| Aikikai Foundation (財団法人合気会 Zaidan Hōjin Aikikai) |
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|---|---|
| Also known as | Aikikai; Aikikai Honbu |
| Date founded | c.1940 |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Founder | Morihei Ueshiba (植芝 盛平 Ueshiba Morihei, December 14, 1883–April 26, 1969) |
| Current head | Moriteru Ueshiba (植芝 守央 Ueshiba Moriteru, born April 2, 1951) |
| Arts taught | Aikido |
| Ancestor schools | Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu • Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū • Yagyū Shingan-ryū |
| Descendant schools | Ki Society • Shodokan Aikido • Yoseikan • Yoshinkan • Yoshokai |
| Practitioners | Steven Seagal, Christian Tissier, Yoshimitsu Yamada, Nobuyoshi Tamura, Isamu Takeshita, Seiichi Sugano |
| Official Site | http://www.aikikai.or.jp |
The Aikikai is the original school of Aikido. It is centered on the Aikikai Foundation in Japan, and its figurehead is the Doshu (the family heir of the founder of Aikido). It is represented globally through the International Aikido Federation.
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The Aikikai Foundation (財団法人合気会 Zaidan Hōjin Aikikai) is the original aikido organisation. It is an incorporated entity in Japan since 1940. It is headed by the doshu, the living successor of the founder of aikido. In its name, Kai (会) simply means assembly or club.[1]
The Aikikai Foundation operates the Hombu dojo, which is also named Aikido World Headquarters. It is sometimes called the Aikikai Hombu to distinguish it from the headquarters of later aikido organisations. It is located in Tokyo. The term "Hombu" may sometimes be used loosely to refer to the upper echelons of instructors at Hombu dojo, or to the Aikikai Foundation itself.
The Aikikai Foundation also manages one satellite dojo, the historical Iwama dojo in Ibaraki (about 100 km north-east of Tokyo).[2]
The Aikikai Foundation sends instructors around Japan on a continual basis.[3]
The Aikikai Foundation also has the business of issuing, throughout the world, certificates of grading and instructor titles legitimated by the Doshu.
Doshu (道主 / どうしゅ / Dōshu) literally translates as 'Master of the Way'. It is the title denoting the head of the Aikikai. (While the same term could potentially also be used as a title within other disciplines, in Japanese its most common meaning is specific to the Aikikai Foundation.)[1]
The system of having the heir of a martial arts school be the previous headmaster's son (either natural or adopted for the sake of succession) was common in koryū (traditional schools) and is referred to as iemoto. Other arts commonly use the title Sōke for the headmaster.[4]
Moriteru is expected to be succeeded as doshu by his son, Mitsuteru Ueshiba (born 1980),[5] who is currently referred to as "Waka(若) Sensei".
The Hombu dojo in Tokyo is the headquarters of the Aikikai.
The Hombu dojo is officially named Aikido World Headquarters, and is entirely operated by the Aikikai Foundation. It is sometimes called the Aikikai Hombu to distinguish it from the headquarters of later aikido organisations. Hombu (本部 honbu) is a common word meaning "headquarters".
Hombu dojo has about 30 instructors, and most are shihan. The instructors include the Doshu and Hiroshi Tada 9th dan.[3]
The location of Hombu dojo is in Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. (This same location was formerly the Ushigome District of Shinjuku.)[3]
The dojo was established in April 1931 by the founder of Aikido. It was originally named Kobukan Dōjō (皇武館道場, imperial warrior hall dojo) but was called "Hombu Dōjō" after World War II. [6]
In 1967 the original single-story wooden structure was replaced by a five story modern building. Training takes place in three rooms which total about 250 tatami in area.[3] The main training area has 105 tatami mats (170m2). The other two training areas, containing 72 and 42 tatami mats respectively, are often used for beginner's classes, children's classes, women's classes, or fixed term and enrollment "academy" (Gakko) courses.
Classes are held seven days a week. Beginner's and regular classes are open to all Aikido practitioners that are or become Aikikai members.[3]
A small number of students also reside in the dōjō as part of a live-in training program.
