Two months later, his wife Hatsu (植芝 はつ Ueshiba Hatsu, née Itokawa Hatsu; 1881–1969) also died. ==Development of aikido== Aikido—usually translated as the Way of Unifying Spirit or the Way of Spiritual Harmony—is a fighting system that focuses on throws, pins and joint locks together with some striking techniques.
It is now practiced around the world. ==Tanabe, 1883–1912== Morihei Ueshiba was born in Nishinotani village (now part of the city of Tanabe), Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, on December 14, 1883, the fourth child (and only son) born to Yoroku Ueshiba and his wife Yuki. The young Ueshiba was raised in a somewhat privileged setting.
On graduating from the academy, he worked at a local tax office for a few months, but the job did not suit him and in 1901 he left for Tokyo, funded by his father.
In 1901 he received some instruction from Tozawa Tokusaburōin in Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū jujutsu and he studied judo with Kiyoichi Takagi in Tanabe in 1911, after his father had a dojo built on the family compound to encourage his son's training.
Shortly thereafter he married his childhood acquaintance Hatsu Itokawa. In 1903, Ueshiba was called up for military service.
His training in Gotō-ha Yagyū-ryu under Masakatsu Nakai started in 1903 and continued until 1908, though was sporadic due to his military service, yet he was granted a Menkyo Kaiden (certificate of "Total Transmission") in 1908.
After being discharged in 1907, he moved to Hokkaidō as the head of a pioneer settlement; here he met and studied with Takeda Sōkaku, the founder of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu.
He was discharged in 1907, and again returned to his father's farm in Tanabe.
In 1907, after his return from the war, he was also presented with a certificate of enlightenment (shingon inkyo) by his childhood teacher Mitsujo Fujimoto. ==Hokkaidō, 1912–1920== In the early part of the 20th century, the prefectural government of Hokkaidō, Japan's northernmost island, were offering various grants and incentives for mainland Japanese groups willing to relocate there.
His training in Gotō-ha Yagyū-ryu under Masakatsu Nakai started in 1903 and continued until 1908, though was sporadic due to his military service, yet he was granted a Menkyo Kaiden (certificate of "Total Transmission") in 1908.
In 1910, Ueshiba travelled to Hokkaidō in the company of his acquaintance Denzaburo Kurahashi, who had lived on the northern island before.
He and his wife had their first child, a daughter named Matsuko, in 1911. Ueshiba studied several martial arts during his early life, and was renowned for his physical strength during his youth.
In 1901 he received some instruction from Tozawa Tokusaburōin in Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū jujutsu and he studied judo with Kiyoichi Takagi in Tanabe in 1911, after his father had a dojo built on the family compound to encourage his son's training.
In 1907, after his return from the war, he was also presented with a certificate of enlightenment (shingon inkyo) by his childhood teacher Mitsujo Fujimoto. ==Hokkaidō, 1912–1920== In the early part of the 20th century, the prefectural government of Hokkaidō, Japan's northernmost island, were offering various grants and incentives for mainland Japanese groups willing to relocate there.
He became the leader of the Kishū Settlement Group, a collective of eighty-five pioneers who intended to settle in the Shirataki district and live as farmers; the group founded the village of Yubetsu (later Shirataki village) in August, 1912.
In the summer of 1918, Hatsu gave birth to their first son, Takemori. The young Ueshiba met Takeda Sōkaku, the founder of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, at the Hisada Inn in Engaru, in March 1915.
A fire in 1917 razed the entire village, leading to the departure of around twenty families.
The burgeoning timber industry provided a boost to the settlement's economy, and by 1918 there were over 500 families residing there.
In the summer of 1918, Hatsu gave birth to their first son, Takemori. The young Ueshiba met Takeda Sōkaku, the founder of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, at the Hisada Inn in Engaru, in March 1915.
On leaving Hokkaido in 1919, Ueshiba joined the Ōmoto-kyō movement, a Shinto sect, in Ayabe, where he served as a martial arts instructor and opened his first dojo.
