The Hiden Diaries: A Day in the Life of Morihei Ueshiba
by Anonymous
The Hiden Diaries: A Day in the Life of Morihei Ueshiba
by Anonymous
04-01-2010
The Hiden Diaries: A Day in the Life of Morihei Ueshiba
April 1
4.30
Got up and went up to the roof to greet the Sun Goddess. Of course, our conversation took place by means of the jo. I fail to understand why Kisshomaru does not make more use of this wonderful instrument. After all, I used it often enough. Had a lengthy discussion with Amaterasu about her grandson Masakatsu Agatsu. I told her that he was my favourite deity, along with her brother Susano O, but this did NOT go down very well AT ALL. She told me that she is still having severe problems with Susano O and these problems were affecting the entire universe. They are also interfering with my own work as the main Avatar between the Three Realms. Here am I, standing on the Floating Bridge of Heaven and constantly training to ensure that Aiki is Aiki (I am glad the Japanese language is so rich in resources; it is completely different from dull, boring English), but the continuing problems with Amaterasu and her brother are making things
very, very difficult. So I reassured her with the remark that the whole problem lay in the English translation. English simply does not have the resources to capture the full range of meaning encapsulated (spelling correct?) in the phrase Aiki is Aiki. I gather that all my discourses are being translated into English by some Buddhist professor who lives in the north of Japan. (I know about him because he sometimes wears flowery hakama and does kotodama chants in English churches: at least this is a welcome change from the deadly boring chants I hear in Japan.) I explained that the professor had translated the name Masakatsu Agatsu as Victory OVER Oneself, not Victory BY Oneself, which is MUCH more
meaningful than anything about winning and losing, especially to our dear American students. By the way, I gather that a film has come out with the name Avatar. When I first heard about it, I was very happy and hoped that it would take account of my work on the Floating Bridge of Heaven, uniting the Three Worlds, but the movie was a TOTAL disappointment. The love interest was COMPLETELY
wrong and involved silly relationships with strange people in blue, with long noses and wearing tails. If people start wearing tails for aikido training, we are going to have to redesign the whole range of keikogi, especially the pants and hakama.
So I told my grandson Moriteru to deal with this, but however, he seemed TOTALLY unconcerned. "Ojii-chan," he said, "if people come to the Hombu Dojo wearing tails, be assured that we will deal with the situation very effectively. We are now a very efficient, smoothly-running organization." I was unconvinced, for I read somewhere that the folds in the hakama represented seven virtues; but we are now going to have to add an eighth virtue, for the correctly folded tail. What IS the world coming to? Anyway, I have not seen anyone wearing tails during training so far, but I must consult with Deguchi Sensei. He might have encountered some Blue Avatars during his later trips through the Spirit World. Deguchi Sensei is a constant source of inspiration, much like Goi Sensei, though the spiritual methods of the two are completely different. Deguchi Sensei is very refreshing, constantly regaling me with reports of visits to the spirit world and his activities with the spirits, though his use of the Male Member makes one blush. Goi Sensei, on the other hand, is rather more pedestrian, though he agrees with me much more often. However, all he seems to do is put up prayer signs everywhere wishing for peace on earth. Of course, this is all very worthy, but I don't like to tell him that my own work on the Floating Bridge of Heaven, working to unite the Three Realms, fully in tune with with Aiki as Aiki, is MUCH more effective than prayer signs. But only time will tell.
6.30
Went downstairs and prepared for practice. Decided to explain in more detail about the kotodama
sound SU and how it created the universe. BUT EVERYTHING fell on TOTALLY stony ground (Now where have I heard this phrase before? Note to self: this is a very good phrase, totally appropriate for
the current crop of uchi-deshi: I must start using it very often). Everybody just sat there looking stupid.
They were probably hoping I'd stop talking and do some techniques. I am sure you can see the
picture: people look at you intently and nod vigorously, hoping you will think they understand, as they
shift their knees slightly from sitting in seiza for a long time. But when I finally summoned the Big
American to take ukemi (I think his name is Dogson, Dodgson, Dobson, Fogson, Edison, or something
like that: I prefer to call him Teru), he was far too powerful and got the timing, everything, completely
wrong. Heavens, he couldn't even do the boat rowing exercise correctly and he should know by now
that this is absolutely crucial for summoning the right kami for the training. When will
these uchideshi ever learn?
