Hideo Ohba Biography, Part I

Childhood

Hideo Tozawa was born on April 27, 1911 at 55 Kawahara Azawakamiko Nakakawamura, Senhoku-gun, Akita Prefecture. He was the second son and fifth of eleven children born to Teiichi and Taka Tozawa.

When Teiichi was in the eighth grade his father, Tsunekichi, died and he left middle school and started to work at the Arakawa Mine. At first, he analyzed ores in the mine and then after, without formal education, he studied refining techniques and became a refining engineer. Later, he moved and worked for a copper mine in Okayama and for the Omotani Mine in Fukui.

When Teiichi moved to the copper mine in Okayama, Hideo was in the first grade. In his childhood, Hideo was very obedient and even had a gentle voice. His older sisters called him Hideko, a girl’s name, instead of Hideo. He was often teased by his classmates because he spoke in a strong Kakunodate dialect.

Hideo’s older sister Mitsuko (her nickname was “Jo”) recalls this episode. When they were children it was their responsibility to spread out everyone’s futon (Japanese-style mattress). Mitsuko says she thought that Hideko, Hideo’s nickname, was unfair because he was in fact so strong that he could do almost all of their chores himself, pulling all the futon out of the closet and spreading them quickly with his hands and feet, while on the other hand all she did was put out the pillows. Hideo was quite considerate towards his older sister and gentle to his younger sisters as well.

Hideo’s father was not satisfied with him because he was so quiet and modest towards everyone. Norio, his older brother, did not really know what to do when he was told by his father to take revenge for Hideo when his classmates teased him. Teiichi was feared by his children since he liked to scold them when he would drink before dinner. Hideo trusted his older brother Norio the most. Norio was embarrassed that Hideo liked him so much and always followed him around. Norio had a gentle and democratic mind, which was exceptional for an oldest son raised in an age of male supremacy and dominance. After his father’s death, he reorganized the family and was never concerned about the order in which the family sat at the table. The influence of his brother on Hideo’s personality in his childhood may be found in the fact that he was always helpful to his juniors even late in his life although he demanded a strict relationship between teacher and student.

Teiichi moved his family from Fukui to Zarumachi Taruyama in Akita City and left them there while he went to work in a mine in Korea. For the time being, their life in Zarumachi was not bad with Teiichi’s retirement pension to help support them. By the time Norio finished middle school (ninth grade), their father returned from Korea and the family moved to Okazaki, Kamishiro. Because of the steep decline in the copper market he returned from Korea after only a two-year stay, and began to work for an insurance company. Gradually, however, the family became poorer and their mother had to work hard selling goods or serving drinks at the house. It was under these circumstances that Hideo attended Kakunodate Middle School.

Hideo would carry an empty barrel in his bicycle basket when he rode the mile and a quarter each way to and from Kakunodate Middle School. On his way home through town he would stop in at Goi Liquor Shop to buy sake and brought it home to help with his mother’s small business. He was not a very studious boy, but he loved judo. During his five years at Kakunodate Middle School, he was a member of the Judo Club. Because of his natural physique and strength, he became captain of the club during his last year.

School Days At Kakunodate Middle School

Hideo entered the public middle school in Kakunodate, newly established by Akita Prefecture, in its very first year on April 8, 1925. According to Mr. Suekichi Miura, who was nine years his junior at the school, Hideo went to school from his house in Okazaki, Kamishiro Village with Yoshio, his younger brother. They used to get along so well with each other that people around them were jealous. Mr. Miura also recalled, “Since there were only one or two boys in an entire village who could enjoy the chance to attend middle school, I used to watch them, charmed by their school uniforms, black neckties and black caps striped with white. Quite unlike Yoshio, Hideo possessed an outstandingly perfect physique.” Mr. Sadaaki Fujimura, who was three years junior to Hideo at Kakunodate Middle School, and who used to be a member of the Kendo Club, reflected and said, “Hideo was polite and had such strong will-power that he could achieve whatever he wanted. He never argued with others. As a teacher, he was strict as well as kind and generous and was trusted by his students.”

Episodes As A Martial Artist

One day it was snowing heavily in Kakunodate, and the snow and ice on either side of the main street made it difficult to pass. Suddenly a one-horse sleigh came running toward Mitsuko and Hideo. Hideo grabbed Mitsuko and pushed her next to the glass door of the tailor’s shop along the street and then threw himself out of the way in order to avoid being run over by the sleigh. Naturally, the tailor who happened to be watching was amazed.

