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Kisshomaru Ueshiba (1921 - 1999): A Life Spreading Aikido

For all of us who practice aikido, the New Year 1999 started with the sad news that Doshu has passed away. Please excuse me for starting out by mentioning a private matter. At the end of last year I learned that Doshu was in the hospital, so I left New York together with my colleague, Sugano Shihan, to visit him. At that time I never thought that I would have to cross the Pacific Ocean once again in order to attend a mournful ceremony which followed immediately after. At the hospital, I touched Doshu's hand in his room and left for home on January 4th. When I arrived at the airport in New York I was met with the sad news. Three months earlier I had met Doshu and found him to be in quite good condition except for being slightly weak. During the fourteen-hour flight to Tokyo, my mind was filled with thoughts about Doshu and feelings about the transient nature of human life.

I think many different people will write on this event reminiscing and commenting on Doshu's achievements, what kind of person he was, etc. What impressed me most about him was that he was always a gentleman. He showed a lot of consideration for his students and others at all times. We could see that even in his last moments. His strong, caring spirit allowed him to hold out until January 4th so that we all could spend the first three days of the New Year with our families.
One again to touch upon a personal subject, I was accepted at the Aikikai as an uchideshi about forty years ago. My first day of uchideshi life was also my first day of aikido practice. We uchideshi knew nothing and were rather impertinent. However, Doshu never scolded us but showed deep kindness in allowing us to practice freely, even though I imagine at times he must have felt like shouting out.

His father, the founder of aikido, was a great man. Surrounded by the eyes of the direct students of the founder and under the pressure of being the new leader of the aikido world, Doshu dedicated himself to aikido techniques so that more and more people would be able to practice the art. He made continuous efforts to build a solid structure for aikido. Doshu's greatest achievement can be seen in the fact that today all of us can enjoy practicing aikido.

Doshu visited my dojo and seminars over and over again even under the great pressure of his work. I have fond memories of traveling with him all over the United States where I had an opportunity to see him not as Doshu, but as the private individual, Mr. Ueshiba. One night at a first-class hotel in Los Angeles, we who were accompanying him, all took rooms on the same floor. We were chatting together in one room. As soon as Doshu returned to his room, we heard him scream. We ran to his room and found a sexy princess of the night smoking on Doshu's bed. Since Doshu did not lock his door when he was away, she had entered his room without permission. To tell the truth, what he said at that moment was, "Yamada is the best man to take care of this!" Of course, I asked her to leave. I remember that Doshu sang his specialty, Shinsengumi, whenever he got drunk. The memories come to mind one after the other.

At the last funeral service on January 17th, more than three thousand people attended from all over the world. I could hear their voices from their hearts thanking Doshu for all he had done.
I wish he had performed shihonage on me one more time when he held my hand for the last time in his room at the hospital.

Just now white flakes of snow began to fall outside my office window.

Yoshimitsu Yamada, 8th dan Chief Instructor, New York Aikikai
(from Aikido ]ournal #116, Vol 26 No 1, 1999)