Ellis Amdur

And one other thought beyond both the Chinese principles that were passed down in the root arts (Yoshin-ryu and Kito-ryu) of judo, and the nationalism of the time.

Ueshiba had gone to China both as a soldier, as an adventurer, and as a government representative. He had observed Chinese martial arts (though he had no time to study them). For example, he stayed at the home of a remarkable man named Takeda in Beijing, who was a high level practitioner of Tongbeich'uan. (Though the Chinese say that they didn't teach him the real goods, because he was Japanese). He had seen genuine Chinese martial arts, and had, per Okumura sensei, praised Chinese broadsword which he observed in an enbu in Manchuria.

Ueshiba's got judoka amongst his leading deshi, he's entertained Kano as a personal guest, in later years he and Mifune take dinner together and compare notes (1955, with his oblivious deshi unable to recall what they were talking about).

Essentially, he, angered, (either out of jealousy because they weren't practicing 'his' art or because he saw it as impeding their progress) uses a racist trope to knock his students in line, either assuming that will ring true to them, or simply saying something so ugly and harsh that they are intimidated from continuing. Imagine a classical music teacher of your own time who, when s/he finds you listening to jazz or blues, says, "turn off that n**gr music" The feet of clay of this great man grow ever larger in my eyes.

Ellis Amdur