１．人生の趣味として
私は合気道を稽古し指導する一方で、その歴史・技術理論と教育法の研究を行って います。
私がかかわる合気道は、植芝盛平先生が恩師武田惣角先生の技法を発展させて普及した合気
道 を、富木謙治先生（1900-1979）が近代的にさらに発展させたもので、組織的には日本合
気道協会の合気道です。
富木師範は、幼少の 頃より柔道に親しみ、学生時代から合気道も修業して、武道の総合的な
理論研究を超武道的に 行った研究者で、戦前は満洲の建国大学教授として、戦後は早稲田大学
教授として、柔道界、合気道界、広く武道界、また武道や体育の学界を中心に活躍されました。
富木師範の理論では、合気道も柔道や剣道のように「形」による稽古と「乱取り(地稽古)」
による稽古を並行して行い、競技・試合も行うことを奨めます。その理由は平素の形による修
業を反省する場として競技・試合が非常に有意義なことが柔道、剣道など先行する武道によっ
て明らかにされていると考えたからです。
私は合気道の近代化を担った団体である日本合気道協会の指導者の一人として、この革新的
な試みを新しい時代に合わせて推進していこうとしていますが、デュルケムも述べたように、
何事につけ新しい思想を普及していくことは容易なことではありません。しかし、だからこそ
やりがいのある人生の大事であり、研究と実践を通してこの武道の将来の発展に道筋をつけて
いこうと考えています。
２．研究として
以上は、合気道に対する私の個人的スタンスですが、研究自体は客観性を要しますから、異
なった考え方、立場での合気道史研究が可能です。どんな団体にもその中に小さなグループが
でき相互に対立することが多いのが世の中ですが、これは一般に不毛で残念なことです。大切
なことは、異なった考え方の人々が相互に相手の立場を理解し、融和していくことであり、多
様性の共存、あるいは共生ではないでしょうか。異なった考え方の人がいるからこそ学問も進
歩し、あらゆる文化が発展し、人間が豊かになると思うのです。
多様な関心をもった、オープンマインドの合気道史学習者を歓迎します。
1. Aikido and Morihei Ueshiba
Aikido is a Japanese martial art that includes techniques for bare-handed wrestling, using weapons, and
dealing with the armed enemy. It was promoted throughout Japan by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969).
Aikido is known for its joint-twisting and pinnning techniques (kansetsu-waza) and its thrusting and
stunning blows (atemi-waza). The advanced student is a master of techniques to break the oponent's
balance or ward off a thrust or grasp. Aikido techniques have the power to kill or injure, but
fundamentally their purpose is to seize and control the opponent. All of the principles of swordsmanship
(eye contact, proper distance, timing, and cutting methods) are incorporated into aikido movements. The
methods of training and spiritual teachings vary from school to school.
Ueshiba learned several different kinds of martial arts during his lifetime, but the major techniques of his
aikido were derived from Daito-ryu Jujutsu style, which he learned from Sokaku Takeda (1860-1943) in
Shirataki,Hokkaido between 1915 and 1919. Takeda stood only about four feet, nine inches (1.45 meters)
tall, but he had an extremly strong personality and was an outstandingly gifted jujutsu practitioner.
Ueshiba developed his own techniques and named the resulting style "aikido," since he believed his methods
were different from his teacher's both philosophically and technically. He also needed different nomenclature
for his martial art to be economically independent from Takeda.
In 1919, Ueshiba moved to Ayabe, Kyoto and started to train as a live-in disciple of Onisaburo Deguchi
(1871-1948), a master of a new Shintoism school called Omoto-kyo. There, Ueshiba taught Daito-ryu
Jujutsu and engaged in religious services. From that point, Deguchiﾕs Omoto-kyo doctrines became Ueshiba's
personal spiritual basis..
In 1922, Takeda visited Ueshiba in Ayabe and coached him further in martial arts during his six-month visit. Upon leaving Ayabe, he granted Ueshiba credentials as an acting instructor of Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu.