Was still feeling grumpy after keiko, only to discover that the uchideshi on duty had not filled the
morning bath water correctly. He had checked the temperature by putting his hand in the water,
causing total contamination. They should know by now that bath water—any kind of water, has to be
pristinely pure. Otherwise it is entirely useless for misogi. I keep on talking about this duringkeiko, but
the uchideshi simply do not seem to get it. Only the other day, one of the deshi appeared in his
underwear, for Heaven's sake. I think it was Saotome. So I sent him off the mat very promptly and
made him sit in seiza and watch.
9.00
Felt much better after breakfast, which was duly prepared by She Who Must Be Obeyed, though she
tore a strip off me for having to stitch my hakama, because some silly uke had torn it. She blamed me
for not controlling my uke correctly, rather than the uke for not falling properly. (Obviously she knows
rather more about aikido than I had realized.) During breakfast my wayward son was muttering
something about doing some kind of public demonstration. It is so unfortunate that he failed the
medical exams for the military. A spell in the Japanese Army, or even the new Occupation Forces (I
think they are called Marines and from the look of some of the soldiers they appear to accept
foreigners) would have given him some much-needed backbone.
10.00-12.00
Had another long conversation with Amaterasu and decided to go to Iwama, to talk in more detail with
Susano O. Announced this to She Who Must Be Obeyed and there was a major panic. I have no idea
why. She muttered something about train times, but I assured her that I ALWAYS arrive at the station
at least one hour before the train departs, so there was no need to worry. Was assigned
the deshi who killed the dog (I think his name is Chiba), but was told that my son Kisshomaru would
also accompany me. I gather he wanted to discuss something very important.
16.00
I MISSED THE TRAIN TO IWAMA. This has NEVER happened before. I arrived at the station one
hour before the train was due to depart, but discovered that I was five minutes late: the train had
already departed. And Kisshomaru and the deshi were nowhere to be found. I was so annoyed.
However, Deguchi told me to be patient. He had consulted with some of his own deity friends and
assured me that it was my destiny to arrive in Iwama today.
18.00
Finally arrived in Iwama and took a welcome bath. The water was fine. Kisshomaru, who had taken
the right train, was there to meet me with Saito Father and Son. Went to the shrine and discussed
current issues with Susano O involving the Three Worlds. Explained about Amaterasu's problem, but I
was quite astonished when he suggested I see the new Avatar film again—and he seemed quite
unfazed about the strange noses and the tails. Told me that aikido had to be fully in tune with ecology,
whatever this is.
20.00
Had a painful discussion with Kisshomaru after keiko. Apparently he has decided that aikido has to be popular, now the war has ended, and so wants to hold a public demonstration. When I retorted that
one only does demonstrations in the presence of His Majesty, or on anniversaries of His Majesty, he
held his ground and told me that he had the idea in August, 1945, when His Majesty announced
Japan's surrender. Kisshomaru clearly has more backbone then I previously thought; obviously, he
has been talking to his mother. I was rather shocked when he told me that the venue would be the
ROOF of a department store, but he backed this up with an argument that many people would attend
if it was held there and, anyway, aikido had to become relevant to the lives of common people, not
aristocrats. Of course, he said he understood the sterling work I had been doing keeping the Three
Worlds together, but stressed that his own work was firmly down here. He was quite firm about this
and his second argument was that the Tokyo dojo had to be torn down and replaced with something
much bigger and more fitting for aikido as a worldwide budo. Can't argue with that, though I shall miss
the old wooden dojo. I told him to leave Iwama as it is, though. In any case Saito is still here and he is
quite capable of standing up to Kisshomaru.
Anyway, it was morning when I woke up. Must have nodded off as Chiba was reading Reikai
Monogatari last night. Got up and went outside to greet the Sun Goddess and hear the latest about
Susano O…The Hiden Diaries 2: Another Day in the Life of Morihei Ueshiba
by Anonymous
05-19-2010
The Hiden Diaries 2: Another Day in the Life of Morihei Ueshiba
The Hiden Diaries 2:
Another Day in the Life of Morihei Ueshiba
Third Auspicious Day of the Sixth Moon
4.30
Got up and went up to the roof to greet the Sun Goddess. She was still feeling sore about Susano O,
her wayward brother, and at one point threatened to go back behind the Stone Door. Since we are still
celebrating her original August Exit (recorded in her memoirs, which our non-Japanese students know
as the Records of Ancient Matters) and are applying the lessons from this August Exit to our own
training, as we constantly strive to keep the Three Worlds in harmony, I was—luckily—able to
persuade her against taking this drastic step. I reminded her of what had happened the first time: all
the myriad calamities that beset the Central Land of Reed Plains like swarms of flies in the fifth moon.
