Bill Witt Reports on Dedication of O'Sensei Statue in
Iwama From Bill Witt
President
Takemusu Aikido Association
PALO ALTO, CALIF. (11-14-09) -
I just returned from Japan where, on Nov. 8, I attended a dedication ceremony of
a statue of the Founder at the Aiki Jinja in Iwama. It was an event attended by
approximately 400 people who watched a Shinto ceremony inside the shrine. Then Doshu and
his group walked over to the covered statue of O-Sensei. The Shinto priests, Doshu,
Doshu's wife, Wakasensei, and others, on cue, pulled ropes and the cover fell to reveal a
bronze statue of the Founder standing firmly as if he were protecting the shrine.
(Photos: At left, about 400 onlookers gather around O'Sensei statue
after unveiling. At right, Paolo Corallini from Italy, Bill Witt, and Ulf Evenas from
Sweden.)
After the ceremony and a bit of networking, we boarded buses for a short trip to a large
hall for an afternoon lunch. There were speeches from the dignitaries, a classic dance by
a woman who had been a student of O-Sensei's about 56 years ago. Mr. Inagaki was the
master of ceremonies for the event and recognized the three foreigners who were in
attendance: Ulf Evenas from Sweden, Paolo Corallini from Italy, and Bill Witt from the
United States. We were all required to give a short speech to the 300 guests for which we
were unprepared. Fortunately, one of the foreign Ibaraki Dojo regulars was fluent in
Japanese and translated for us.
Since the TAA, representing all of you, had donated money for the statue, I attended the
event as your representative. It was an honor to be there (and even to make the speech)
and to meet once again with instructors of the Ibaraki Dojo.
Currently, there are ten foreign deshi living at the dojo. They have
training several times a day and maintain the grounds of the dojo and shrine. I would like
to add that anyone who wishes to train at the Ibaraki Dojo should contact their dojo-cho
and together we can make arrangements. You probably don't have to know Japanese on the
dojo grounds, but going into town to buy food, for instance, it would help. I would also
stress that a period of training at the Ibaraki Dojo is not like a vacation at a posh
resort. There is work to be done on the grounds and the training is serious. The day
begins at 5 am and concludes after evening keiko at 8 pm. There are separate accomodations
for men and women. Training at the Ibaraki Dojo is a unique experience which will remain
with you in your aikido career. The opportunity to train at the dojo where the Founder
developed the aikido we do today and is considered to be the heart of aikido is not to be
overlooked. I hope you will take advantage of the situation.
(See more photos at aikicommunications.net/dedicationphotos.) |