Morihei Ueshiba, the Founder of Aikido

O'Sensei Murihei Ueshiba

Aikido was founded by Morihei Ueshiba. Ueshiba Sensei, or O’Sensei (Great Teacher) as he is called, spent many arduous years training in "budo" (Japanese martial arts). He also delved deeply into religions, studying Buddhism, Shinto, and Oomoto Kyo. Although invincible as a warrior, he was above all a man of peace who detested fighting, war, and any kind of violence. His way was Aikido, which can be translated as "The Art of Peace."
Morihei was on a spiritual quest and was transformed by three visions. The first occurred in 1925, when Morihei was forty-two years old. After defeating a high-ranking swordsman by avoiding all his cuts and thrusts (Morihei was unarmed), Morihei went into his garden.

"Suddenly the earth trembled. Golden vapor welled up from the ground and engulfed me. I felt transformed into a golden image, and my body seemed as light as a feather. All at once I understood the nature of creation: the Way of a Warrior is to manifest Divine Love, a spirit that embraces and nurtures all things. Tears of gratitude and joy streamed down my cheeks. I saw the entire earth as my home, and the sun, moon, and stars as my intimate friends. All attachment to material things vanished."

The second vision took place in December of 1940.

"Around two o'clock in the morning as I was performing ritual purification, I suddenly forgot every martial art technique I ever learned. All of the techniques handed down from my teachers appeared completely anew. Now they were vehicles for the cultivation of life, knowledge, virtue, and good sense, not devices to throw and pin people."

The third vision was in 1942, during the worst of the fighting of World War II and in one of the darkest periods of human history. Morihei had a vision of the Great Spirit of Peace, a path that could lead to the elimination of all strife and the reconciliation of humankind.

"The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood as a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek competition are making a grave mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst sin a human being can commit. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent slaughter - it is the Art of Peace, the power of love."
Morihei secluded himself in the country and devoted every minute of his life thereafter to refining and spreading Aikido, the Art of Peace.
Although Aikido originated with Morihei in Japan, it was intended to be a gift for all humankind. Some have chosen, or will select in the future, Aikido as their own particular Way, practicing it on the mats and applying it to their daily lives. Many more have been and will be inspired by the universal message of the Art of Peace and its implications for our world. The divine beauty:
Of heaven and earth!
All creation,
Members of
One family.
(adapted from About Aikido and Morihei Ueshiba)