I saw it was obvious that Amaterasu needed to get tougher, so I told her about the men who walk into
the jaws of tigers. When she asked why they would do such a dumb thing, I realized that she had no
clue about IHTBF, so I put her straight about this. Heck, even the kami sometimes need to go back to
basics and put their supposed abilities to the test! I think the Chinese call this tiger-jaw-walker training
‘internal', but I never heard Master Takeda use this term: he always used to talk about aiki. And the
thing is, he never taught it to anybody. Anyway, this training is what sorts out the men from the boys,
who find that all they can do is mew like housecats. I think people can guess which training leads to
better results. I was concerned that she was losing the ability to discern: what is more useful and more
martial in keeping the kami in their place, and there was a chance she could spend a few millennia
chasing a dead end. So I suggested she do some serious tiger-jaw-walker training, learn to uproot a
few heavenly trees and what-not, so that she could stand up to Susano-O with more backbone, sorry,
more aiki. And, especially, learn the POWER of INTENT.
As well as toughening up, it was obvious that Amaterasu needed cheering up, so I informed her that
the first installment of the diary that I decided to share with the world had gone down quite well,
especially among our beloved American students. But there was some speculation down in the human
world about the person I used as my messenger. I think people have to realize that the kamimove in
DEEPLY mysterious ways. I assured her that the person I used had no clue whatever about the
deeper aspects of this unique mission: to assist the Aiki Avatar in the work of harmonizing the Three
Worlds. I have learned by experience that humans actually spend a long time debating about the
meaning of harmony—but to little avail. As well as doing tiger-jaw-walker training, they should really
learn our wonderful native language and explore the full range of possibilities offered by the
phrase Aiki is Aiki.
Only the other day, I chanced upon a discussion about the definition of aiki. People were disputing as
usual. When will they ever learn? Of course, we Japanese have had our share of disputes. I still
remember the dispute between Kisshomaru and Koichi T. Now that was a dispute worthy of the name.
Talk about two queens in the same beehive...
As for aiki, what is the English phrase I have heard somewhere recently? Hidden in Plain Sight. Very
well put. That reminds me of another phrase, used by some English writer named Shaw, I think, who
was almost contemporary with me. What was it he said? Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.
Absolutely. This phrase is very applicable to the martial arts and especially to my new budo. I think that Aiki Avatar is a very good phrase and the initials AA are simply brilliant. For those who
don't know much English, both begin with the first letter of the English alphabet, which is the primal
sound AAHHH and has a very long history. Doesn't quite measure up to SUUU, though. It doesn't
have any kokyu, which is what was lacking in the martial arts before Deguchi Sensei came along and
taught us all to do chinkon kishin. Ah, I do miss Deguchi Sensei and his chinkon trances. The thing is,
you never knew whether he was in a trance or not: it was all the same to him.
But I've heard that AA also has other meanings, mainly to do with automobiles and drinking too much
alcohol… Not that this is a problem with many of our deshi. Only the other day I encountered a
young deshi with a bandaged hand—I think he was one of Kisshomaru's deshi. I expected to be told
that he had been testing the effectiveness of aikido techniques outside the dojo, as any deshiworth the
name ought to do, but he looked down at his feet and said he had a fight with a door, on his way out of
a bar. Resolved to tell Kisshomaru to warn his deshi to be more discreet about what they were up to
outside the dojo. I am all for showing the effectiveness of my techniques—and, Heavens, I had a long
enough dispute with Master Takeda about reducing the number and cutting out those that were
ineffective in maintaining the proper balance with the Three Worlds, but the deshi should pay much
more attention to the essential distinction between omote and ura and not fight battles they can't win.
(That's a good phrase. Who first said that, I wonder? I think it was some Chinese general… Trust the
Chinese to have thought of it first. However, we Japanese are noted for borrowing foreign ideas and
greatly improving on them. I will use it in my discourses.)
In view of the recent movie about the blue people with long noses and tails, perhaps Aiki Avatar is a
phrase best not used too often—perhaps only to the members of Deguchi Sensei's and Goi Sensei's
groups. I am sure that both Deguchi Sensei and Goi Sensei will understand everything about avatars.
Actually, Deguchi Sensei sometimes shocked people by using his Male Member exactly like a tail:
perhaps he had already seen the movie in another life and had noted the contents. That would be
typical of the unpredictable Deguchi Sensei: he always did everything ‘back to front', so to speak.
6.30
Took breakfast with She Who Must Be Obeyed. Enough said. In fact she didn't say anything, beyond
telling me to get ready for another trip to Iwama. Of course, I retorted that I AM ALWAYS READY, but
my words yet again appeared to fall on stony ground.
