AIKIKAI/ WHAT'S NEW!

Aikido Doshu
Moriteru Ueshiba

I want to express my sincere greetings for the new year to you all.
The third year of Reiwa has begun. This year, for the first time since I began to walk the path of Aikido, I was unable to welcome the New Year during year-end practice at Hombu Dojo. Of course, it was also my first time to send my New Year’s greeting over the internet. So it becomes a good year, I would like to again say from the bottom of my heart, “Happy New Year.”
Last year the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spread around the world and caused unprecedented critical situations in the economies of various countries and in the lives of people around the world that continue through today. Under the coronavirus, there has been no choice for many people but to alter their work, living, and socialization styles.
Last year, the global Aikido community, including the Aikikai Foundation Aikido Hombu Dojo, had almost all seminars and memorial events delayed or canceled. I was particularly saddened at the effects on high school and university Aikido practitioners. In the limited three or four years of their schooling, the yearly Embukai being cancelled is truly a disappointment, especially for the students graduating in March 2021 who are unable to participate in this year’s All-Japan High School Aikido Embukai and the All-Japan University Aikido Embukai. The pain of cancellation of events like this is not limited to Aikido and is felt across all budo and sports.
However, there are things I have realized in this past year. In the midst of physical distancing, relationships with other persons and connections are truly important. In the two months Hombu Dojo was closed under the original State of Emergency, I was able to reaffirm the Aikido-centric life ingrained in my body, and the strength of my feelings towards my brethren in Aikido around the world.
We welcomed the new year without having returned to the lifestyle we know from before the pandemic, but there can be no progress if we are constantly looking down. I strongly feel that there is nothing to do but face forward and continue.
This year is the 90th anniversary of the construction of the Aikido Hombu Dojo, as well as the 80th anniversary of the Aikikai Foundation’s recognition by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It is also the 100th birthday of Kisshomaru Second Doshu, who solidified the status of Aikido after WWII.
Aikido is a modern martial art created by the Founder, Ueshiba Morihei, after his extensive study of Japanese traditional martial arts to which he added a deep spiritual dimension. As It is a martial art truly born from Japan, I am convinced that Aikido is one of Japan’s proudest cultures. In the 90 years since Hombu Dojo was built, due to the efforts of Kisshomaru Second Doshu, Aikido spread from Japan to 140 countries and regions around the world. In that time, Japan struggled through the difficult situation of having to proceed after losing the war to present day. After the war, it was of course impossible to practice and for about 2 years after the war Hombu dojo was used as an evacuation shelter.
Aikido survived the difficult post-war period under the guidance of Kisshomaru Second Doshu, who was able to expand its circle both domestically and internationally. It is precisely because of this history that we now, in the coronavirus pandemic, while feeling the weight of 90 years of history and with gratitude to our predecessors, will continue to push forward into the new year.
This year is the year of the ox. It is said that in the year of the ox, the most slow-moving and sluggish of all years, it is important to not rush ahead but to do things steadily, step by step, and it is good to think that working in silence will lead to future success. In this pandemic, this is the year to think carefully about different situations without rushing ahead, support each other, and to make steady progress. Like the ox, let us walk steadily, adding to the history of Aikido as we proceed.