Another day when Hideo’s village flooded, Hideo carried his brother from his house in a barrel on his back and swam across the big river.

What was Hideo’s judo like? According to Norio, his older brother who went to watch him in large competitions, his opponents were also well-trained and he could not beat them easily. However, one changes one’s opinion as one’s viewpoint changes and therefore many people acknowledged that he was strong. Mr. Tetsuzo Taguchi, former chairman of the prefectural assembly who went to school at the same time as Hideo said, “From the first year at school, Hideo had an outstandingly fine physique and he was so good at judo that his seventh dan judo teacher, Tokugoro Ito, was certain that he would become a good judo practitioner.” In his fifth and last year at school, he became captain and graduated in the spring of 1930. After graduation, his judo skills were acknowledged and he got a part-time position teaching the art at his school. At that time, Hideo decided to go to Tokyo to train at the Kodokan, and he would stay at his sister’s in Tokyo while he was there. The next year, 1931, he was promoted to nidan. In that same year, Kenji Tomiki, who was to become Hideo’s sensei for the rest of his life, took a job teaching public affairs at Kakunodate Middle School, and from that time Hideo enjoyed learning from him and was greatly influenced by him.

The Fortunes Of War

In September of 1931, the Manchurian Incident broke out in the suburbs of Hoten in China, and in March of 1932 the foundation of the nation of Manchuria was declared. In 1931, Hideo began his service in the 17th regiment of the Akita infantry and was sent to the front lines in China. In the army, Hideo faced many dangerous situations on the battlefield in which he could have been killed. Let me recount some of the episodes he related to those close to him.

One time his unit attacked the enemy during the middle of the night, and there was a violent exchange of gunfire. As many bullets whizzed by his ears, Hideo continued to shoot his machine gun as hard as possible. When a superior officer came to take the exhausted Hideo’s place, he was finally able to take a rest. But when Hideo glanced back, he saw that the officer lay motionless. On the very spot where Hideo himself had been sitting and operating the gun and where he had felt as if all the bullets were avoiding him, the man lay dead. He pondered deeply the transience of life and the mysteries of fate.

Mr. Masaharu Uchiyama, former vice-president of the Japan Aikido Association [Tomiki Aikido controlling body] wrote in a note about what he heard about another of Hideo’s experiences during his military service.

In one battle the unit he belonged to was to fight against crack enemy troops. The battle was a see-saw struggle. A small number of men were chosen from Hideo’s unit and organized into a corps of fearless soldiers. His unit was supposed to sneak behind the enemy in the middle of the night in order to attack suddenly from behind at dawn to confuse them. Ohba Sensei took part in the party and carried a portable machine gun. The battle was incredibly violent. The enemy returned heavy fire at this sudden attack and the battle was long and fierce. They crept forward, moving to the right and left, keeping themselves hidden from the enemy’s countless shots. Ohba Sensei, as he had learned during his military training, ran quickly to the next cover during the ten seconds just after the enemy’s shooting stopped (it took ten seconds for the enemy soldiers to reload and take aim). Ohba told me that although he was slightly wounded he was able to survive while many others were killed.

The happiest moment of his military life was probably when he was awarded the Kinchi Kunsho [military decoration]. One day he was ordered by a commander to reconnoiter. He was to go out to the front lines and check whether the enemy was present or not; if he found no signs of the enemy, he was to wave the Japanese flag to signal the troops. These signals were essential for the commanders to decide whether or not they could advance their troops. However, this task involved him risking his life by allowing himself to become a target for the enemy. Hideo succeeded and was awarded the decoration and an annuity (150 yen) for carrying out his duty so well. The annuity helped to support Hideo when he married. His wife was glad for the extra income. Hideo was always most pleased when he could make his wife happy.

Mrs. Ohba: Japanese Koto Player

In 1933, after Hideo was demobilized and returned safely home, he began to teach again at Kakunodate Middle School as Tomiki Sensei’s assistant Judo teacher. In those days, Hideo would stay at school until dark and, in addition to judo, was learning kendo from Mr. Fujimura, a colleague who was the assistant kendo teacher. He became fairly good at kendo as well. However, his enthusiasm for judo was even greater. Since Hideo came to know sophisticated and complex judo techniques from Tomiki’s instruction, he would often spend his holidays visiting the Kodokan in Tokyo to do further training. In October 1935, he was awarded a fifth degree black belt from the Kodokan. When they had team competitions at the Kodokan, Hideo beat five or six members of the opposing team. At that time, he was in his top judo form.