Takeda then changed the official name of his school from Daito-ryu Jujutsu to Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu, and
Ueshiba followed suit, teaching his martial arts under this new name until about 1935.
At that time, the popularity of Omoto-kyo was spreading across the country, and some high-ranking
Japanese naval officers who went to the school in Ayabe also came to have an interest in Ueshiba's martial
arts, which were still being taught on the sacred ground of Omoto-kyo in Ayabe. Some of the officers passed
on information about Ueshiba's school to Isamu Takeshita (1869-1949), a retired Admiral in Tokyo, the
capital. In 1925, Takeshita saw a demonstration of Ueshiba's Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu techniques for the first
time and was so impressed that he took up the practice and continued it for the rest of his life. With
Takeshita's tremendous support and Deguchi's approval, Ueshiba left Ayabe and move to Tokyo.
In the capital, Takeshita introduced Ueshiba to influential people in military, financial, and political circles,
as well as people connected to the Imperial household, even organizing a society to support his martial arts
teacher. This enabled Ueshiba to become entirely independent from Takeda and Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu.
During this process, in 1928, Ueshiba changed the name of his martial arts school to Aioi-ryu Aiki Bujutsu;
he again renamed his school Aiki-Budo or Ko-Budo, and finally settled with aikido in 1942. Aikido became an
official term when it was approved at a conference with Dai-Nippon Butoku-Kai, the association of all
martial arts in Japan.
Like Takeda, Ueshiba had a strong personality and excellent techniques and his genius received full
attention following Takeda's death after World War II. He and his gifted disciples are responsible for the current position of aikido as a popular Japanese martial art. 
Aiki and Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu
Aiki, the core concept of aikido, can be traced back to martial arts literature of the Edo era. According to
Toka Mondo (Candlelight Discussion), written by the master of Kito-ryu Jujutsu in 1764, aiki means that
two fighters come to a standstill in a martial arts bout when they have focused their attention on each
other's breathing. Many other authors in 1800's gave similar definitions. However, the volume entitled
Budo-hiketsu Aiki no Jutsu (Secret Keys to Martial Arts Techniques) published in 1892 gave a new
definition of the term. It says that aiki is the ultimate goal in the study of martial arts and may be
accomplished by "taking a step ahead of the enemy." According to the volume, the prerequisites for such a
preemptive move are to read the enemy's mind and use a battle cry. Unfortunately, no details on specific
exercises have been recorded.
It is no longer possible to reconstruct the precise definition of aiki in the Daito-ryu school of jujutsu.
This is primarily because Takeda closely guarded his technical secrets, as earlier martial arts
practitioners had done, and chose not to transcribe his teachings in written form. However, Nenokichi
Sagawa, one of Takeda's closest followers, was mentioned sporadically in Takedaﾕs 1913 notebook,
"Exercise aiki." This suggests that Daito-ryu Jujutsu practitioners had used the term aiki and practiced
techniques developed through this concept even before they changed the name of their school to Daito-ryu
Aiki Jujutsu. Nevertheless, Takeda's failure to leave a clear-cut definition of aiki led to ambiguity in
Ueshiba's interpretation, although Takeda still appointed Ueshiba to the important post of acting instructor.
Later, as Ueshiba's school grew, his disciples and followers added some new meanings to aiki to
compensate for the ambiguity. Since the term is composed of a combination of two Chinese characters -
ai (unification) and ki (spirit or mind) - they decided that aikido is a way to become one with the universe
or harmonize with the movement and rhythm of nature.