Within Japan, there are about 1800 other training locations affiliated with the Hombu. These are united under the All-Japan Aikido Federation. [7]
Overseas, there are about 100 foreign aikido organisations recognised by the Hombu. These are ostensibly national aikido organisations that each represent many dojos and many students. The gradings of students in these organisations are legitimated specifically by the Hombu. (The Hombu has procedures for examinations and recommendations of aikido grades and instructor titles, and ideally this ensures a degree of international consistency and serves to prevent local instructors from boastfully exaggerating their own ranks.) However, regardless of recognition, all foreign aikido groups remain organisationally independent from the Aikikai Foundation.[3]
The students of recognised dojo worldwide are loosely referred to collectively as the Aikikai school of aikido, although this "school" is not an official organisation. Their aikido technique may be referred to as Aikikai style, although this encompasses a wider spectrum of technical styles characteristically than later (and smaller) schools of aikido.
The International Aikido Federation is the primary global aikido organisation. It is an umbrella organisation with member organisations from more than 40 nations (for example, the All-Japan Aikido Federation is one member). All members must be recognised by the Hombu, so the IAF exclusively represents the Aikikai school. The IAF is a nominally democratic organisation but special roles are given to the Doshu and a council of senior instructors, to safeguard the "technical and moral" integrity of aikido. The IAF currently admits only one member organisation per country and gives each such member equal vote (it was modelled on the UN; it does not necessarily give every Aikikai student equal representation). [8]
The IAF demonstrates aikido at the World Games, and represents aikido to the globe. The IAF also organises International Aikido Congresses every four years, facilitating direct training between aikido students of different countries, sharing instruction by the world's most senior aikido instructors, and also providing a channel for official communication with the Hombu.
The IAF was formed in 1976. The IAF chair (1996–present) is Peter Goldsbury, who is also a Professor of comparative mythology at Hiroshima. Goldsbury publishes numerous aikido articles at AikiWeb.[9][10] The previous chair was Giorgio Veneri.[11]
Aikikai is not one style of aikido but instead encompasses a diversity of technical styles. This is associated with the broad base of first generation instructors, who each had their own interpretation of the art, and other influences. Nonetheless Aikikai is often described as a style for comparison with separate aikido organisations. Aikikai is described as the most traditional; Aikikai has stayed loyal to the Ueshiba house and is sometimes called Ueshiba Aikido. It has retained many of the aspects which Morihei Ueshiba valued, such as the non-competitive training system (as contrasted with Tomiki's development). Spiritual interpretations are not emphasised compared to in Ki Society.
Morihei Ueshiba's own style evolved significantly over his lifetime. The pre-war aikibudo techniques taught by Morihei Ueshiba were generally closer to aikijujutsu whilst flowing technique was more emphasised as he became older, and this is reflected in the aikido of people who studied at different periods in time. In Yoshinkan, founded by Gozo Shioda, the emphasis placed on correct form rather than correct flow and timing contributes to its image as a "harder" style than Aikikai. Seiseki Abe said:
"As far as the Aikido [O'Sensei] practiced in his later years, even young girls, old people and children could do [the techniques]. That is a big difference. I suppose you could say that it was a difference in the severity or the strictness of the training. Before the war, it was severity and strong technique, as opposed to the (kind of) techniques that invigorate our partners as we have now."[12]
It is generally noted that weapons are more emphasised in Iwama style, however this style is also partially a subset of the Aikikai. Kazuo Chiba said that the style of training in Hombu concentrated less on physical rigor because of its demographic:
"A large portion of the membership at Iwama Dojo consisted of local farmers, hard workers who spent all day in the fields. They had thick bones and great physical strength, combined with a peculiar local character known as “Mito kishitsu,” a type of manliness close to gallantry. Altogether, it was quite an opposite culture from Hombu Dojo in Tokyo. Because it is in the capital of Japan, Hombu’s membership consists of white-collar workers, intellectuals, businessmen, politicians and university students."[13]
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