8.00
Encountered Kisshomaru and discussed demonstrations. I myself have no time for them, really,
unless they are in front of His Imperial Majesty. For my assistants never manage to align their ukemito
illuminate fully the divine quality of my techniques. Yukawa was quite good and Tamura sometimes
came close, but Kisshomaru always tells me that we have to keep up with the times and I gather my
grandson Moriteru thinks the same way. I understand that they now do a big demonstration once a
year just down the road from His Imperial Majesty's palace. The place is opposite the Yasukuni
Shrine, where the souls of many of our dear wartime students are enshrined. One year I took a short
break from my work up here on the Floating Bridge of Heaven and had a peep at the demonstration. I
was quite stunned and asked myself: What on earth is going on? WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY
AIKIDO? Actually, I once found myself shouting this in the dojo and everyone was cowering at the
edges of the mat avoiding eye contact. All except Kisshomaru, who sat there wiping his nose on his
sleeve. I must talk to his mother about this.
10.00
Set out for Iwama. Arrived at Ueno Station without incident, but had an urgent message from Deguchi
Sensei advising me not to take the first train. Thinking the advice was probably connected with
Amaterasu and the Stone Door, I quickly left the train and returned to the platform, using a special
technique that Master Takeda perfected. I think our non-Japanese students call this ‘moving without
being seen' and, needless to say, it worked very well with my deshi, whom I found later, wandering up
and down the platform in a panic. I came up silently behind him and gently bopped him on the head. "Aaagghhh," he said. "I didn't see you." "Absolutely." I responded, with just the right combination of
gentleness and severity necessary for an effective pedagogical encounter.
16.00
Went outside to the shrine before practice and encountered a statue—of myself. Where on earth had
this come from? Summoned Isoyama for an explanation. I know that after Saito's passing things had
changed, but another statue, especially this one, with my beard perfectly trimmed and skirt perfectly
pleated, was not at all what I expected. Of course, She Who Must Be Obeyed would like it, but I think
it makes me look too much like that dictator in Russia, or is it North Korea? He has more hair than I
have, but it seems artificial and it is obvious he's never done a day of serious training in his whole life.
Had another long discussion with Amaterasu, who had been doing some very serious tiger-jaw-walker
training and felt much better, but she still had problems with INTENT. She couldn't direct it where she
wanted to. Of course, she has to give it time and put in the mileage. She was very concerned about
her offspring (and my favorite deity) Masakatsu Agatsu. She thought he might fall into Susano O's
clutches. Actually, she told me off for shortening his name and emphasized that his name was
Masakatsu Agatsu Katsu Hayabi Ame no Oshi Ho Mimi no Mikoto. She thought the rest of his name
would be forgotten. Well, it was obvious I had to put her right about this. For a start, his name was a
mouthful and even remembering it would be way beyond the mental resources of our dear American
students. And that was just the pronunciation. As for the meaning, we all know that our august
national language is far better equipped to exploit the rich resources of such a fine name, but what to
do with the dull English version: ‘True Victory My Victory Heavenly Deity Ruling the Rice Ears'? I
learned a lot from our foreign deshi, especially the Big American. He taught me about slogans and
sound bites, for he used to use them all the time. So I laid it on the line. "Amaterasu," I said, dropping
the formal bits and speaking frankly, kami to kami, "You need to get clear about my students,
especially the ones who walk into the jaws of tigers. True Victory My Victory Heavenly Deity Ruling the
Rice Ears doesn't DO anything, but True Victory is Self Victory, which is how the professor who wears
flowery skirts and chants kotodama translates it? Well, it GRABS people. It shows their INTENT. It
makes them feel part of the team." (Who said that, I wonder? I think it was a rather nasty man who
used to club people over the head with a baseball bat during dinner. He should have used one of my
favorite weapons: nothing to match a spear or bayonet. Of course, these wouldn't work in confined
spaces like dinner tables. But this is where you need oshi-uchi. No, that doesn't sound right. Oki-uchi,
okichi-uchi, okoshi-uchi… Damn these English spelling rules! ...)
