Daito-ryu aikijujutsu has in recent years become the best known of Japan’s surviving jujutsu systems. Its newly-acquired recognition is due in large part to the phenomenal international success of the art of aikido. Sokaku Takeda—the man who de veloped and taught Daito-ryu aikijujutsu during the first four decades of twentieth century Japan— was the dominant technical influence on aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba. The complex, symbiotic relationship between Daito-ryu aikijujutsu and aikido was shaped by historical events that have left the two arts irrevocably intertwined. Little known in Japan prior to the emergence of aikido, Daitoryu aikijujutsu came to the attention of the martial arts’ public in the mid-1980s with the publication of a series of articles in
Ai ki News , a Japanese-English magazine on aikido. The articles published in Aik i News were based on interviews and contributions by Sokaku’ s son, To kim une , Yukiyo shi Sagawa, Takuma Hisa, Katsuyuki Kondo, Hakaru Mori, Yusuke Inoue, Seigo Okamoto and other prominent Daito-ryu teachers. Prior to this time, the scant information available on Sokaku Takeda and Daito-ryu came mainly from aikido sources. Sokaku Takeda was portrayed as an eccentric martial arts’ expert of an irascible nature who had been involved in numerous violent incidents. Taken out of historical context, Sokaku and, by way of association, Daitoryu, were viewed in a negative light. With the passage of time and the publication of testimonies of numerous first-hand sources, however, the perception of Sokaku Takeda gradually improved to the point that he is now generally recognized as one of Japan’s most influential martial artists.
Overview of the Life of Sokaku Takeda Viewed even fr om a conte mporary perspective, Sokaku Takeda could only be regarded as somewhat of an anachronism. Born in Fukushima Prefecture in 1859, as a child Sokaku witnessed first-hand battles of the Aizu War that took place within walking distance of his home. The small and rebelious lad seemed fascinated by the spectacle of battle and these vivid early experiences perhaps were the determining factor in his later devotion to the martial arts. Sokaku’s father, Sokichi, was a “country samurai” who had inherited a piece of cultivated land passed down through his family. Sokichi was an educated man who ran a local temple school (terakoya ) and a country sumo wrestler who had attained the provincial rank of ozeki . He also was a skilled swordsman and expert in the art of the staff (bojutsu ), and taught these arts in a dojo set up on his property. As a boy Sokaku was exposed to a variety of martial arts and is known to have trained in sumo, Hozoin-ryu Takada-ha sojutsu, Ono-ha Itto-ryu kenjutsu, and likely other local arts. After his explusion from school by Sokichi at the age of 13 for bad behavior, Sokaku succeeded in having his father send him to Tokyo to become a live-in disciple of Kenkichi Sakakibara of Jikishinkage-ryu fame. Sakakibara operated a dojo well-known in martial arts’ circles whose curriculum included the sword, staff, spear, naginata and an array of other weapons. Sokaku appears to have spent two to three years in Tokyo in intensive training at the Sakakibara dojo. Although some have doubted that Sokaku actually trained under Sakakibara due to the absence of any confirming documents, no one disputes the fact that he became an outstanding swordsman. Sokaku clearly trained in numerous martial systems and often had occasion to test his skills in matches and duels. Sokaku’s stay in Tokyo was cut short by the sudden death of his older brother Sokatsu in 1876. Sokatsu had earlier entered the priesthood and, on his unexpected passing, Sokichi determined that his second son Sokaku would succeed him in this
more respectable vocation. Consequently, the 17-year-old Sokaku was sent to Tsutsukowake Shrine in Fukushima Prefecture. The head priest there was Chikanori Hoshina, formerly known as Tanomo Saigo and a one-time chief councillor of the Aizu Clan. Hoshina was sympathetic to the cause of Takamori Saigo, a key figure in the Meiji Restoration, who now found himself at odds with the Imperial government he helped create. It would appear that Hoshina briefed Sokaku on the political and military situation of the time and, in particular, on Takamori’s activities in Kagoshima. After a short stay of only a few weeks at the shrine as an apprentice priest, Sokaku abandoned his duties and set out for Kyushu with the intention of joining Takamori’s army. Sokaku made his way towards Kyushu via Tokyo and then Osaka where he spent a period of time training at the Kyoshin Meichi-ryu kenjutsu dojo of noted swordsman Shunzo Momonoi [1826-1886]. Events conspired to prevent Sokaku from joining Takamori’s army and he finally