However, Takeda overshadowed him throughout his early martial arts career, and Ueshiba's own students recorded the need to address what they referred to as "the Takeda problem". ==Ayabe, 1920–1927== In November 1919, Ueshiba learned that his father Yoroku was ill, and was not expected to survive.
However, Takeda overshadowed him throughout his early martial arts career, and Ueshiba's own students recorded the need to address what they referred to as "the Takeda problem". ==Ayabe, 1920–1927== In November 1919, Ueshiba learned that his father Yoroku was ill, and was not expected to survive.
In 1920 he moved his entire family, including his mother, to the Ōmoto compound; at the same time he also purchased enough rice to feed himself and his family for several years.
His second son, Kuniharu, was born in 1920 in Ayabe, but died from illness the same year, along with three-year-old Takemori. Takeda visited Ueshiba in Ayabe to provide instruction, although he was not a follower of Ōmoto and did not get along with Deguchi, which led to a cooling of the relationship between him and Ueshiba.
In the earlier years of his teaching, from the 1920s to the mid-1930s, Ueshiba taught the Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu system; his early students' documents bear the term Daitō-ryū.
His association with the extreme right-wing is understandable when one considers that Ōmoto-kyō's view of world peace was of a benevolent dictatorship by the Emperor of Japan, with other nations being subjugated under Japanese rule. In 1921, in an event known as the , the Japanese authorities raided the compound, destroying the main buildings on the site and arresting Deguchi on charges of lèse-majesté.
His son Kisshomaru was born in the summer of 1921. Three years later, in 1924, Deguchi led a small group of Ōmoto-kyō disciples, including Ueshiba, on a journey to Mongolia at the invitation of retired naval captain Yutaro Yano and his associates within the ultra-nationalist Black Dragon Society.
He received a kyōju dairi certificate, a teaching license, for the system from Takeda in 1922, when Takeda visited him in Ayabe.
He accompanied the head of the Ōmoto-kyō group, Onisaburo Deguchi, on an expedition to Mongolia in 1924, where they were captured by Chinese troops and returned to Japan.
His son Kisshomaru was born in the summer of 1921. Three years later, in 1924, Deguchi led a small group of Ōmoto-kyō disciples, including Ueshiba, on a journey to Mongolia at the invitation of retired naval captain Yutaro Yano and his associates within the ultra-nationalist Black Dragon Society.
In the autumn of 1925 he was asked to give a demonstration of his art in Tokyo, at the behest of Admiral Isamu Takeshita; one of the spectators was Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, who requested that Ueshiba stay in the capital to instruct the Imperial Guard in his martial art.
The first occurred in 1925, after Ueshiba had defeated a naval officer's bokken (wooden katana) attacks unarmed and without hurting the officer.
The following year, he had a profound spiritual experience, stating that, "a golden spirit sprang up from the ground, veiled my body, and changed my body into a golden one." After this experience, his martial arts skill appeared to be greatly increased. Ueshiba moved to Tokyo in 1926, where he set up what would become the Aikikai Hombu Dojo.
After a couple of weeks, however, Ueshiba took issue with several government officials who voiced concerns about his connections to Deguchi; he cancelled the training and returned to Ayabe. ==Tokyo, 1927–1942== In 1926 Takeshita invited Ueshiba to visit Tokyo again.
After a couple of weeks, however, Ueshiba took issue with several government officials who voiced concerns about his connections to Deguchi; he cancelled the training and returned to Ayabe. ==Tokyo, 1927–1942== In 1926 Takeshita invited Ueshiba to visit Tokyo again.
Arriving in October 1927, the Ueshiba family set up home in the Shirokane district.
Ueshiba later designated his son Kisshomaru as the heir to his martial art. The 1930s saw Japan's invasion of mainland Asia and increased military activity in Europe.
As a result, although he was taken in for interrogation, he was released without charge on Morita's authority. In 1932, Ueshiba's daughter Matsuko was married to the swordsman Kiyoshi Nakakura, who was adopted as Ueshiba's heir under the name Morihiro Ueshiba.