20.00
My, it's tough being an AA. As somebody else once said, "I need a vacation." Strangely enough, I
believe he was an avatar as well: at least, he behaved like one. But he, or perhaps ‘it', was a much
lower-level, mechanical, sort. I believe they opened him up and all they found were a few nuts and
bolts and something called a CPU. I don't know what they thought this thing was, but to me CPU is
obvious: it means Central Peripheral Unity, or, the Three Worlds in constant harmony.
by Anonymous
04-01-2010
The Hiden Diaries: A Day in the Life of Morihei Ueshiba
April 1
4.30
Got up and went up to the roof to greet the Sun Goddess. Of course, our conversation took place by means of the jo. I fail to understand why Kisshomaru does not make more use of this wonderful instrument. After all, I used it often enough. Had a lengthy discussion with Amaterasu about her grandson Masakatsu Agatsu. I told her that he was my favourite deity, along with her brother Susano O, but this did NOT go down very well AT ALL. She told me that she is still having severe problems with Susano O and these problems were affecting the entire universe. They are also interfering with my own work as the main Avatar between the Three Realms. Here am I, standing on the Floating Bridge of Heaven and constantly training to ensure that Aiki is Aiki (I am glad the Japanese language is so rich in resources; it is completely different from dull, boring English), but the continuing problems with Amaterasu and her brother are making things
very, very difficult. So I reassured her with the remark that the whole problem lay in the English translation. English simply does not have the resources to capture the full range of meaning encapsulated (spelling correct?) in the phrase Aiki is Aiki. I gather that all my discourses are being translated into English by some Buddhist professor who lives in the north of Japan. (I know about him because he sometimes wears flowery hakama and does kotodama chants in English churches: at least this is a welcome change from the deadly boring chants I hear in Japan.) I explained that the professor had translated the name Masakatsu Agatsu as Victory OVER Oneself, not Victory BY Oneself, which is MUCH more
meaningful than anything about winning and losing, especially to our dear American students. By the way, I gather that a film has come out with the name Avatar. When I first heard about it, I was very happy and hoped that it would take account of my work on the Floating Bridge of Heaven, uniting the Three Worlds, but the movie was a TOTAL disappointment. The love interest was COMPLETELY
wrong and involved silly relationships with strange people in blue, with long noses and wearing tails. If people start wearing tails for aikido training, we are going to have to redesign the whole range of keikogi, especially the pants and hakama.
So I told my grandson Moriteru to deal with this, but however, he seemed TOTALLY unconcerned. "Ojii-chan," he said, "if people come to the Hombu Dojo wearing tails, be assured that we will deal with the situation very effectively. We are now a very efficient, smoothly-running organization." I was unconvinced, for I read somewhere that the folds in the hakama represented seven virtues; but we are now going to have to add an eighth virtue, for the correctly folded tail. What IS the world coming to? Anyway, I have not seen anyone wearing tails during training so far, but I must consult with Deguchi Sensei. He might have encountered some Blue Avatars during his later trips through the Spirit World. Deguchi Sensei is a constant source of inspiration, much like Goi Sensei, though the spiritual methods of the two are completely different. Deguchi Sensei is very refreshing, constantly regaling me with reports of visits to the spirit world and his activities with the spirits, though his use of the Male Member makes one blush. Goi Sensei, on the other hand, is rather more pedestrian, though he agrees with me much more often. However, all he seems to do is put up prayer signs everywhere wishing for peace on earth. Of course, this is all very worthy, but I don't like to tell him that my own work on the Floating Bridge of Heaven, working to unite the Three Realms, fully in tune with with Aiki as Aiki, is MUCH more effective than prayer signs. But only time will tell.
6.30
Went downstairs and prepared for practice. Decided to explain in more detail about the kotodama
sound SU and how it created the universe. BUT EVERYTHING fell on TOTALLY stony ground (Now where have I heard this phrase before? Note to self: this is a very good phrase, totally appropriate for
the current crop of uchi-deshi: I must start using it very often). Everybody just sat there looking stupid.
They were probably hoping I'd stop talking and do some techniques. I am sure you can see the
picture: people look at you intently and nod vigorously, hoping you will think they understand, as they
shift their knees slightly from sitting in seiza for a long time. But when I finally summoned the Big
American to take ukemi (I think his name is Dogson, Dodgson, Dobson, Fogson, Edison, or something
like that: I prefer to call him Teru), he was far too powerful and got the timing, everything, completely
wrong. Heavens, he couldn't even do the boat rowing exercise correctly and he should know by now
that this is absolutely crucial for summoning the right kami for the training. When will
these uchideshi ever learn?
Was still feeling grumpy after keiko, only to discover that the uchideshi on duty had not filled the
morning bath water correctly. He had checked the temperature by putting his hand in the water,
causing total contamination. They should know by now that bath water—any kind of water, has to be
pristinely pure. Otherwise it is entirely useless for misogi. I keep on talking about this duringkeiko, but
the uchideshi simply do not seem to get it. Only the other day, one of the deshi appeared in his
underwear, for Heaven's sake. I think it was Saotome. So I sent him off the mat very promptly and
made him sit in seiza and watch.