Ueshiba was only one of many Daito-ryu Jujutsu instructors who graduated from Takedaﾕs school. There
are many other outstanding practitioners who trained with him and later organized their own schools under
the name Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu. Taiso Horikawa and his son Kodo Horikawa (1894-1980) are prime
examples. Kodo organized Koudo-kai in 1950. Another school called Roppo-kai is a splinter group of
Kodo-kai. Takuma Hisa (1895-1980) was the only person to whom Takeda granted menkyo kaiden (the
highest-level teaching credentials) in Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu. This loyal student initiated Daito-ryu Aiki
Jujutsu Takuma-kai in 1975. Toshimi Matsuda (1895-?) was another talented student of Takeda. Ryuho
Okuyama, one of Matsuda's students, later establishied Hakko-ryu. Yukiyoshi Sagawa (1902-), another
highly credited practitioner, is now teaching his martial arts techniques to followers under the name of
Daito-ryu Aiki Bujutsu. Tokimune Takeda (1916-1993), one of Sokaku Takeda's son, had started teaching
Daito-ryu Aiki Budo in a combined form of Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu and Ono-ha Itto-ryu Kenjutsu
(swordsmanship). However, after his death, the organization was split into several minor schools.
Popularization of Aikido
Aiki-kai
Aiki-kai, the association founded by Morihei Ueshiba, has been promoted all over the world since World
War 2, and is said to have the greatest number of followers compared with other schools of aikido. This
is due to the ceaseless efforts of Ueshibaﾕs son, Kisshomaru (1921-), and those of Kisshomaruﾕs full
time disciples. Kisshomaru inherited his father's foundation and ran it on the assumption that Morihei
Ueshiba had come late in life to advocate a spiritual nobility in aikido that he believed would enable man
to become one with the universe and, in contrast to what he had pursued before the war, had condemned
meaningless competition. Kisshomaru has gone a step further to claim that there should not be any kind of
competition in aikido ﾐ a stance in sharp contrast with judo and kendo (swordsmanship) promoters who
have tried to develop their martial arts as systematic athletic events. The younger Ueshiba has demanded
that his students practice aikido only for self-discipline and to seek the truth. This pacifist policy has come
to be widely accepted, but some on Morihei Ueshibaﾕs most distinguished disciples have disagreed with
Kisshomaru and left his school to establish their own. Some of these are mentioned below.
JAA (Japan Aikido Association)
Kenji Tomiki (1900-1979) founded the JAA in 1974. Tomiki, who joined Morihei Ueshiba in 1926, in
1940 became the first person to receive the eighth dan degree, the highest-level teaching credentials,
from the master. Afterward, Tomiki became a professor of physical education, and created a randori
(training match) system of aikido. However, his new proposal caused a sharp conflict of opinions on what
aikido should be.
Yoshin-kan
Gozo Shioda (1915-1994), who trained at Kobu kan (an old name for
Ueshiba's school) since 1932, founded his own school in Tokyo with the backup of business concerns. He
developed a new practice system with the emphasis on mastery of basic techniques and a stratagem for
street combat. He also made a great contribution to the promotion of aikido after World War 2.
Ki no Kenkyu-kai (Ki Society)
Koich Tohei joined Kobu-kan in 1940 and later became chief instructor in Aiki-kai. Consequently, he was
once seriously considered to be Morihei Ueshiba's successor. But when he was offered the position at
Ueshiba's death, he declined and gave it up to Kisshomaru Ueshiba. Later, however, Tohei and Kishomaru
disagreed on instruction methods and began to struggle for leadership. Tohei founded Ki Society and left
Aiki-kai in 1974. He describes aikido as a way to assimilate man into the ﾒKiﾓ of the universe.
Yosei-kan
Minoru Mochizuki (1920- ) started training with Morihei Ueshiba in 1930 on the recommendation of
Jigoro Kano (founder of Kodo-kan Judo). He studied aikido as a live-in disciple of Ueshiba. Then he built
Yosei-kan in Shizuoka, where he developed a unique system for all-round martial arts training with
integrated judo and karate techniques.
Other aikido schools
Noriaki Inoue (1902-1994), Morihei Ueshiba's nephew, initiated the foundation of Shinei-Taido. He and
Ueshiba were both followers of Omoto-kyo, but after a 1935 police crackdown on the practice they
disagreed on how to cope with religious oppression. So, he left Ueshiba and opened a new school of aikido.
