Part 2: Aikiology – Morihei Ueshiba Tells All

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This is part 2 of series post, if you haven’t read part 1, I strongly suggest that you do so before reading this part.

With more factual historical evidence being available to more people than ever before, and with fewer individuals around with something to lose should all “laundry” be aired, how is it that so many students still seem to know so little about the history of Daito Ryu, Aikido and the direct teachings espoused by their most famous teachers?

My guess is that there are several answers to that question.  One answer is that the “popular history” of Daito Ryu and Aikido is still by far the most prevalent in published works and, for reasons already presented, this “popular history” far more likely to coincide with the “oral history” taught within Daito Ryu and Aikido schools.  Thus Daito Ryu and Aikido’s “popular history” tends to be self propagating.  Many newer publications are simply individual interpretations predicated upon older publications of “popular history” rather than on new historical research.  Another explanation is that most students are initially more interested in the social and physical interaction within their school and/or organization than they are in the pedantic and often confusingly difficult historical explications available.  The most enduring explanation is likely cognitive dissonance.  The information presented by factual evidence is at such variance with one’s, and perhaps one’s organization’s collectively accepted, and deeply valued narrative that one simply is cognitively blind to it, even when directly confronted.  This also explains why some feel compelled to explain away or dismiss out of hand any new evidence presented.

Avid readers of TrueAiki.com already know that Ueshiba Morihei did not consider Aikido to be a collection of techniques because he said so on more than one occasion.  Therefore, simply practicing technique isn’t the pathway to understanding what Aikido fundamentally is.  It is because of this that the founder felt compelled to present lectures of explanation.  Obviously the founder felt such an understanding was important.  This feeling is logical from Ueshiba’s perspective.  If techniques aren’t Aikido, how does one practice Aikido if one does’t know what Aikido is?

Hmmm?

Therefore I propose that we ought to take the founder of Aikido at his word and study his (original and direct) explanations such that we understand what Aikido is, thereby letting that knowledge inform our practice.

I would like to take a look at one of Ueshiba Morihei’s most prolific explanations of what Aikido is (Again, this explanation may not seem common to most Aikido students, but it certainly was one of the most common ways that the founder of Aikido explained what Aikido is.), and in so doing compare it to his student, Shirata Rinjiro’s, explanation of what Aikido is.  Why? 

First of all, it is important to directly quote the founder’s explanation of what Aikido is.  (This is even more important than his explanation of what Aikido is not, namely . . . techniques.) Presumably, Ueshiba gave this explanation repeatedly because he hoped to transfer this knowledge on to others.  That being the case, I think it incumbent upon sincere students of Aikido to acknowledge the founder’s efforts and pay attention to his words.

Obviously to quote O-sensei one must have an original source.  I have taken two.  My first source is from Shirata sensei’s explanation of what Aikido is where he directly quotes Ueshiba’s explanation repeatedly.  My second source is from an article by Chris Li’s where he gives a translation using identical direct quotes.  [As repeatedly stated this model was often used by Ueshiba and therefore can be found in several Japanese sources two of such sources are an audio interview with Ueshiba Morihei, and another is the book Takemusu Aiki which is a collection of notes taken from a series of lectures given by the founder.]

Admittedly I am favorably biased towards Shirata Rinjiro since I have the honor of calling him sensei.  However, as explained before, such direct quotes are not (or at least were not until recently) readily available to both in Japanese much less in translation.  Shirata sensei published his quotes before Chris Li published his so I have chosen to use both.  Chris Li’s quotes come with his capable English translation and he compares them with traditional Chinese cosmology within his article.  Shirata Rinjiro published Ueshiba’s words locally in Japanese and an English translation was rendered by Douglas Walker and shared publicly here on TrueAiki.com. Shirata Rinjiro in addition to providing explanation in his own words, created a kind of meta analysis of Ueshiba’s own words by logically re-combining them to highlight  further meaning.  I think it important to note that Shirata Rinjiro also could rely upon his unique background of experience to understand the founder of Aikido’s words.

Readers will recall that not only did Shirata Rinjiro train exclusively with Ueshiba Morihei at the Kobukan (as opposed to those that trained under various teachers at the present day Hombu dojo with O-sensei staying and teaching periodically), but that he listened to, studied and understood his teacher from the perspective of someone that came from a local culture with a deep tradition steeped in Mikkyo, Shugendo, and his household also practiced Oomoto Kyo, was intimately familiar with Oomoto Kyo, and also taught in the founders stead to Oomoto Kyo students at the Oomoto Kyo during the zenith of Oomoto Kyo influence and power.  Ueshiba’s confidence in Shirata’s Rinjiro’s understanding and technical representation was further demonstrated when he appointed Shirata Rinjiro to teach Aikido in Osaka (Osaka has an important place in Aikido history including such notables as the Asahi Shimbun, Takuma Hisa and Takeda Sokaku.) and at the University in Manchukuo.  (Shirata Rinjiro was drafted before he could fulfill his appointment in Manchuria and Tomiki Kenji became his replacement.)

Shirata sensei didn’t write his essay to promote his organization.  Unlike other peers, he chose not to start his own organization.  Instead, at the request of his teacher, he supported Ueshiba Kisshomaru’s organizational efforts.  I believe he wrote his essay for similar reasons:  For the love and respect of his teacher, for the advancement of his students,  and to promote the understanding of Ueshiba Morihei’s teaching. Perhaps if readers come to this realization they might appreciate that not only did Shirata Rinjiro exclusively train under and study his teacher’s words, he also made a concerted effort to further Ueshiba Morihei’s teaching by using Ueshiba Morihei’s own model as a framework.  

I believe that, in this way, it was my teacher’s (Shirata Rinjiro) sincere wish to make his teacher (Ueshiba Morihei) known and understood to future generations.

Shirata Rinjiro was a very, very humble man.  If asked if he thought that he did his teacher justice, I suppose he would say he probably did not.  I am reluctant to agree with that estimation.  However, I would understand his feelings.  I too am concerned that the best of my teacher’s teachings not be lost to the future.  This is the reason I began TrueAiki.com.  Not that I think that I am the sole heir to Shirata sensei’s teaching.  That would be ridiculous. Rather I feel it incumbent upon myself to do my best to pass along as best I can what I learned from him, all the while feeling inadequate to the task.  After all, I share the opinion with my teacher, and my teacher’s teacher, that I still have much to learn. How then can I possibly pass on that I was taught?  Nevertheless, I do as so many others have done before.  I simply do my best.

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What is Aikido?

To begin to answer this question, let’s look at what Ueshiba Morihei said Aikido is, and compare it to what Shirata Rinjiro said Aikido is.  Hopefully, we can begin to bridge the gap between what many called a religious, mythical or philosophical explanation and what I believe both these men thought is actually both a model of cosmology AND model of the physical expression of Aiki.  

In this comparison I will borrow both from Chris Li’s translation of Ueshiba Morihei, and Douglas Walker’s translation of Shirata Rinjiro’s lecture.  My interpretation comes from my own experience, and my reading of both texts in Japanese and their English interpretations.