abandoned his plan. Nonetheless, he did not return home but instead spent the next ten or so years traveling about the southern part of Japan engaged in self-training. There are no known documents from this period of Sokaku’s life, but various accounts of his training and ad ventures were published by his son, Tokimune, in a series of articles in the Daitokan dojo newsletter during the 1980s. Likewise, few details are available on Sokaku’s activities following his period of wandering in southern Japan. It is known that he spent some time in his native Fukushima Prefecture during which time he married and fathered two children. He also accompanied Tsugumichi Saito, a younger brother of Takamori, to Hokkaido about 1887 when the latter became head of the Hokkaido Development Project. It seems likely the Sokaku continued his training in the martial arts during this period extending into the 1890s and may have begun his teaching career as well. He also visited the above-mentioned Chikanori Hoshina on several occasions during the latter’s resi-
dence at the Nikko Toshogu and Ryozen shrines in Fukushima Prefecture. There are those who have written that Hoshina—usually referred to as Tanomo Saigo in such contexts—is actually the person who taught Daito-ryu to Sokaku. This hypothesis is based mainly on Tanomo’s associations with Sokaku Takeda and Shiro Saigo of judo fame. However, Tanomo was an important political personnage of the Aizu clan and a gr eat deal of information on his life including diaries is available. Tanomo scholars have been unable to find any evidence of his being an expert martial artist or having taught Daito-ryu or any other martial art. Until such time as further documentation is forthcoming, it is difficult to lend any credence to this theory despite the fact that quite a number of so-called Daito-ryu schools claim a lineage descendent from Tanomo. Whatever may be the specifics of Sokaku’s activities during the last twenty or so years of the 19th century, we can begin to trace his whereabouts with pinpoint accuracy beginning in the late 1890s. This is due to the survival of most of his personal enrollment books (eimeiroku) and ledgers (s hareir oku ) in which he had recorded—Sokaku himself was illiterate—detailed information on his teaching activities. These books contain the names and addresses of students, techniques taught, amounts paid, and other relevant information. Based on these records, for example, we can ascertain that for the period of 1898 to 1910, Sokaku’s teaching activities were centered in the Tohoku region. In 1910, Sokaku accompanied Akita Prefectural police chief, Sanehide Takarabe to Hokkaido upon the latter’s transfer to Japan’s underdeveloped, northernmost island. Sokaku decided to settle in Hokkaido and there remarried. Hokkaido would remain the site of his official residence for the rest of his life. After his assignment with Takarabe, Sokaku began traveling about Hokkaido teaching Daito-ryu in numerous locales. In 1915, he had his fateful first meeting in the town of Engaru with 32-year-old Morihei Ueshiba, the man who would later go
on to create aikido. Ueshiba was amazed at Sokaku’s martial skills and immediately became a devoted student. Such was Ueshiba’s enthusiasm for learning Daito-ryu that he invited Sokaku to relocate to the village of Shirataki where Ueshiba was residing along with a group of settlers originating from Tanabe in Wakayama Prefecture. Sokaku actually lived and taught Daito-ryu in Morihei’s home for a period of time and later acquired property of his own there. Sokaku settled in Shirataki and lived there with his wife Sue. This union produced seven children including Sokaku’s successor Tokimune. Ueshiba studied Daito-ryu assiduously for about five years and stated in an unpublished interview that Sokaku asked him to become his successor. Ueshiba departed hurriedly from Shirataki in late 1919 upon receiving news of the illness of his father. He left his home along with its furnishings to Sokaku. The association of Sokaku and Morihei Ueshiba would be renewed in 1922 when Sokaku spent about six months together with his entire family at Ueshiba’s home in Ayabe. Ueshiba had joined a community of believers of the Omoto religion, a so-called new Shinto sect. There, with the encouragement of Onisaburo Deguchi, the religion’s co-founder, Ueshiba had set up a dojo in his home where he was teaching Daito-ryu jujutsu. At the end of his stay in Ayabe, Sokaku awarded Morihei instructor certification (kyoju dairi) which entitled him to teach Daito-ryu on Sokaku’s behalf. Despite the fact that their relationship became increasingly strained, the two would meet again on several occasions during the next decade. Ueshiba gradually modified Daito-ryu techniques, eventually formulating his own system that became known as aikido. With the exception of the years of 1921 and 1922, it appears that Sokaku seldom ventured
