Aikido Journal

Joined: 18 Jul 2001 Posts: 256 Location: Stockholm, Sweden

I have found a statement that Hitohiro Saito teaches shuriken, of the Negishi Ryu. Has anyone heard about this?

Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 1:44 pm

Hi Hanna,

Yes, its pretty common knowledge among Iwama Aikido people. Its not surprising considering his father was a highly skilled proponent of the art, who also taught it at Iwama dojo.

If you're interested in the art, you can find more info on this page:

http://www.secrets-of-shuriken.com.au

cheers,

Joined: 18 Jul 2001 Posts: 256 Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Did osensei teach shuriken? I know it was part of Daito Ryu and suppose he had trained it, but I never knew he taught it.

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 4:37 pm

There is no evidence or documentation I know of that suggests O-Sensei taught or even knew shuriken. There appear to be no relics of the weapon left among his personal possessions, and he did not appear to mention them in his writings. There is a story (http://www.aikidofaq.com/stories/sensei.html) about several of O-Sensei's early deshi throwing shuriken at Hombu dojo, one of which happened to hit a young Kisshomaru, but there are a few problems I have with this story, so I tend to discount it as any real proof that O-Sensei did shuriken.

Saito Sensei studied under a local Negishi Ryu teacher in Iwama. Sokaku Takeda was reportedly proficient with shuriken, and I have heard from Abashiri Dojo members and elsewhere that it was Negishi Ryu that he knew as well.

Joined: 18 Jul 2001 Posts: 256 Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Jason wrote:

Saito Sensei studied under a local Negishi Ryu teacher in Iwama. Sokaku Takeda was reportedly proficient with shuriken, and I have heard from Abashiri Dojo members and elsewhere that it was Negishi Ryu that he knew as well.

Ah. Thank you for the info.

Joined: 03 Nov 2004 Posts: 4

Hi all,

Do any of the "old timers" know if there were/are plans within the greater Iwama Aikido community ( CAA, TAA, Others) to teach Negishi Ryu either as a subset of Iwama Aikido or as an additional art?

Thanks,

Bob M.

Joined: 07 Apr 2000 Posts: 72 Location: Sydney, Australia

During my time in Iwama, Saito M always said that he was not a shuriken instructor.
He was happy to show the basics and then it was up to you to practice!
He always kept shuriken and Aikido separated.
I take the same approach with my students.

Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Portugal

Morihbiro O'Sensei only taught shuriken to those who wanted to and who accepted the rules:
no throwing in front of children
no throwing in front of non-members
no teaching etc.

He was an exceptional shuriken thrower but, as a rule, only taught the manji no kata. The teaching first began with breathing, then Morihbiro O'Sensei would teach the kata and then how to throw.
Usually, for Aikido, we could never ask questions, but in what refers to shuriken, he always said: "If you have any questions, come to my house and ask me." Which I found very comical for all of us were afraid to go there. But he really meant it.
Morihbiro O'Sensei really loved shuriken throwing. Once I was practicing in the afternoon when everybody was asleep. Succedenly I looked and he was watching. I felt really ashamed for I did not hear him coming. This was his last year. He told me to keep on practicing and then went on to work on the vegetable garden behind the shuriken dojo. I stopped to help him but he insisted that I kept on throwing. Then he gave me several advices on posture, hand position etc, so that I could correct my throw. After about 10 minutes he could resist no longer and joined me. His first throws were irregular for he had strong pains in his knees. "Chotto matte" he said and massaged this knees. Then he started throwing......gosh! How precise and marvelous were his throws. I will always remember this for it was also the last time he threw shuriken.

Our teacher and his successor, Hitohiro Saito Shihan also loves shuriken very much. Because his father loved it, because he loves it, and because shuriken was an art all samurai practiced, Sensei decided to teach it as part of Iwama Ryu. In this way, this art is preserved and we can keep on studying the same way we did under Morihbiro O'Sensei. I am so glad that all of us who study with Sensei still have the chance to keep on improving on this art.

