Introduction

Aikido was founded by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) after several decades of study in a variety of martial arts and his deep involvement in the Omoto religion. Sokaku Takeda of Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu was his most important and influential martial arts teacher, with whom he maintained a long term relationship, studying over a period over several years. He also studied several other martial arts, including sword, spear, sumo and other jujutsu schools.

Equally important to the creation of aikido was O’Sensei’s relationship with his spiritual leader, Onisaburo Deguchi, the founder and head of the Omoto-yo religious movement.

It is this synthesis of effective jujutsu techniques combined with a philosophy of nonviolence and conflict resolution that remains the foundation of aikido and sets it apart from other styles.

Background

Sahashi Shigeru, once influential in government affairs and an experienced exponent of aikido, wrote in his “Shin no Budo” (The True Budo), published in 1972:

“ Very few Japanese know what budo really is. Persons of high learning, not those who are directly connected with budo, do most of the writing about it. Theory reigns in most of these writer’s minds, their bodies lack experience, therefore, bu, the polished skill needed in martial hand-to-hand techniques, raised to the level of a dõ, which is the way a man should follow…. Budo aims through bu to determine man’s final destination in life. Bu, however, is only the first step to satori [enlightenment], the final goal. This satori cannot be revealed by words, but only through actions… It is only the kind of experience noted by Miyamoto Musashi in his Gorin no Sho [Book of Five Circles] that is meaningful. This tanren, the secret of successful training, an expression that implies active training made throughout one’s life is the way to mastery of the self [satori].”

Aikido was invented by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969.) He first adopted the name “aikido” in the 1930’s as a way to both differentiate his art from the Daito Ryu of his most influential teacher, Sokaku Takeda, and to express the inclusion of the concept of do, or martial way, as in karate-do, iai-do and ju-do.

To begin to understand the history of aikido we must investigate four primary factors, the cultural turmoil of the Meiji Restoration, Morihei’s technical and spiritual influences and Ueshiba’s personal history.