Recommended reading: “Daito-Ryu Aiki Budo” by Takuma Hisa

The article below has been selected from the extensive archives of the Online Aikido Journal. We believe that an informed readership with knowledge of the history, techniques and philosophy of aikido is essential to the growth of the art and its adherence to the principles espoused by Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba.

This article was published in the November 1942 issue of Shin Budo magazine, a martial arts publication which appeared briefly in Japan during the war years. The writer, Takuma Hisa Sensei, well-known to readers of AIKI NEWS as a direct student of Morihei Ueshiba and Sokaku Takeda, gives us a rare glimpse into the Japanese martial arts world as it was during World War II. Hisa offers a lucid analysis of Judo as a martial art, and sketches portraits of his teachers Morihei Ueshiba and Sokaku Takeda. References to the Emperor as a divine being and the mystique of Japan as an ordained nation reflect the national psychological climate of 50 years ago and stand in sharp contrast to the mentality prevailing today.

The Aikido Journal archives now include more than 800 articles in twenty different languages and numerous video clips. We are constantly adding new articles and translations in our effort to document aikido and related disciplines past and present. If you would like to support us in this effort by taking out a subscription to the Online Aikido Journal we welcome you to do so by clicking this link. Remember that if you subscribe or renew for two years you will now receive the Aiki News / Aikido Journal Archival DVD absolutely free of charge. Don’t pass up this special offer!

Click here to read entire article.

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Posted by Aikido Journal on Dec 9th, 2009: Recommended Reading (post a comment)