I don't really think this is anything new. Imagine being from the Ki no Kenyukai and showing up in Iwama in 1975, how do you think that would have gone down? Ever read some of Yamada's published
comments on the ASU split? I've only really trained in independant dojos (excepting a six month stint at an Aikikai school) and while I've been to Japan several times, I've never even considered going to Hombu dojo, I know the kind of welcome I would get.
WRT this specific case, if Homma Sensei knew he was planning to visit the shrine with Ali Sensei (I really doubt it just sort of happened) why didn't he take the time to contact Isoyama Sensei or one of his associates to make arrangements ahead of time. I'm not Japanese, but I do know that the actions you take before a meeting/event often can hold more weight than the actions you take during the event. Just showing up isn't really doing it right, particularly when you must suspect that you may not be welcomed with open arms.
I'd also like to comment on George's statement that this is a feudal hold-over. I'm no historian, but I think that this is more a result of the WWI-WWII period that served as the historical backdrop for Aikido's conception. The feudal model for martial arts was much more like a family structure than the military rank and file that became ubiquitous during the expansionist period leading up to WWII. The strict and rigid idea of feudal Japan that became common in this period is just as inaccurate as texts like "Bushido" and "Hagakure" that helped define that movement.
I think that one of the reasons that this just seems to be the way that this sort of thing is dealt with in Aikido (aside from the Japanese cultural context) is that the structure of the aikikai is such that legitimacy and authority is based almost solely on where one fits into the hierarchy as opposed to any kind of merit based system. Not that this is unique to Aikido, but I think the lack of any kind of randori/shiai exacerbates this need for a position within the structure. When Kano Sensei bested his teacher, their roles reversed and Kano became the teacher. There is no way for this to happen within the strucutured environment of Aikido. While one may reach a level of comfort with ones teacher that allows frank commentary, there is no mechanism for the lower rungs to overrule the higher rungs. At some point the only resolution to a difference of opinion is to leave, and once you move outside of that structure of authority it can be very hard (if not impossible) to continue much of a relationship. I have trained at and left three Aikido schools. I have nothing to do with the first two whatsoever; I was even threatened with a lawsuit when leaving the first. I consider myself blessed that I'm able to have a friendly relationship with my last aikido dojo, though my relationship with some of the students there has certainly changed.
As for the West being able to change this sort of thing, I just don't see it. There are just as many people here who cling to their place in the pecking order as there are in Japan. The breif time I trained at an Aikikai dojo convinced me of that. Anyone who doesn't fit into the structure is quite simply a threat. Like George mentioned, at Expo there were squads of students following their teacher from room to room, and then on the other end you had people like Ikeda Sensei lining up with everyone else for another teacher's class (proving again that he's a rare gem in US Aikido).
I guess what I'm saying is that events like this help to remind us that this is the way things *are*. Personally I would like to see the Iwama Shrine depoliticized as it has historical signifigance to all students of Ueshiba's legacy, but it is owned by the Aikikai and they have a *legitimate* right to choose who has access to those facilities.
Finally, while I'm sure it sounds like I'm being really down on the Aikikai, I should mention that I've been genuinely impressed with the current Doshu's honest and earnest efforts to bring so many groups and organizations back under the Aikikai umbrella. I have a great deal of respect for him because of those actions, and think things are better now (with that regard) than they have been since the Tohei split.