They call him “Hambei,” but no one knows why. For many years one of his character traits has been to annoy people by appearing in unexpected places at unexpected moments. If I remember correctly, it was one...
Archive - November 2002
Josh GoldAiki: A State of Union
A note on terminology: In this essay, I am using the terms aikijutsu and aikido to refer to two distinct psychophysical states of being, not to the specific martial art traditions of these names. Jutsu (meaning...
Interview with Kisshomaru Ueshiba and Daitokan, Part 2 by Stanley Pranin
War with Russia broke out in February of 1904. Morihei was stationed in Manchuria, but the year and a half he spent there is shrouded in mystery. Despite vague references to a distinguished service record, it seems that...
Interview with Kisshomaru Ueshiba and Daitokan, Part 1 by Stanley Pranin
In Fukushima Prefecture, a bandit was terrorizing the populace, but despite their best efforts, the police failed to apprehend him. One morning the outlaw was discovered dead in the field with his neck nearly wrenched...
Interview with Kenji Tomiki (1) by Stanley Pranin
The following article was prepared with the kind assistance of James Day. This interview with Professor Kenji Tomiki was conducted on January 4, 1974 at Waseda University in Tokyo. The interview is presented in two...
Interview with Yukiyoshi Sagawa by Stanley Pranin
Yukiyoshi Sagawa Sensei was born in Yubetsu, Hokkaido in 1902. He began formal study of Daito-ryu under Sokaku Takeda at age 11. He received an instructor’s license from Takeda in 1932. After that he traveled with...
Remarkable Japanese (13): The Birth of Aikido
Deguchi always came to fetch Ueshiba in the evenings and the latter would accompany his revered teacher to his private quarters and sleep nearby, served in the capacity of Deguchi’s personal bodyguard.
Seigo Yamaguchi: In Memoriam
At the kagami-biraki ceremony this last New Year’s, you told me that my dedication demonstration seemed very natural, very myself and lacking in pretention. It was while this lovely comment was still vivid in my...
Interview with Kazuo Chiba, Part 2
In creating a path that advances personal development and harmony, aikido tends to reject the destructiveness and inhumanity that are essential aspects of most martial arts. But inherent in this rejection is the danger...
Interview with Mitsugi Saotome, Part 1
Mitsugi Saotome Shihan is well-known in the United States as the founder of the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba. In the first half of a two-part interview, Saotome Shihan recalls his fifteen years as uchideshi at the Hombu...