Morihei Ueshiba
(* December 14, 1883, in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture; † April 26, 1969, in Iwama)
O-Sensei
Morihei Ueshiba is the founder of the modern Japanese martial art aikido.
Aikidokas often refer to him as O-Sensei, which means “Grand Master” or “venerable teacher.” In Japanese, the prefix “O-” is a mark of respect and reverence.
His Childhood and Youth
Ueshiba was the fourth child and eldest son of a wealthy family. His father, Yoroku Ueshiba, was a respected farmer, and his mother, Yuki Itokawa, came from a noble, landowning family.
At around the age of seven, Morihei Ueshiba began studying Confucian classics and Buddhist scriptures at his father’s behest. His father taught him sumo and swimming.
Ueshiba graduated from upper elementary school in Tanabe and then, at the age of seventeen, enrolled in middle school; however, he did not attend for long and instead decided to resume his studies at Yoshida’s commercial school.
His Work as a Merchant and the Start of His Martial Arts Training
In 1902, he left the local tax office—where he had begun working while still in school—and moved to Tokyo, where he ran a stationery and school supplies store in the Nihombashi commercial district.
At the same time, he began training in traditional jujutsu and kenjutsu; however, due to a bout of beriberi, he was forced to stop and return to Tanabe. There, he soon married Hatsu Itokawa (b. 1881 – d. 1969).
In 1903, Morihei Ueshiba enlisted as a volunteer in the army in Osaka and, a few years later, took part in the Russo-Japanese War.
After being promoted to sergeant for his bravery and courage on the battlefield, Ueshiba was sent on home leave. He used this time to study the Goto style of Yagyu-ryu jujutsu at the Nakai Masakatsu Dojo.
In 1907, the army discharged him. He returned to Tanabe, where he worked on the Ueshiba family farm. At the same time, Yoroku Ueshiba hired the judoka Kiyo’ichi Takagi to teach Morihei in the barn, which had been converted into a dojo.
In 1912, Morihei Ueshiba participated in a government program and moved with other fellow participants to the northern part of the island of Hokkaido. In addition to his work as a farmer, Ueshiba devoted himself in the years that followed to improving social conditions, such as better housing and the establishment of an elementary school in the settlement. During this time, he met the Daito-Ryu master Sokaku Takeda, under whom he earned his Daito-Ryu Jujutsu diploma after intensive training..
The Ueshiba Academy
Morihei Ueshiba was friends with Onisaburo Deguchi, the co-founder of the Omoto-Kyo movement.
Especially after his father’s death on January 2, 1920, he sought guidance from Deguchi in his search for a spiritual life. Ueshiba moved to Ayabe to live with Deguchi, where Deguchi helped him build a dojo that would serve as the foundation for the Ueshiba Academy.
At first, Ueshiba taught only the followers of the Omoto-Kyo movement. After some time, word spread that an extraordinary budo master was teaching in Ayabe. As a result, more and more people who were not members of the movement enrolled in the academy.
Around 1921, following the first Omoto incident—in which Deguchi and other followers of the movement were arrested—Ueshiba began to give his training a more spiritual focus. He gradually moved away from the classical styles of Yagyu-Ryu and Daito-Ryu and developed his own style based on proven principles.
Officially, he called this style Aiki-Bujutsu. Among the general public, however, it was known as Ueshiba-Ryu Aiki-Bujutsu.
The Refinement of His Martial Art
From that point on, Morihei Ueshiba refined his martial art. Spiritual development took on an increasingly prominent role and also influenced the techniques; profound personal experiences played a significant part in this development.
He changed the name from Aiki-Bujutsu to Aiki-Budo, as the “Do” refers to the philosophical principles inherent in martial arts. In the late 1920s, Ueshiba taught martial arts classes in Tokyo, where he ran the Kobukan Dojo in the 1930s.
When Japan entered World War II, Ueshiba retired to Iwama, where he returned to farming and opened another dojo.
The name “Aikido” was first mentioned around 1941.
Harmony and Love as means
After his final wartime deployment in Manchuria, Morihei Ueshiba became a very peaceful person. This attitude also influenced the philosophy of Aikido and would become one of its central tenets.
In 1961, Morihei Ueshiba visited Hawaii at the invitation of its people and said that he had come to Hawaii to build a “silver bridge.”
Ueshiba sah die im Aikido enthaltene Harmonie und Liebe als ein Mittel, die Menschen der Welt zu vereinen.