outside Hokkaido until the mid-1930s. Starting in 1934 we find Sokaku active in the Tohoku, Kanto, and Kansai areas. While in Kanto he was often assisted during his instructional tours by Yukiyoshi Sagawa. Then in 1936, Sokaku appeared at the office of the Osaka Asahi News announcing himself as the “martial arts’ instructor” of Morihei Ueshiba. The specifics of this episode are surrounded in controversy. The reasons why Sokaku showed up unexpectedly and took over instruction of the Asahi News dojo when Ueshiba had been teaching there since about 1933 remain unclear. In any event, Sokaku taught in Osaka for much of the next three years and awarded the menkyo kaiden to Takuma Hisa and Masao Tonedate in 1939. These two individuals were the only ones to have received this highest level transmission scroll from Sokaku. The last years of Sokaku’s life were spent for the most part in Hokkaido. Despite his advanced age, he continued teaching through the end of his life. Sokaku passed away on April 25, 1943 in Aomori as a result of a stroke. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some of Sokaku’s books and ledgers were burned at the time of his cremation. Since there are gaps in notations for certain periods of his teaching career this is a possi bility. Fortunately, for later martial arts’ historians, most of these precious documents have sur vived to tell the story of a remarkable martial artist who left a profound effect on Japanese jujutsu and sowed the seeds that gave birth to aikido.
Tokimune Takeda Sokaku’s son and successor, Tokimune Takeda, was born in Yubetsu, not far from Shirataki, in 1916. He was the first son born to Sokaku from his marriage to Sue although Sokaku had other children from two previous messages. Tokimune began training under his father in Daito-ryu about 1925 and, Sokaku, not surprisingly, proved a se-
vere taskmaster. Tokimune lost his mother in 1930 as a result of a tragic fire that engulfed a local cinema. He was called upon to help look after his younger siblings in the absence of his mother. Soon after Tokimune began his tutelage in Daito-ryu under his father, it became apparent that he too was very talented in the martial arts. Sokaku started grooming Tokimune to be his successor as the elder Takeda spent much of his time in Shirataki during the 1920s and early 1930s. Tokimune accompanied his father when Sokaku went to Osaka in 1939 to award the menkyo kaiden to Hisa and Tonedate. It should be noted that the eimeiroku entry for Hisa and Tonedate states these two were “taught the menkyo kaiden techniques by both Takeda Daisensei and Mr. Tokimune Takeda.” Also, Tokimune’s name appears alongside that of his father as the “Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Somucho” (Director of General Affairs) in this eimeiroku. Moreover, the then 23-year-old Tokimune appears in the commemo-
rative photographs snapped on that occasion. These documents clearly reveal Sokaku’s intention to have his son succeed him. With the outbreak of the war in China, Tokimune was called into military service. Upon his departure overseas, he left Sokaku’s books and ledgers in the hands of Yukiyoshi Sagawa for safekeeping out of concern that he might not return. Following his repatriation after the end of hostilities, Tokimune relocated to Abashiri and completed the Hokkaido Police Officer Training Course in 1946. While a member of the police force, Tokimune received several awards for outstanding ser vice in arresting criminals. He joined the Yamada Fishery Company in 1951 and worked there until his retirement in 1976. Tokimune established the Daitokan dojo that served as the honbu dojo of Daito-ryu in 1953. He organized the Daito-ryu curriculum incorporating into it elements of Ono-ha Itto-ryu to create what he called “Daito-ryu aikibudo.” Tokimune adopted the title of “Soke” or headmaster in his capacity as the originator of Daito-ryu aikibudo. However, he maintained a distinction between his role in this capacity and his status as the successor of Sokaku in “Daito-ryu jujutsu” and “Daito-ryu aikijujutsu.” In this latter connection, Tokimune retained the use of the titles “somucho” and “honbucho” used by his father. It appears that one of the main distinctions made by Tokimune between the art taught by Sokaku and the Daito-ryu aikibudo he formulated was that the latter art was intended as a “do” for the general public much in the same sense as other modern martial arts. Tokimune received the Cultural Social Education Award from Abashiri City on November 3, 1987. By 1989, Tokimune’s health began to deteriorate and he spent most of his last years hospitalized until his death on December 2, 1993.
