Original subtitles

Moryhe Weshiba, founder of Aikido.

Unlike classical Japanese martial arts, which stressed victory at all costs on the

battlefield, Weshiba Osen say conceived of Aikido as a means for achieving the

peaceful resolution of conflict and promoting

harmonious interaction among members of society.

Today, the martial art he originated is practiced by more than 300 people.

A hundred thousand enthusiasts all over the world.

The founder passed away in 1969, and for many of today's practitioners,

he has assumed an almost mythical dimension.

Yet to convert this most extraordinary individual into a mere icon would render a

disservice to the ideal he strove so hard to achieve.

What is the origin of Aikido techniques?

What influences shaped the founder's thinking?

It is the early formative years of Moryhe Weshiba, which hold the key to an

understanding of the uniqueness of modern Aikido.

Let us explore the events of the life of the young Moryhe Weshiba in order to lift

the shroud of mystery surrounding the creation of Aikido.

Moryhe was born in the port town of Tanabe in Watayama Prefecture on December 14,

1883, as the only son of prominent community member, Yoroku Oeshiba.

Yoroku was a man of considerable use and served as a town councilman for many years.

Moryhe started out as a sickly child, but with his father's encouragement,

he engaged in strenuous exercise.

Gradually achieving Groba's health.

After passing his childhood in his native Tanabe, Moryhe spent a period of several

months in Tokyo at the age of 17, where he packed his ten-shin-shin-yo-yo jujitsu.

He soon fell ill with Barry Barrett and was forced

to return to his native Tanabe to regain his health.

In late 1903, Moryhe joined the Japanese Imperial Army

shortly before the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War.

It was during his military service that he engaged in the study of Yau-yo-yo jujitsu.

Back home in Tanabe after distinguishing himself in military service, Moryhe spent

several restless years, during which time he engaged

in a brief period of training in judo about 1910.

During this period, the Japanese government was providing incentives for

those hardy individuals who would accept the challenge

of settling the northernmost island of Hokkaido.

In 1912, seeking a new life of adventure, Moryhe led a party of young men from his

native Tanabe to a remote area of Hokkaido called Shirataki.

There, Weishiba and the group set about the arduous

task of healing a new life out of the wilderness.

Moryhe was a leading citizen in this sparsely

populated area and served for a time as a councilman.

Life in Hokkaido was very demanding due to the severe

weather conditions and backward nature of the area.

Farming and logging were the main pursuits of the colonizers of this region.

In 1915, Moryhe had his fateful first encounter

with Sokaku Takeda of Daitoriu Jiu Jitsu.

This meeting changed the course of the founder's life, and the techniques of

Daitoriu left an indelible stamp on the Aikido which would later emerge.

Moryhe later invited his teacher Takeda to his home in Shirataki

to accelerate his learning of the techniques of Daitoriu.

After a short time, Moryhe was awarded scrolls

attesting to his proficiency in Daitoriu Jiu Jitsu.

Moryhe left Hokkaido suddenly after receiving a telegram in late 1919

informing him that his father was gravely ill.

He left his home in most of his possessions with Sokaku Takeda and set up for Tanabe.

As Moryhe was en route to his hometown, another event of great importance in the

future development of Aikido was to take place.

He detoured to the town of Ayabe near Kyoto to visit the center of the Omoto

religion and pray for his father's recovery.

It was there he met a most extraordinary individual,

the colorful and enigmatic Onisavuro de Gucci.

The Gucci, the prime mover behind the explosive growth of the Omoto religion,

was soon to become Moryhe's spiritual mentor.

And Onisavuro's philosophical views would

later serve as the ideological basis of Aikido.

Arriving too late to comfort his dying father and overcome with grief,

Moryhe moved his family to Ayabe in the spring

of 1920 to seek solace in the Omoto religion.

He became an active member of the religious community

and the trusted follower of Onisavuro de Gucci.

Moryhe's martial arts skills became well-known among Omoto believers.

And with de Gucci's blessing, he set aside part of his Ayabe home as a training

facility, where he taught Daito Ryu Aikiju Jitsu to fellow devotees.

He also received Sokaku Takeda for six months in 1922, at which time he was

awarded the Kyoju Daito Teacher's Certification.

Wishiba became part of the inner group of

Reverend De Gucci and served as his bodyguard.

Among Onisavuro's grandiose visions was the establishment of Utopian colony in

Mongolia, which would unite the world's religions.

Onisavuro and a party of close associates, including

Moryhe, left secretly for the continent in February 1924.

De Gucci's group became embroiled in local politics

and obtained the backing of a prominent rebel leader.

Their plans were however thwarted, and De Gucci, Wishiba and the other

members of their party were captured by government authorities.

The Japanese Utopians were imprisoned and sentenced to death.

Only through the intervention at the last moment

of the local Japanese council were they saved.

This course brushed with death, tested Moryhe's courage to the limit,

and caused him to enter into a period of deep self-examination.

Following the harrowing experience in Mongolia, Wishiba resumed martial arts

instruction in Payabe and other locations in the Kansai area.

His fame as a martial artist gradually spread, and the founder was eventually

invited to Tokyo to give demonstrations and seminars

on behalf of Japan's military and political elite.

Among his most ardent supporters was Admiral Isamu Takeshta, a retired officer

with a distinguished career in the foreign service.

Also a martial arts enthusiast, Takeshta was

instrumental in having Wishiba relocate to Tokyo in 1927.

In 1930, Wishiba had a visit from a famous Jiguro Kono, founder of Judo, who was

highly impressed with his unusual and graceful techniques.

Kono dispatched several of his leading students to study under Wishiba.

After teaching in various locations in Tokyo with the support of a number of

wealthy and influential patrons, Wishiba finally settled permanently at a

new location called the Kobukon Doja, which

opened in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in April 1931.

His martial art was gradually evolving away from the more jiu-jitsu-like

dai-kori-yu techniques he had learned from

Takeshta, towards what came to be called Iki-Buto.

Interestingly enough, it is in this period of Morihei Wishiba's life that his

techniques are the most clearly documented.

This is largely due to the survival of a series of more than 1,000 technical

photos, which preserve for posterity his dynamic Iki-Buto.

Although Wishiba had already begun to transform the techniques of dai-to-yu

according to his own vision, these photos provide conclusive evidence of the

continuing influence of Sokaku-Tapeira's teachings on early Iki-Do.

The complex joint blocks and pinning techniques shown in these photos are

unmistakably from the dai-to-yu technical repertoire.

And now we present the classic 1935 film, Buto.

Buto.

Buto.

Buto.

Buto.

Buto.

Buto.

Buto.

Buto.

Buto.