ChrisMikk

Okay, this is slightly embarrassing, but after revisiting Aikido Jinsei, I see that there is more specifics about leaving the farm than I remembered. I will relate the events as told in Payet and Johnson's translation...

• Shioda moved to the Iwama farm in June-July 1946 with his family.
• He says that none of the former students living on the farm could keep up with Ueshiba's pace of work. He relates Ueshiba saying that they were no good as farm hands.
• In August 1946, there was an aikido demonstration for occupation officers from the Yokohama base.
• "About 10 days later," Shioda received an invitation to become a secretary for a businessman. Ueshiba said, "There is learning in everything. Why don't you try becoming a secretary?"
• After that, Shioda moved from Iwama to Tokorozawa at the end of August, 1946. The text doesn't say if his family went with him (they lived apart for periods during the war and post-war period), so perhaps they stayed on the farm.
• Shioda worked for his company as secretary until 1949, when he went back on unemployment. He did "odd jobs" for 8 months, then in July 1950, his infamous anit-Red union busting activities began.

I interpret this to mean that Ueshiba took the first opportunity to invite Shioda to find employment elsewhere. However, Shioda implies that he was training in aikido throughout the late 1940s, so I don't know if he means he traveled back and forth to Iwama or if he means he was on his own.

• From 1950-1954, Shioda worked in security and trained security guards for private companies.
• Due to connections with the police, he also started a tour of 83 police stations, giving aikido demonstrations.
• In 1954 was the famous Life Extension Society demonstration. Shioda says that he represented the Yoshinkan while "Mr. Tohei demonstrated for the Ueshiba Dojo".
• In September 1954, Shioda gave a demonstration, arranged for him by friends and attended by wealthy businessmen, using the dojo of the Metropolitan Police Department. This was the origin of the Yoshinkan's sponsorship that made the Riot Police Course and senshusei programs possible.

Although the Yoshinkan dojo wasn't established until after this demonstration, the Yoshinkan name was apparently floating around even before the Life Extension Society demonstration. I suspect that Shioda was using it when he was teaching aikido to security guards, even though he was technically an employee of Nippon Kokan.

Thanks for typing this in! I interpret this to mean that Shioda's family remained living on the farm while he was working as a business secretary and, probably, commuting to the farm for training on weekends or some such.