Ka t s u y u k i K o n d o Katsuyuki Kondo was born in Tokyo in 1945. He began his training in Daito-ryu aikijujutsu under Tsunejiro Hosono and later Kotaro Yoshida, a friend and senior in Daito-ryu to Morihei
Ueshiba. With an introduction from Yoshida, Kondo made periodic visits to Hokkaido starting in 1961 to practice under To kimu ne Ta ke da Se ns ei . Also , Ko ndo invi te d th e So ke Tokimune to Tokyo on various occasions to teach. He continued his training under the Daito-ryu headmaster for some 32 years. During the period between 1970 to 1973, Kondo received instruction on many occasions from Takuma Hisa who, as mentioned earlier, received the menkyo kaiden from Sokaku Takeda in 1939. Kondo also studied briefly with Kodo Horikawa and Kakuyoshi Yamamoto, and other senior students of Sokaku. He also forged good relations with many leading figures in the aikido world and the dedication of his Shimbukan dojo was attended by Soke Tokimune Takeda, Aikido Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba, Yoshinkan Kancho Gozo Shioda, Aikikai 9th dan Sadateru Arikawa, Sogen Omori Roshi, and various other martial arts’ luminaries.
Tokimune certified Kondo as a Daito-ryu instructor (kyoju dairi) in 1974. In 1988, Kondo was awarded the menkyo kaiden by Tokimune and also appointed Soke Dairi (representative of headmaster). Kondo currently operates the Shimbukan Dojo in Tokyo which has functioned as the Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Hombu Dojo since shortly after Tokimune Takeda’s passing. Kondo is also one of Japan’s leading authorities on swordsman, calligrapher, and Zen master Tesshu Yamaoka.
S u c c e s s i o n a ft e r To k i m u n e ’s d e a t h A word concerning the events that transpired shortly before and after the death of Tokimune Takeda Sensei is called for here. Prior to Tokimune’s death while he was hospitalized in Abashiri, his younger brother, Munemitsu, declared himself Soke. This occurred in early 1991 and Munemitsu sent letters informing branch dojos of Tokimune’s organization of his declaration. The Takeda family and senior students of Tokimune’s group published an expulsion letter in the name of Tokimune Takeda condemning Munemitsu’s unilateral act in May 1991 and it had virtually no impact. Munemitsu himself passed away in 1999. Then in December 199 1, a group of senior stude nts of Tokimune resigned en masse from Daito-ryu while the Headmaster was hospitalized. Among the principals involved were Shigemitsu Kato, Gunpachi Arisawa, and Matsuo Sano. Several branch dojos from other parts of Japan joined them in their exodus. The dispute leading to their departure involved ranking procedures. This group continues to operate in Abashiri and now claims to be the Daito-ryu Honbu Dojo. During this period, Tokimune Sensei’s second daughter, Mrs. Nobuko Yokoyama, acted as his legal representative. Nonetheless, the matter of who would succeed Tokimune was left unsettled by the Takeda family. Yokoyama completely withdrew from all involvement in Daito-ryu organizational matters after her father’s death. Then the husband of Tokimune’s eldest daughter, Mrs. Kyoko Oshima, declared himself Soke in 1994.
