Quote:
John Matsushima wrote:
Does anyone know what he meant by "the word which was used by the warriors in the past"? Is he referring to Daito-ryu Aiki-jutsu? How is "aiki" defined in the old arts as compared to his "aiki"?
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The direct source I have is
Aiki-Shinzui, p.41.
Aiki-Shinzui is a collection of columns from the
Aikido Shinbun, which has been published over the years by the Aikikai Hombu. The collection was edited by the previous Doshu, Kisshomaru Ueshiba. Here is the complete paragraph, transcribed into Roman script, with my own translation:
"Mukashi kara, budou wa ayamatte jinmei wo taezu koroshiau houkou ni susunde kita no de aru ga, aiki wa jinmei wo sukuu tame ni aru no de aru. sunawachi hitogoroshi yobouhou ga aiki de aru. hito wo korosu nakare ga aiki de ari, 'ai' (= 合）wa 'ai' (= 愛) ni tsujiru no de, watashi wa etoku shita dokuji no michi wo 'aikido' to yobu koto ni shita no de aru. Shitagatte, juurai no bujutsu no hitobito ga kuchi ni suru 'aiki' to, watashi no iu 'aiki' to wa sono naiyou, honshitsu ga konpontekini kotonaru. Kono koto wo minasan wa oshiete hoshii to negau no de aru."
"Fron old times, budou mistakenly came to be a means of constantly ending human life, but aiki is something that preserves human life. Namely, aiki is a way of taking precaution against killing (i.e., homicide / murder). Aiki does not kill human beings and 'ai' (合 = matching) leads to 'ai' (愛 = love), so that I decided to give the name 'aikido' to the original way I discerned. Consequently, the term 'aiki' used up to now by people in the fighting arts and the term 'aiki' that I use are fundamentally different in content and substance. It is my hope and request that everyone teaches this."