Last direct students of O Sensei?

Shizuo Imaizumi still teaching M-F in NYC. Annual Seminars usually in Albuquerque.
www.shinbudokai.org

Yamada Sensei is still very active.

Peter A Goldsbury wrote: This is to echo Carl Thompson's post. I remember a certain shihan (who had better remain nameless) whose classes I used to attend, stating that he was an uchi-deshi of O Sensei. Of course, I believed him, but later, when I moved to Japan and talked to many others who had practised "directly" under Morihei Ueshiba, I found that his statement needed some qualification. Especially since Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba stated to me quite definitely that there were no postwar uchi-deshi of Morihei Ueshiba and that he himself did not have any uchi-deshi at all. Of course, uchi-deshi can be quite narrowly defined, but it was used to make a clear distinction between some students and others, all of whom could legitimately claim to be "direct" students of Morihei Ueshiba. Presumably the accepted Japanese word for 'direct student' is deshi 弟子 and if you work back from 1969, when Morihei Ueshiba died, I suspect that there are many still alive in Japan.

When I consider that apparently even his grandson, Moriteru Ueshiba, does not claim to be a direct student of OSensei, but to having been essentially led and formed by his father Kisshomaru, I find that very honest and utterly honorable.

Best,
Bernd

'Direct student' does not really convey the nuances of the term 'deshi', especially when this term is often supplemented by 'uchi' and 'soto'. So, for example, as a university professor, I have had many students and, of course, they were 'direct' students. I taught them directly and supervised their master and doctorate theses. But they were not 'deshi' and never followed the traditional Japanese pedagogical pattern of SHU-HA-RI.

'Uchi' indicates that the students lived in the same house as the master and shared his (or her) life directly. This might have been possible in Iwama, but it was no longer possible at the Hombu after the war, when the dojo was torn down and replaced by the present dojo, with the adjoining residence for the Doshu. This was done by Kisshomaru Doshu. 'Soto desh'i is a recognized term for a 'direct' student who does not live in the master's house.

A related concept would be iemoto, which denotes a family lineage (in this case, the Ueshiba family). Kisshomaru hated this term and gently chastised me once when I used it. However, the present Doshu often uses the term.

Carl Thompson wrote: Hello Dan, He said that in an interview for a Russian group. They translated their questions into English, I translated into Japanese, then Isoyama Sensei responded in Japanese, which I translated back into English and that got translated into Russian. There is a video of it out there somewhere, but I'm afraid I don't have the link. This is part of the transcript I gave them so that they could make subtitles: Regards Carl PS:

That picture is actually koa Kimura Sensei from Hawaii with o Sensei at the aikido of Honolulu dojo in 1961. Not Isoyama Shihan....but he was a tough old school guy also....

Jamie Yugawa wrote: That picture is actually koa Kimura Sensei from Hawaii with o Sensei at the aikido of Honolulu dojo in 1961. Not Isoyama Shihan....but he was a tough old school guy also....

Dear Jamie,

I didn't intend to imply that the picture was of Isoyama sensei. If you look earlier in the thread, you'll see that my PS, as well as the Isoyama quote, are in response to a question about whether O-sensei took ukemi. They are two separate sources. I didn't actually know the identity of the fellow in the photo, so thank you for the information.

Regards

Carl

Carl Thompson wrote: Dear Jamie, I didn't intend to imply that the picture was of Isoyama sensei. If you look earlier in the thread, you'll see that my PS, as well as the Isoyama quote, are in response to a question about whether O-sensei took ukemi. They are two separate sources. I didn't actually know the identity of the fellow in the photo, so thank you for the information. Regards Carl

Ah sorry my apologies. The context was misunderstood.

James Frankiewicz wrote: Add to the list: Robert Nadeau (California Aikido Association) Roy Suenaka (Wadokai Aikido) Shuji Maruyama (Kokikai Aikido) Gaku Homma (Aikido Nippon Kan / A.H.A.N.) Robert Frager Walther von Krenner (Kalispell Aikido; Kalispell, MT, USA) Yutaka Kurita (Mexican Aikido Association / Kurita Juku Aiki)

Roy Suenaka passed away in January of 2020. His memorial service was held in Charleston, S.C. where his dojo is located.

Markus Rohde wrote: Katsuaki Asai. He studied in Hombu Dojo from1955 to 1965. He is teaching seminars mainly in Germany, but also in Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy and France. In this years O Sensei was teaching regularly in Tokio, but they never knew when he would come or leave.

At a time when very many others were posing as uchi-deshi, Asai strictly rejected this term for himself. He said to me that if you wanted to think in that direction at all, then he'd see himself rather as soto-deshi.

It would not have been necessary for him to be "uchi", as he then lived very close to the old wooden building of the former Kobukan, the Ueshiba Dojo in Wakamatsu-cho. So, even as a young pupil, starting aikido at the age of 13, he was able to practice intensively with the grown-ups there every day.
You had to persevere first.
No wonder, that he became such a strong character and exceptional teacher.

Best,
Bernd

Bernd Lehnen wrote: At a time when very many others were posing as uchi-deshi, Asai strictly rejected this term for himself. He said to me that if you wanted to think in that direction at all, then he'd see himself rather as soto-deshi. It would not have been necessary for him to be "uchi", as he then lived very close to the old wooden building of the former Kobukan, the Ueshiba Dojo in Wakamatsu-cho. So, even as a young pupil, starting aikido at the age of 13, he was able to practice intensively with the grown-ups there every day. You had to persevere first. No wonder, that he became such a strong character and exceptional teacher. Best, Bernd

He told us once that he was regularly used by O Sensei for ukemi, sometimes to the point where he could barely get up. I also heard him say in public that he was never uchi-deshi and that it would be disrespectful to the actual uchi-deshi because their lives were much harder than his because of how hard they worked.

Asai Sensei is an absolutely brilliant aikido teacher.

Bernd Lehnen wrote: At a time when very many others were posing as uchi-deshi, Asai strictly rejected this term for himself. He said to me that if you wanted to think in that direction at all, then he'd see himself rather as soto-deshi.

The exact term he uses is kayo no deshi, a student who doesn't sleep in the dojo, but trains every day.
It was the same like Tada Sensei, but Tada Sensei was in the dojo every day from morning until evening, and trained as much as the uchi-deshis. That's why he had the same status.