Mr. Oshima—who shortly thereafter changed his name to Takeda—also sent out a letter to the heads of dojos s [ hibucho] affiliated with Tokimune asking them to register in his organization. Masanobu Takeda had no prior involvement in Daitoryu and his claim rested entirely on the fact that he was the husband of Tokimune’s eldest daughter. This decision was made unilaterally as well without a consensus from senior Daito-ryu students. As was the case with Munemitsu’s declaration, few in the Daito-ryu world have recognized Masanobu Takeda’s claim as headmaster. Moreover, there is one other person who has assumed the
title of Daito-ryu Soke. This man, also named Munemitsu Takeda of Aizu, is not to be confused with Tokimune’s younger
brother of the same name. He is a great-great grandson of Sokaku from a son by his first marriage. It appears that this Munemitsu uses this title while conducting seminars abr oad and has given out rankings including the kyoju dairi when teaching outside of Japan. As mentioned above, Katsuyuki Kondo was appointed as Soke Dairi in 1988 and received the menkyo kaiden from Tokimune Sensei at the same time. The menkyo kaiden indicates that all of the knowledge of the art has been trasmitted to the recipient. At the time Kondo received these awards from Tokimune Sensei, the latter also asked Kondo to assume responsibility for the training in Daito-ryu of his two grandsons so that at least one of them could one day succeed as headmaster. However, neither son showed interest in practicing Daito-ryu and Kondo was forced to abandon his efforts. Given the state of confusion over the issue of succession and the fact that he had clearly been singled out by Tokimune for his technical and administrative abilities, Kondo was called to a meeting of the heads of those dojos that had remained in Tokimune’s Daito-ryu group. This took place in 1994 and Kondo formally became the head of this group descendant from Tokimune’s orignal organization. He began using the titles of “Somucho” and “Honbucho” as Sokaku and Tokimune had
done before him. It was out of the question for Kondo to act in the capacity of headmaster as he was not of the T akeda family bloodline.
P re s e n t - d ay s t a t u s o f D a i t o - ry u a i k i ju ju t s u Today Daito-ryu aikijujutsu is the most widely practiced of surviving Japanese jujutsu schools. A disproportionate num ber of dojos are located in Hokkaido because of the early activities of Sokaku and Tokimune. Besides the dojos affiliated with Katsuyuki Kondo and the various splinter groups that were once part of Tokimune’s Daitokan organization, there are some four major Daito-ryu groups. The Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Takumakai was established in 1975 to propagate the teachings of Takuma Hisa and is perhaps the largest group in numerical terms. The leading figures of the Takumakai are Hakaru Mori and Takeshi Kawabe. The Takumakai has in recent years been quite active internationally and Kawabe is a pr ofessional instructor. The Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Kodokai was created by Kodo Horikawa in 1950. Horikawa received the kyoju dairi from Sokaku and has affiliated dojos mainly in Hokkaido. The head of this organization is Yusuke Inoue, the successor of Horikawa. The late Katsumi Yonezawa taught abroad beginning from the 1970s before later separating from the Kodokai. The Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Roppokai has its roots in the Kodokai school. The founder is Seigo Okamoto who was one of Horikawa’s leading students. Okamoto relocated to Tokyo and established the Roppokai in 1977. Although similar in some respects to the Kodokai, Okamoto’s art includes many original elements and is considered a soft style of Daito-ryu. Okamoto has been active internationally since the 1980s. The Sagawa dojo located in Tokyo continues in operation today following the death of Yukiyoshi Sagawa in 1998. Sagawa was an early student of Sokaku and operated his dojo in Tokyo for many years. Sagawa limited his activities to his own dojo and accepted few students. The successors of Sagawa are Tatsuo
Kimura and Ken Takahashi. There are a large number of independent dojos in Japan and abroad that use some variation of the name of “Daitoryu.” Some of them trace their lineages back to one of the Japanese organizations and others refer to themselves as practitioners of “Saigo-ha Daito-ryu.” The latter groups’ claims to such a historical lineage are highly suspect for reasons discussed earlier. As far as the mainline of Daito-ryu is concerned, the group of dojos headed by Katsuyuki Kondo seems to have the strongest claim as the successor of Tokimune’s organization. It is difficult to ignore the degree of recognition and responsibility accorded to Kondo by Tokimune Takeda during his lifetime, especially when compared to other senior students. In the end, it will be those choosing Daito-ryu as a vehicle for martial arts’ study who will determine the system and teacher most suited to their aims. Stanley Pranin Los Angeles, July 2000
It is important to keep your opponent continuosuly under control for the technique to be effective.
It is important to keep your opponent continuosuly under control for the technique to be effective.
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