Kanshu Sunadomari (1923-) founded Mansei-kan in Kumamoto. He published several books on aikido spirit
and breathing power. Minoru Hirai (1903-), who became general manager of Kobu-kan at Ueshiba's request
in 1942 and continued to support Ueshiba until after World War 2, opened Korindo. Kenji Shimizu (1940-),
a live-in disciple of Ueshiba in the latter's twilight years, established Tendo-ryu. Technically speaking,
the existence of many excellent aikido instructors with varying characteristics and backgrounds has made
present-day aikido much more colorful than ever before. But, unfortunately, there is virtually no
communication between the different schools.
Aikido as an Athletic Event
It is worthwhile to consider why judo and kendo have established completely unified associations, while
aikido, like its forerunner, Daito-ryu Jujutsu, has been divided into many small groups. Judo and kendo
federations have been able to maintain solid bonds because they have both developed a "training match"
system so that all practitioners, regardless of their styles and schools, can meet and compete with each
other based on the same rules. By participating in the same tournaments, they are able to measure their
improvement objectively. Different kendo schools have come to organize a joint committee and hold unified
tournaments while preserving their individual characteristics. They do this by teaching original
techniques to their followers by means of kata (a practice of basic forms in martial arts). Nationwide -
and sometimes worldwide - tournaments have brought different groups into contact. As far as judo is
concerned, everyone has learned the same Kodo-kan Judo, in which they practice randori and kata
simultaneously; This uniformity has produced virtually no factional divergence.
On the other hand, Ueshiba, since the time of Daito-ryu Jujutsu, always encouraged his students to devote
themselves to solitary, repetitive kata practice. The implication is that the absence of an objective method
to measure studentsﾕ skills and strength has resulted in a phenomenal growth of different styles and
schools, each of which has different philosophies and training methods. They do not try to understand each
other's spiritual principles; causing miscommunication and mistrust among members of different
organizations. It is ironical that aikido, which was originally meant to be a "martial arts of harmony and
unification", is currently suffering this chaotic division.
As one solution to this problem, Kenji Tomiki incorporated randori practice into aikido in 1960. He
advocated an integrated training process using kata and randori, claiming that aikido should be reformed
as a competitive athletic event like modern judo and kendo. Tomiki proposed a system for randori aikido
modeled on judo and kendo, two martial arts that were being taught in regular physical-education classes
in Japanese schools. He argued that it was the only way to promote aikido. He came ip with his idea when
he was studying the history of kendo. In most kendo schools, kata practice had been the only way to teach
or learn kendo techniques until about 1750. Then some instructors developed a training-match system
with a bomboo stick and protective gear, which gained popularity with time and finally constituted the bulk
of kendo training. However, although, Tomiki's proposal made good sense to teachers of other martial arts,
Ueshiba and his followers rejected it. Therefore, he established the Japan Aikido Association as an entity
separate from Aiki-kai.
Aikido in Other Countries
The increasing popularity of aikido is attributable to Aiki-kai and other aikido schools' activities outside
Japan. Stanley Pranin, editor of the internationally circulated aikido magazine Aiki Journal, reported that
as of 1993 aikido had the greatest numbers of followers in France, the United States, Japan, Germany,
and England, in that order. Minoru Mochizuki was the first person to teach aikido in France. He coached
French people in martial arts from 1951 to 1953. Then Tadashi Abe and Nobuyoshi Tamura of Aiki-kai followed in his footsteps. The promotion of aikido in France was carried out in affiliation with the French
Judo Federation; making it easier for French aikido instructors to receive governmental subsidies and to
rent fully equipped gymnasiums at minimal cost. Consequently, the tuition is reasonable, which has also helped to draw followers. Some of the students have chosen to be professional aikido instructors, and
aikido schools have sprung up everywhere. According to the membership lists of two major aikido
associations in France (Pranin, 1993), there are more than 2,500 schools in that country.
