O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba
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O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba |
The founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, O’ Sensei, was born
in the city of Tanabe, Japan, December 14, 1883. His father, concerned about his
son’s frail health, enrolled him in Sumo wrestling, an art he new well. En 1901,
having moved to Tokyo, he began to study the Ju Jutsu, and Ken Jutsu. Upon his return to
Tanabe, he married and became involved with various social reform projects. When he was 20
years old he joined the Army, and served for four years.
After leaving the Army, he became interested in a government program to populate the
island of Hokkaido. He managed to gather 54 families and founded Shirataki, en the
Monbetsu mountain range. In 1915 he met the Daito Ryu Ju Jutsu master, Sokaku Takeda, with
whom he continued his studies of Budo. Later, he moved to Ayabe, the residence of the
Omoto religion master Onisaburu Deguchi, to receive his spiritual teachings. At the same
time he began the Ueshiba School of martial arts were he put into practice his theory of
the spiritu €al unification. He accompanied Deguchi on an eventful trip to Manchuria,
and upon his return dedicated himself to intense training and experienced revelations that
he had been searching for his whole life. The spirit of the Universe enveloped his body
and he understood that the source of Budo, before all else, was the spirit of love and
protection. He began to tour the country spreading Aikido all over Japan. Upon the
irruption of war, in 1942, O’Sensei moved to the small town of Iwama, outside of
Tokyo, where he constructed a dojo and shrine, to serve as a place of practice and
spiritual retreat. Once the war ended, and they were authorized to continue activity,
O’Sensei, under the direction of his son Kisshomaru transformed the old Tokyo dojo
into w mhat is today the present headquarters of the Aikikai. O’Sensei continued to
live in Iwama, visiting Tokyo, and other parts of Japan, to teach and give
seminars.O’Sensei’s prestige reached out to the rest of the world, now that many
of his disciples were spreading Aikido far beyond Japan’s borders. After a long and
arduous search, and a rich spiritual life, Morihei Ueshiba, O’Sensei, died April 26,
1969, a date remembered around the world by practitioners of Aikido
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Said O'Sensei:
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