Hideo was gentle and simple by nature. His hobby in those days was playing the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute), which he was studying seriously with an instructor. One of his greatest pleasures was his visits to Keiko Ohba, a well-known young koto (Japanese harp) instructor in Yokote, whom he would ask for the opportunity to play koto/shakuhachi duets. He was fascinated by the pretty genius of a koto instructor, and thought that he would like to marry a woman who could play the instrument. Eventually Hideo asked Keiko to marry him, and they were wed on September 3, 1936, taking Keiko’s family name, Ohba. They were in their youth then; Hideo was twenty-six years old and Keiko twenty-eight.

To Manchuria At Tomiki Sensei’s Invitation

In February 1940, Hideo was licensed to teach judo in high school. Plans called for him to go to National Kenkoku University in Shinkyo, Manchuria the following year to teach judo at the invitation of Kenji Tomiki whom Hideo held in great respect. For ten years Hideo had attended the Kodokan in Tokyo, traveling from Akita to practice on Saturdays, and he received a prize for regular attendance nine times. He had also received certification in various forms of judo: national physical education forms, throwing forms, soft forms, decisive (kime no kata) forms, etc. It was exactly 11 years since he had started teaching at Kakunodate Middle School. These prizes and certifications were the result of his serious judo training over 11 years — except for his years of military service during wartime — and proved to be good preparation for this challenge in Manchuria.

In April 1941, Hideo arrived at Kenkoku University as an assistant instructor and began to teach judo. At the same time, he took another position as judo instructor at the Shimbuden of the Shinkyo Grand Martial Arts Dojo. There were additional places where Hideo taught during his stay in Manchuria: the Shinkyo Metropolitan Police, the Shinkyo Imperial Household Agency, the Military Police Instructional Unit, the Japanese Officers Party (Hideo taught them on Sundays), and the Shinkyo Industrial Bank, where he started teaching in 1944. Needless to say, Hideo taught judo most of the time. However, in 1942, when he was awarded a fifth dan in Tenshin-ryu Aikido (from the Ueshiba Dojo in Shinjuku), he began to teach aikido as well. He taught aikido to the Shinkyo Metropolitan Police. The next year, 1943, he was promoted and received his sixth degree black belt.

These jobs were all arranged by Tomiki. Although Tomiki, who went to Manchuria in 1936, was very busy holding important positions both at the Daido Gakuin and Kenkoku University, he was also teaching aikido at the Manchuria Martial Arts Association, the headquarters of the Manchuria Military Forces, the Imperial Household Agency, the Shinkyo Metropolitan Police, the Officers Party in Shinkyo, and at a variety of public corporations, companies, banks, and so forth. When Hideo arrived in Manchuria, Tomiki entrusted him with these teaching positions.

Let me try to describe how he trained himself in Manchuria. Later in his life, Hideo recounted the following to many of his students.

One night, when I returned home after training, it was after midnight. In those days gas burners called haruku denki were used and when I turned on the gas, the fire only gave off sparks like a firefly. I was so hungry and tired that I just gave up and fell asleep. Then, at about four o’clock in the morning, the house was full of smoke. My small fire like a firefly had grown and burned an iron pot. I poured water over it in a hurry. The rice in the pot was all burned to dry ashes. When I poured the water into the pot, cooked rice popped out. Since I felt that this phenomenon was an interesting discovery, I told Tomiki Sensei about it during morning practice. Sensei, however, was not at all amused, and warned me, saying, ‘Ohba, you should be more careful. Imagine what would have happened if the flame had gone out, you would have been gassed to death by now.’ That was the first time Tomiki Sensei scolded me in my years with him in Manchuria. After that I never did the same thing again.