Aikido was first introduced to the United States by Kenji Tomiki in 1952 when he traveled through 15
states with a team of judo instructors. In the same year, Koichi Tohei taught aikido in Hawaii for the first
time. They were regarded as two of the best instructors in Aiki-kai at the time. Tohei, in particular, laid
the groundwork for the further promotion of aikido in theUnited States by making return visits to Hawaii.
Yoshimitsu Yamada and other younger instructors contributed to the rapid popularization of aikido in North
America in late 1960's. Pranin estimated the number of U.S. aikido schools at anywhere between 1,200
and 1,500. The same year, there were 1,300 to 1,600 aikido schools in Japan , but the number of students
enrolled at each school is generally smaller, making Japan come in third after France and the United States
in the world rankings.
Aiki-kai established the International Aikido Federation in 1976 with affiliated clubs and schools located
in 29 countries. Then, Yoshin-kan founded the International Yoshin-kan Aikido Federation in 1990. In 1993,
JAA initiated the Tomiki Aikido International Network (TAIN) represented in nine countries. The TAIN has
held an international aikido competition every two years since 1989. Other aikido schools have also been
engaged in active promotions of their own and have been steadily expanding their territories. But in terms
of membership and political influence, Aiki-kai is currently the greatest organization in the world.
The most obvious reason for Aiki-kai's progressive popularity seems to be its instructors' unsparing
efforts and enthusiasm. From the very beginning, no instructors were able to make a living by teaching
aikido. They all had to find outside jobs to support themselves, so most of the young wrestlers who
demonstrated excellence while they were students decided to stop training and look for regular jobs when
they graduated. However, there were still many people in Aiki-kai who were so dedicated that they chose
to travel around the world as volunteer instructors. On the other hand, Kisshomaru Ueshiba, burning with
ambition to expand his organization, kept founding new aikido clubs at Japanese universities and businesses.
With their ceaseless efforts, Kisshomaru and the pioneers who taught aikido abroad have come to establish
their positions as administrators and instructors of the world's largest aikido organization.
Outlook
One of the features of aikido that has drawn many followers is its unique practice system. The training
is made up mainly of kata practice, which is well-suited for the elderly or female trainees who learn aikido
for physical fitness or self-defense. Also, people in Western countries have come to accept this type of
aikido as a way of zen meditation or a way to gain insight into the mysticism and philosophies of the East.
Such interest of a cultural has nature has helped make aikido even more popular.
However, today's aikido associations are faced with two major problems. One concerns diversification.
Traditionally, the Japanese people are inclined to favor a school of great prestige and authority. But
recently, even the Japanese are beginning to make their judgments based on cultural relativism --
a philosophy centered on accepting different values shared by people in other parts of the world. And
there is a new trend among young people to join an aikido school operated by a truly gifted teacher with
a likable personality instead of choosing a large and traditionally credited school. In the long run, such a
trend may present a challenge to the gigantic aikido organizations that have always enjoyed such authority.
The second problem concerns some aikido schools' rigid policy of prohibiting competition. Now that
students in general are beginning to show an interest in competitive aikido, it will be increasingly
difficult for the traditional schools to justify this policy. It is true that competitive aikido has a ﾒnegativeﾓ
side in the contestants have a tendency to place priority on Winning. But it also offers the trainees a
wonderful opportunity to develop unflinching courage, a tense and serious attitude, and practical skills for
self-defense. Games and tournaments are an excellent form of socialization. Not only do competing
wrestlers sometimes from friendships among themselves, they also learn to demonstrate cortesy and
manners toward their opponents. Despite these benefits, the traditional ban on aikido competition presents
a large obstacle to the process of making aikido an Olympic event. However, an increasing number of
groups like TAIN are hard at work to organize international tournaments.