Takeda himself met Ueshiba for the last time around 1935, while Ueshiba was teaching at the Osaka headquarters of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
Whilst in Manchuria, he met and defeated the sumo wrestler Tenryū Saburō during a demonstration. The "Second Ōmoto Incident" in 1935 saw another government crackdown on Deguchi's sect, in which the Ayabe compound was destroyed and most of the group's leaders imprisoned.
The intended goal was a meeting with Chiang Kai-shek to establish peace talks, but Ueshiba was unable to meet with the Chinese leader, arriving too late to fulfil his mission. ==Iwama, 1942–1969== From 1935 onwards, Ueshiba had been purchasing land in Iwama in Ibaraki Prefecture, and by the early 1940s had acquired around of farmland there.
The marriage ended after a few years, and Nakakura left the family in 1937.
Between 1940 and 1942 he made several visits to Manchukuo (Japanese occupied Manchuria) where he was the principal martial arts instructor at Kenkoku University.
The intended goal was a meeting with Chiang Kai-shek to establish peace talks, but Ueshiba was unable to meet with the Chinese leader, arriving too late to fulfil his mission. ==Iwama, 1942–1969== From 1935 onwards, Ueshiba had been purchasing land in Iwama in Ibaraki Prefecture, and by the early 1940s had acquired around of farmland there.
Ueshiba then walked to his garden, where he had the following realisation: His second experience occurred in 1940 when engaged in the ritual purification process of misogi. His third experience was in 1942 during the worst fighting of World War II, when Ueshiba had a vision of the "Great Spirit of Peace". After these events, Ueshiba seemed to slowly grow away from Takeda, and he began to change his art.
In 1941 Ueshiba also undertook a secret diplomatic mission to China at the behest of Prince Fumimaro Konoe.
Between 1940 and 1942 he made several visits to Manchukuo (Japanese occupied Manchuria) where he was the principal martial arts instructor at Kenkoku University.
The intended goal was a meeting with Chiang Kai-shek to establish peace talks, but Ueshiba was unable to meet with the Chinese leader, arriving too late to fulfil his mission. ==Iwama, 1942–1969== From 1935 onwards, Ueshiba had been purchasing land in Iwama in Ibaraki Prefecture, and by the early 1940s had acquired around of farmland there.
In 1942, disenchanted with the war-mongering and political manoeuvring in the capital, he left Tokyo and moved to Iwama permanently, settling in a small farmer's cottage.
Ueshiba then walked to his garden, where he had the following realisation: His second experience occurred in 1940 when engaged in the ritual purification process of misogi. His third experience was in 1942 during the worst fighting of World War II, when Ueshiba had a vision of the "Great Spirit of Peace". After these events, Ueshiba seemed to slowly grow away from Takeda, and he began to change his art.
In 1942, when Ueshiba's group joined the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, the martial art that Ueshiba developed finally came to be known as aikido. As Ueshiba grew older, more skilled, and more spiritual in his outlook, his art also changed and became softer and more gentle.
Not only did his farming activities provide a useful cover for martial arts training under the government's restrictions, it also provided food for Ueshiba, his students and other local families at a time when food shortages were commonplace. The government prohibition (on aikido, at least) was lifted in 1948 with the creation of the Aiki Foundation, established by the Japanese Ministry of Education with permission from the Occupation forces.
From the end of the war until the 1960s, he worked to promote aikido throughout Japan and abroad.
He also appeared in a television documentary on aikido: NTV's The Master of Aikido, broadcast in January 1960.
He still travelled extensively to promote aikido, even visiting Hawaii in 1961.
He died from liver cancer in 1969. After Ueshiba's death, aikido continued to be promulgated by his students (many of whom became noted martial artists in their own right).
Ueshiba maintained links with the Japanese nationalist movement even in later life; his student Kanshu Sunadomari reported that Ueshiba temporarily sheltered Mikami Taku, one of the naval officers involved in the May 15 Incident, at Iwama. In 1969, Ueshiba became ill.
He died suddenly on April 26, 1969.
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