Martial Arts Discipline

Hideo studied several other martial arts besides judo and aikido, including kendo, naginata, and iaido. In kendo, he even mastered Nito-ryu (two-sword style). The first martial art he chose among these was kendo, because in aiki-budo there were shinken-shirahadori (literally: real blade-white blade taking) and other techniques for use against weapons. Fortunately Hideo was introduced by Takeuchi, fellow staff member at the Shimbuden, to a master of kendo, Master Tsunekichi Koga. Hideo learned kendo beginning with basic skills such as sword cuts and before long he was promoted to fourth degree black belt. The next martial art Hideo learned was naginata. Again, Takeuchi introduced him to Setsuko Yamada, a young lady in her 20s who taught naginata. Hideo was so shy that he could barely look her in the eyes when he faced her for naginata training. It seems she scolded him many times for not being careful with his eyes. After struggling, he mastered naginata and received a third dan. Hideo learned iaido from Goro Inoue, branch manager of a marine fire insurance company. Inoue used to practice alone at the Shimbuden Dojo from six o’clock every morning. After Hideo happened to find out about Inoue, he was introduced by Takeuchi and began to learn iai from him. Inoue taught between six and seven in the morning. Since Hideo could not find an iai sword, he borrowed a real sword from the dojo office. He learned various styles of iaido from Omori-ryu to Hasegawa-ryu. As he usually trained and taught until midnight, it was a little difficult to practice early in the morning. Since there was no train Hideo had to walk or run for 30 minutes from his home to practice with his sensei who sat waiting for him alone in the cold dojo.

Hideo sometimes tested his martial techniques in matches. One day a team match of jukenjutsu (bayonet fighting techniques) vs. kendo took place. He was told by his kendo teacher to fight the first match for his team because his kendo skills had improved by that time. He was pleased but the next moment asked the teacher if he could fight the match with a naginata instead of a sword. He was allowed to use his naginata against the jukenjutsu man. At that time there were five or six masters of jukenjutsu among the officers in Shinkyo and Hideo’s opponent was one of these masters. When they showed up at the dojo to have the match, Hideo’s opponent was not wearing leg guards. The referee, who was a master of jukenjutsu said to Hideo, “Since your opponent is not wearing leg guards, it is impossible for you to fight a match against his juken with your naginata.” Hideo answered, “I will not attack his legs.” Then the referee encouraged Hideo’s opponent by saying, “He won’t attack your legs. Good luck to you.” Hideo could hardly believe that such a referee existed. But he fought the match as hard as he could and beat his opponent, by attacking only his wrists (kote) and head (men). The kendo team also beat the jukenjutsu team. Later in Hideo’s life, after the war, he beat many well-known swordsmen with his naginata.

Ueshiba And Tomiki

Today, Morihei Ueshiba is recognized as the founder of aikido. In its early stages, however, his martial art was known only to a few enthusiastic martial artists. As time went by, the art started to be supported by wealthy leaders of society, and as a result the name of the art itself changed from Daito-ryu (Aikibujutsu), the form that Founder Morihei Ueshiba had learned, to Aikijujutsu or aiki-budo and various others. Tomiki started to attend Ueshiba’s school sometime during the Taisho era (1910-1925) and was given an eighth dan in 1940 when Ueshiba established his dan ranking system. Tomiki was the Founder Ueshiba’s oldest and best student.

With Ueshiba’s recommendation and the support of the high-ranking military officers, Tomiki left for Manchuria, where he taught martial arts studies as a professor at Kenkoku University and also engaged in the spread of aiki-budo as mentioned above. However, the content of Tomiki’s art gradually changed. Ueshiba’s teaching method, which required students to learn with their bodies, obviously would not appeal to educators or to the world of predecessor arts like judo and kendo which employed rational, systematic teaching methods. The complicated techniques which included numerous combat forms needed to be systematically organized and classified for pedagogical purposes.

Ueshiba trusted Tomiki, who was an enthusiastic and quiet genius, well enough to consult often with him about family affairs. Ueshiba seemed pleased to see the spread of aikido in Manchuria through Tomiki’s efforts. Ueshiba himself went there three times to participate in martial arts demonstrations, and his most brilliant demonstration was the one he gave at the Martial Arts Demonstration in 1942 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Foundation of Manchuria. Kisshomaru Ueshiba, the founder’s son, describes the demonstration in his book as follows:

“The Martial Arts Demonstration was held at the Shimbuden Dojo, the biggest martial arts dojo in Asia located in Shinkyo, the capital of Manchuria. Among the distinguished guests were Emperor P’u-yi, the Prime Minister, Secretary of General Affairs Naoki Hoshino, and other leading figures from the military, government, and business both in Japan and Manchuria. Only the best masters were invited to give demonstrations, and among them was the Founder Ueshiba.