9.00
Felt much better after breakfast, which was duly prepared by She Who Must Be Obeyed, though she
tore a strip off me for having to stitch my hakama, because some silly uke had torn it. She blamed me
for not controlling my uke correctly, rather than the uke for not falling properly. (Obviously she knows
rather more about aikido than I had realized.) During breakfast my wayward son was muttering
something about doing some kind of public demonstration. It is so unfortunate that he failed the
medical exams for the military. A spell in the Japanese Army, or even the new Occupation Forces (I
think they are called Marines and from the look of some of the soldiers they appear to accept
foreigners) would have given him some much-needed backbone.
10.00-12.00
Had another long conversation with Amaterasu and decided to go to Iwama, to talk in more detail with
Susano O. Announced this to She Who Must Be Obeyed and there was a major panic. I have no idea
why. She muttered something about train times, but I assured her that I ALWAYS arrive at the station
at least one hour before the train departs, so there was no need to worry. Was assigned
the deshi who killed the dog (I think his name is Chiba), but was told that my son Kisshomaru would
also accompany me. I gather he wanted to discuss something very important.
16.00
I MISSED THE TRAIN TO IWAMA. This has NEVER happened before. I arrived at the station one
hour before the train was due to depart, but discovered that I was five minutes late: the train had
already departed. And Kisshomaru and the deshi were nowhere to be found. I was so annoyed.
However, Deguchi told me to be patient. He had consulted with some of his own deity friends and
assured me that it was my destiny to arrive in Iwama today.
18.00
Finally arrived in Iwama and took a welcome bath. The water was fine. Kisshomaru, who had taken
the right train, was there to meet me with Saito Father and Son. Went to the shrine and discussed
current issues with Susano O involving the Three Worlds. Explained about Amaterasu's problem, but I
was quite astonished when he suggested I see the new Avatar film again—and he seemed quite
unfazed about the strange noses and the tails. Told me that aikido had to be fully in tune with ecology,
whatever this is.
20.00
Had a painful discussion with Kisshomaru after keiko. Apparently he has decided that aikido has to be popular, now the war has ended, and so wants to hold a public demonstration. When I retorted that
one only does demonstrations in the presence of His Majesty, or on anniversaries of His Majesty, he
held his ground and told me that he had the idea in August, 1945, when His Majesty announced
Japan's surrender. Kisshomaru clearly has more backbone then I previously thought; obviously, he
has been talking to his mother. I was rather shocked when he told me that the venue would be the
ROOF of a department store, but he backed this up with an argument that many people would attend
if it was held there and, anyway, aikido had to become relevant to the lives of common people, not
aristocrats. Of course, he said he understood the sterling work I had been doing keeping the Three
Worlds together, but stressed that his own work was firmly down here. He was quite firm about this
and his second argument was that the Tokyo dojo had to be torn down and replaced with something
much bigger and more fitting for aikido as a worldwide budo. Can't argue with that, though I shall miss
the old wooden dojo. I told him to leave Iwama as it is, though. In any case Saito is still here and he is
quite capable of standing up to Kisshomaru.
Anyway, it was morning when I woke up. Must have nodded off as Chiba was reading Reikai
Monogatari last night. Got up and went outside to greet the Sun Goddess and hear the latest about
Susano O…The Hiden Diaries 2: Another Day in the Life of Morihei Ueshiba
by Anonymous
05-19-2010
The Hiden Diaries 2: Another Day in the Life of Morihei Ueshiba
The Hiden Diaries 2:
Another Day in the Life of Morihei Ueshiba
Third Auspicious Day of the Sixth Moon
4.30
Got up and went up to the roof to greet the Sun Goddess. She was still feeling sore about Susano O,
her wayward brother, and at one point threatened to go back behind the Stone Door. Since we are still
celebrating her original August Exit (recorded in her memoirs, which our non-Japanese students know
as the Records of Ancient Matters) and are applying the lessons from this August Exit to our own
training, as we constantly strive to keep the Three Worlds in harmony, I was—luckily—able to
persuade her against taking this drastic step. I reminded her of what had happened the first time: all
the myriad calamities that beset the Central Land of Reed Plains like swarms of flies in the fifth moon.
