Quote:
Cliff Judge wrote:
Mert, I can't find anything to disagree with here, but I think the claims you are making in this post are very general. Japanese culture in general is very steeped in Shinto and pays homage to Chinese philosophy etc.
I have this feeling that Sagawa is the one responsible for the entire solo training in DR concept, as well as any heavily Taoist technology. I do believe these were his innovations and the result of his research.
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Cliff,
Specifically, Ueshiba heavily cited the Chinese Classics, as has been documented, and Okuyama's emphasis on traditional medicine as a balance to and component of the martial aspects of Hakkoryu is evident in the use of the traditional Chinese five elements (vs. the Japanese godai). Even then, all these noted students of Takeda grew up at a time when studying the Chinese texts, philosophies and operating systems based on them (using metaphors to draw ki through the body for health and power) was de rigueur. Hakkoryu expressly states on its website that one undertakes the "study of "Inyodo" (the way of yin and yang)" (
see paragraph 5), echoing Ueshiba's advice to Henry Kono about what's missing in the study of aikido. Taoism was woven into the fabric of life and how those in East Asian culture in general understood themselves and the world they lived in. But even today, I have conversations with Asian co-workers virtually every day about things that are Taoist in nature but are not martial arts related: it's that ingrained in who we are as representatives of our respective related cultures.
So, you're right: the homage paid to the Chinese roots is inherent. But for that exact reason, I think Sagawa, Ueshiba, Okuyama, Matsuda, Horikawa, Hisa, et al were all out to improve on the centuries-old in-yo-do IP mouse trap, each in their own right. Anyone who's read
Transparent Power should have no doubt that Sagawa would've bragged about these other men's successes as extensions of his own, had he disseminated to them his aiki-tanren.