehicles for the cultivation of life, knowledge, and virtue, not devices to throw people with.

His third experience was in 1942 during the worst fighting of WWII, Ueshiba had a vision of the "Great Spirit of Peace"

The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood. It is not a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek to compete and better one another are making a terrible mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst thing a human being can do. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent such slaughter - it is the Art of Peace, the power of love.

In 1927 Ueshiba moved to Tokyo where he founded his first dojo, which still exists today under the name Aikikai Hombu Dojo. Between 1940 and 1942 he made several visits to Manchukuo (Japanese occupied Manchuria) to instruct his martial art. In 1942 he left Tokyo and moved to Iwama in the Ibaraki Prefecture where the term aikido was first used as a name for his art. Here he founded the Aiki Shuren Dojo, also known as the Iwama dojo. During all this time he traveled extensively in Japan particularly in the Kansai region teaching his aikido.

Morihei Ueshiba died on April 26, 1969.

[edit] Legacy

Ueshiba sensei is remembered as a master of the martial arts whose studies transcended technical matters to include a moral and philosophical view of the world based around harmony in the face of aggression. The many branches of aikido in existence today virtually all trace their lineage back to him.

Many stories exist about Ueshiba's martial skill. It is said for example that he was able to escape a tight ring of students that surrounded him with swords. Many of these students would later say they had not even seen him go by them. Another story is that he was able to knock someone off their feet with the force of his kiai.

There is debate in the aikido world over some of these sensational stories; some dismiss them as myth generated around a genuinely brilliant but human martial artist, whereas others believe that Morihei Ueshiba truly achieved such feats.

Oomoto priests oversee a ceremony in Ueshiba's honor every April 29th at the Aiki Shrine at Iwama.

Ueshiba also had many uchideshi, or live-in students, many growing into great teachers in their own right. There are roughly four generations of uchideshi. A partial list follows [1] [2]:

[edit] Personal Traits

Morihei Ueshiba regularly practiced cold water misogi, as well as other spiritual and religious rites. He viewed his studies of aikido in this light.

As a young man, Ueshiba was renowned for his incredible physical strength. He would later lose much of this muscle, which some believe changed the way he performed aikido technique.

Ueshiba was said to be a simple but wise man, and a gifted farmer. In his later years, he was regarded as very kind and gentle as a rule, but there are also stories of terrifying scoldings delivered to his students. For instance, he once thoroughly chastised students for practicing jo strikes on trees without first covering them in protective padding. Another time, as students sneaked back into the dojo after a night of drinking and brawling, he smashed the first one through the door over the head with a bokken, and proceeded to scold them.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Aikido Journal Encyclopedia
  2. ^ List of Deshi

[edit] External links

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