I saw it was obvious that Amaterasu needed to get tougher, so I told her about the men who walk into
the jaws of tigers. When she asked why they would do such a dumb thing, I realized that she had no
clue about IHTBF, so I put her straight about this. Heck, even the kami sometimes need to go back to
basics and put their supposed abilities to the test! I think the Chinese call this tiger-jaw-walker training
‘internal', but I never heard Master Takeda use this term: he always used to talk about aiki. And the
thing is, he never taught it to anybody. Anyway, this training is what sorts out the men from the boys,
who find that all they can do is mew like housecats. I think people can guess which training leads to
better results. I was concerned that she was losing the ability to discern: what is more useful and more
martial in keeping the kami in their place, and there was a chance she could spend a few millennia
chasing a dead end. So I suggested she do some serious tiger-jaw-walker training, learn to uproot a
few heavenly trees and what-not, so that she could stand up to Susano-O with more backbone, sorry,
more aiki. And, especially, learn the POWER of INTENT.
As well as toughening up, it was obvious that Amaterasu needed cheering up, so I informed her that
the first installment of the diary that I decided to share with the world had gone down quite well,
especially among our beloved American students. But there was some speculation down in the human
world about the person I used as my messenger. I think people have to realize that the kamimove in
DEEPLY mysterious ways. I assured her that the person I used had no clue whatever about the
deeper aspects of this unique mission: to assist the Aiki Avatar in the work of harmonizing the Three
Worlds. I have learned by experience that humans actually spend a long time debating about the
meaning of harmony—but to little avail. As well as doing tiger-jaw-walker training, they should really
learn our wonderful native language and explore the full range of possibilities offered by the
phrase Aiki is Aiki.
Only the other day, I chanced upon a discussion about the definition of aiki. People were disputing as
usual. When will they ever learn? Of course, we Japanese have had our share of disputes. I still
remember the dispute between Kisshomaru and Koichi T. Now that was a dispute worthy of the name.
Talk about two queens in the same beehive...
As for aiki, what is the English phrase I have heard somewhere recently? Hidden in Plain Sight. Very
well put. That reminds me of another phrase, used by some English writer named Shaw, I think, who
was almost contemporary with me. What was it he said? Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.
Absolutely. This phrase is very applicable to the martial arts and especially to my new budo. I think that Aiki Avatar is a very good phrase and the initials AA are simply brilliant. For those who
don't know much English, both begin with the first letter of the English alphabet, which is the primal
sound AAHHH and has a very long history. Doesn't quite measure up to SUUU, though. It doesn't
have any kokyu, which is what was lacking in the martial arts before Deguchi Sensei came along and
taught us all to do chinkon kishin. Ah, I do miss Deguchi Sensei and his chinkon trances. The thing is,
you never knew whether he was in a trance or not: it was all the same to him.
But I've heard that AA also has other meanings, mainly to do with automobiles and drinking too much
alcohol… Not that this is a problem with many of our deshi. Only the other day I encountered a
young deshi with a bandaged hand—I think he was one of Kisshomaru's deshi. I expected to be told
that he had been testing the effectiveness of aikido techniques outside the dojo, as any deshiworth the
name ought to do, but he looked down at his feet and said he had a fight with a door, on his way out of
a bar. Resolved to tell Kisshomaru to warn his deshi to be more discreet about what they were up to
outside the dojo. I am all for showing the effectiveness of my techniques—and, Heavens, I had a long
enough dispute with Master Takeda about reducing the number and cutting out those that were
ineffective in maintaining the proper balance with the Three Worlds, but the deshi should pay much
more attention to the essential distinction between omote and ura and not fight battles they can't win.
(That's a good phrase. Who first said that, I wonder? I think it was some Chinese general… Trust the
Chinese to have thought of it first. However, we Japanese are noted for borrowing foreign ideas and
greatly improving on them. I will use it in my discourses.)
In view of the recent movie about the blue people with long noses and tails, perhaps Aiki Avatar is a
phrase best not used too often—perhaps only to the members of Deguchi Sensei's and Goi Sensei's
groups. I am sure that both Deguchi Sensei and Goi Sensei will understand everything about avatars.
Actually, Deguchi Sensei sometimes shocked people by using his Male Member exactly like a tail:
perhaps he had already seen the movie in another life and had noted the contents. That would be
typical of the unpredictable Deguchi Sensei: he always did everything ‘back to front', so to speak.
6.30
Took breakfast with She Who Must Be Obeyed. Enough said. In fact she didn't say anything, beyond
telling me to get ready for another trip to Iwama. Of course, I retorted that I AM ALWAYS READY, but
my words yet again appeared to fall on stony ground.