I never heard any stories of O'Sensei knowing shurkikenjutsu. I find it strange for his teacher Takeda Sensei was extremely good. However, the great master Morihiro would always carry his shuriken when accompaning O'Sensei. This was well known.

I also know that he taught many people in the hombu dojo and those Tokyo teachers who would come to Iwama for longer periods such as Chiba Sensei. So it is normal that many of the older teachers (older now) would have learned shuriken from Sensei. He also taught other martial arts teachers and famous people who would come to Iwama to learn this art from him.

Some of the old deshi of Morihbiro O'Sensei would be able to give us more information on this topic. Okusama, if she was well, would also give us greater insight into this, for she is the person alive today that knows more about O'Sensei and Iwama Aikido, besides her son Hitohiro Saito Jukucho.

Meanwhile, in the forest in front of the Tanrenkan in Iwama, the shuriken dojo is always there for us to practice this art. Everyday, after meditation and praying, we practice bukiwaza under Hitohiro Saito Shihan and after that we practice shurikenjutsu. So it is a real treat to keep on going to Iwama especially for those who, in the past, could not learn this art from Morihbiro O'Sensei.

Takahiro Tristan

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 7:01 pm

Hi Tristan,

Sorry, but I am a bit confused over the usage of some of the names in your post, eg "Morihbiro O'Sensei". Are you referring to Ueshiba Sensei, or Saito Sensei here? Clarification of this is vital to understanding some of your references.

My confusion arises because if it is Ueshiba Sensei you mean, then it means you trained under O-Sensei, who therefore taught shuriken. If it is Saito Sensei you mean, then why call him O'Sensei?

Sorry for the insolent questions, but I would like to know what you are saying more clearly.

Thanks!!!

Jason

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:08 pm

Far be it for me to reply on behalf of Tristao but I suggest that "Morihibiro" is a typing error--the 'H' and 'B' keys are adjacent--and that referring to the late Morihiro Sensei as "Morihiro O'Sensei" is most likely a mark of respect.

We--Aikidoka--tend to refer to Ueshiba Morihei Sensei as "O'Sensei" but the "O" is purely honorific and is used in other contexts within Japanese language thus it is not reserved for use specifically when referring to O'Sensei. Indeed, most times I have used "O'Sensei" when speaking with non-Aikido Japanese they think I'm being rather quaint. Smile

From memory, Morihiro Sensei (and especially his wife) often referred to Ueshiba Sensei as simply "Kaiso" or Founder.

Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Portugal

Hi
Thank you Simon.
For me Morihiro Saito Shihan was indeed a great master. I feel no shame to call him Morihiro O'Sensei. Rather I feel greatly honoured to have been his student. I feel obliged to pay the maximum respect to my teachers be they present or not.
When you read O'Sensei, please read Kaiso instead. Make it will be easier.

Takahiro Tristan

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 5:30 am

Thanks, Tristan, makes sense to me now. If you have any more shuriken stories of Saito Sensei I'd be interested to hear of them.

regards,
Jason

Joined: 03 Jan 2006 Posts: 69 Location: Japan

haruki_zaemon wrote:

We--Aikidoka--tend to refer to Ueshiba Morihei Sensei as "O'Sensei" but the "O" is purely honorific and is used in other contexts within Japanese language thus it is not reserved for use specifically when referring to O'Sensei.

Actually, it's not. The honorific/polite "o" is a short sound, usually written simply in hiragana ?, but occasionally written as ?. It is almost never used with "sensei".

There are two "o" commonly used for 'O-sensei". Both are longer "o" sounds. One is ?, and means big, great. The other is ?, and means "aged, venerated, respected".

(Note, "short" and "long" here refer purely to length of sound, not quality of sound.)

Quote:

From memory, Morihiro Sensei (and especially his wife) often referred to Ueshiba Sensei as simply "Kaiso" or Founder.

This is by far the most common way I've seen Japanese people refer to Ueshiba Morihei.

For more info, please check out this E-Budo.com thread.