“A variety of wonderful techniques were performed one after another. Among them, Ueshiba’s aikido was the most unusual to many of the audience. They watched the performance with fascination. As soon as his performance was finished, Emperor P’u-yi led the standing ovation…” (Kisshomaru Ueshiba, Aikido Kaiso Ueshiba Morihei, p. 249).

Also from the same book, “Hideo Sonobe, the greatest master of Jikishinkage-ryu Naginata since the Meiji Revolution exclaimed, ‘This is a divine martial art!’ when she saw Morihei Ueshiba’s performance” (Ueshiba, p. 243).

“At the Open Martial Arts Demonstration held in 1939 it seemed that some said that Morihei’s performance was faked” (Ueshiba, p. 250). There was the following truth behind the sighs of admiration at Ueshiba’s kata demonstration.

True Demonstration

It was Hideo Ohba who took ukemi for Ueshiba for the demonstration. He later talked about this event as follows: “Since the Emperor of Manchuria was in an exalted position at that time like the Emperor of Japan I thought I should not take ukemi for Ueshiba in the way I usually did. If Ueshiba Sensei were a true master he could handle a true punch, thrust, or grab. Therefore, I decided to attack him seriously. When we stood on the platform, I saw many martial arts masters present in the large dojo of the Shimbuden. When I glanced at Ueshiba Sensei, his beard was sticking out towards me, his hair was standing on end and his eyes were glittering. I thought to myself that he was indeed a true master. Then I concentrated on taking ukemi for him thinking how different it was to face a master. After the demonstration, we bowed and sat in the corner of the dojo and were supposed to walk over to the seats where the masters were sitting. However, I heard someone thunder, ‘You idiot!’ Ueshiba Sensei was short-tempered. He couldn’t wait until we returned to our seats. He shouted at me in that way in front of everyone. Until then, I thought he was a wonderful and truly great master, but his shout made my spirit pop like a bubble. We sat down. Ueshiba Sensei didn’t even smile. He was in a bad mood. So I felt tiny. Who do you think showed up then? It was Hideo Sonobe who was said to be without peer in Japan or anywhere in the use of the naginata. She came all the way up to where the masters were sitting while iai and naginata kata were being demonstrated one after another. She said, ‘Mr. Ueshiba I have never seen more wonderful techniques than what you showed today. They were fantastic!’ Ueshiba Sensei, who had been in a bad mood, asked her what part she liked. He asked me to find a place where they could talk and we all went down to the basement of the Shimbuden and they discussed the theory of martial arts for two hours. While I was listening to their discussion, Ueshiba Sensei asked her what she liked and she replied that she liked the ‘connections’ (tsunagari) between techniques. However, I didn’t understand these connections. I understood that the Dai Nihon Butokukai [Kyoto-based organization which governed Japanese martial arts] then was having a hard time trying to decide who they should choose as the best swordsman of that year and had asked Sonobe Sensei for her opinion. When I heard Sonobe Sensei tell Ueshiba Sensei that she had never seen such wonderful techniques even though she had seem him demonstrate often, I decided to learn naginata in order to search for these ‘connections.’”

Hideo would always recount this story to his students when he was in a good mood. One time, I [the author] asked him the following question, “Sensei, when you attacked Ueshiba Sensei seriously, could he execute techniques like he usually did in his regular demonstrations?” Judging from the fact that he was scolded on that occasion, the answer was obvious. I asked this question because I wanted to confirm it. Of course he answered, “Ueshiba Sensei seemed to have a hard time executing techniques smoothly.” I think that Tomiki was critical of the fact that Ueshiba’s demonstrations became gradually softer. Tomiki’s belief was that such softness was a way of making the person throwing look good and was different from how martial arts should be. This demonstration of Ueshiba and Ohba received the highest praise from a top martial artist because of Ohba’s serious attacks and the fact that he refused to participate in a prearranged performance the way he normally would have. I think that behind this fact lies an important hint as to what aikido should be. There seem to be some people within the Japan Aikido Association who see that their kata demonstrations are different from the flowing demonstrations of other schools and try to change them. However, things should be the opposite. I think what is important is that we should master each technique perfectly as did Ueshiba Sensei, and then try to achieve a connection or flow between techniques. Hideo’s experience taught us not only the limitation of Ueshiba’s techniques (one cannot throw someone in a dance-like manner), and his incredible mastery, but also how a demonstration should be.

This is the first of two parts. Read the second part here.