8.00
Encountered Kisshomaru and discussed demonstrations. I myself have no time for them, really,
unless they are in front of His Imperial Majesty. For my assistants never manage to align their ukemito
illuminate fully the divine quality of my techniques. Yukawa was quite good and Tamura sometimes
came close, but Kisshomaru always tells me that we have to keep up with the times and I gather my
grandson Moriteru thinks the same way. I understand that they now do a big demonstration once a
year just down the road from His Imperial Majesty's palace. The place is opposite the Yasukuni
Shrine, where the souls of many of our dear wartime students are enshrined. One year I took a short
break from my work up here on the Floating Bridge of Heaven and had a peep at the demonstration. I
was quite stunned and asked myself: What on earth is going on? WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY
AIKIDO? Actually, I once found myself shouting this in the dojo and everyone was cowering at the
edges of the mat avoiding eye contact. All except Kisshomaru, who sat there wiping his nose on his
sleeve. I must talk to his mother about this.
10.00
Set out for Iwama. Arrived at Ueno Station without incident, but had an urgent message from Deguchi
Sensei advising me not to take the first train. Thinking the advice was probably connected with
Amaterasu and the Stone Door, I quickly left the train and returned to the platform, using a special
technique that Master Takeda perfected. I think our non-Japanese students call this ‘moving without
being seen' and, needless to say, it worked very well with my deshi, whom I found later, wandering up
and down the platform in a panic. I came up silently behind him and gently bopped him on the head. "Aaagghhh," he said. "I didn't see you." "Absolutely." I responded, with just the right combination of
gentleness and severity necessary for an effective pedagogical encounter.
16.00
Went outside to the shrine before practice and encountered a statue—of myself. Where on earth had
this come from? Summoned Isoyama for an explanation. I know that after Saito's passing things had
changed, but another statue, especially this one, with my beard perfectly trimmed and skirt perfectly
pleated, was not at all what I expected. Of course, She Who Must Be Obeyed would like it, but I think
it makes me look too much like that dictator in Russia, or is it North Korea? He has more hair than I
have, but it seems artificial and it is obvious he's never done a day of serious training in his whole life.
Had another long discussion with Amaterasu, who had been doing some very serious tiger-jaw-walker
training and felt much better, but she still had problems with INTENT. She couldn't direct it where she
wanted to. Of course, she has to give it time and put in the mileage. She was very concerned about
her offspring (and my favorite deity) Masakatsu Agatsu. She thought he might fall into Susano O's
clutches. Actually, she told me off for shortening his name and emphasized that his name was
Masakatsu Agatsu Katsu Hayabi Ame no Oshi Ho Mimi no Mikoto. She thought the rest of his name
would be forgotten. Well, it was obvious I had to put her right about this. For a start, his name was a
mouthful and even remembering it would be way beyond the mental resources of our dear American
students. And that was just the pronunciation. As for the meaning, we all know that our august
national language is far better equipped to exploit the rich resources of such a fine name, but what to
do with the dull English version: ‘True Victory My Victory Heavenly Deity Ruling the Rice Ears'? I
learned a lot from our foreign deshi, especially the Big American. He taught me about slogans and
sound bites, for he used to use them all the time. So I laid it on the line. "Amaterasu," I said, dropping
the formal bits and speaking frankly, kami to kami, "You need to get clear about my students,
especially the ones who walk into the jaws of tigers. True Victory My Victory Heavenly Deity Ruling the
Rice Ears doesn't DO anything, but True Victory is Self Victory, which is how the professor who wears
flowery skirts and chants kotodama translates it? Well, it GRABS people. It shows their INTENT. It
makes them feel part of the team." (Who said that, I wonder? I think it was a rather nasty man who
used to club people over the head with a baseball bat during dinner. He should have used one of my
favorite weapons: nothing to match a spear or bayonet. Of course, these wouldn't work in confined
spaces like dinner tables. But this is where you need oshi-uchi. No, that doesn't sound right. Oki-uchi,
okichi-uchi, okoshi-uchi… Damn these English spelling rules! ...)
20.00
My, it's tough being an AA. As somebody else once said, "I need a vacation." Strangely enough, I
believe he was an avatar as well: at least, he behaved like one. But he, or perhaps ‘it', was a much
lower-level, mechanical, sort. I believe they opened him up and all they found were a few nuts and
bolts and something called a CPU. I don't know what they thought this thing was, but to me CPU is
obvious: it means Central Peripheral Unity, or, the Three Worlds in constant harmony.
