Osensei yearly anniversary
ks
Today is the 51st anniversary of Osensei's passing. I tuned into Linda Holiday's online gathering via Zoom . I was particularly moved by Robert Frager sensei's talk sharing his experiences with Osensei. Friday during our virtual noon class at the very end I offered the formal Norito and Kami Goto chants. You can catch it at the end of the video above. I believe it is important to keep our connection to Osensei alive. Training in Shingu every morning Hikitsuchi sensei taught after the class there would always be the formal prayers offered. It was a part of our training to be present for that. Anno sensei says Osensei would often start class with the norito.
Often times Aikido is seen as movment or philosophy or social interaction. But it was Osensei's way of connecting to the Kami, the creation forces of the universe, and to his own true nature/original consciousness that allowed him to stand with the kami. So as best as I can I continue to chant these ancient prayers. When Mary Heiny sensei and I got back to Santa Cruz at the end of 1973 into 1974, we would meet at her apartment on Locust Street and she would chant these ancient prayers. She wrote out both Amatsu Norito and Kami Goto in Roman characters so that I could learn them. On a year long stay in Japan in 1977 I was in the Shingu dojo and felt I got a message from Osensei:"Learn the Kami Goto and you'll always have a connection to me!" It took me about 6 months learning a line or two everyday. In Japan especially in Shingu there are lots of shrines, so I could practice pretty much everyday.
So I continue to chant everyday when I can. My feel is that they connect me to the age of Kami,
which continues from the ancient times through today. Hikitsuchi sensei's uke in the above poster is me. It was May of 1977 in the Budokan in Tokyo. A whole group from the Kumano Juku dojo went and participated in the All Japan Aikido Demonstrations. It was the only time I went.
The topic of discussion in the above video is Osensei's statement that the dojo is a graveyard. A place where matters of life and death are resolved. Where old ideas go to die. For takamusu(creativity) to flower, the old must give way to the new.I think it is well presented in the video. One thing that is lacking in much of Aikido today is that sense of "Shinken Shobu", that every moment is like an encounter with live blades. H talks about fixing your thoughts on emptiness, standing in the void, transcending life and death. That creativity comes through focus and development. It is interesting sometimes to reflect on that. The Osensei Revisited camp is cancelled due to the coronavirus epidemic. But it is crucial we keep Osensei in our hearts, especially in these difficult times.
Onegai Shimasu.......
Today is the 51st anniversary of Osensei's passing. I tuned into Linda Holiday's online gathering via Zoom . I was particularly moved by Robert Frager sensei's talk sharing his experiences with Osensei. Friday during our virtual noon class at the very end I offered the formal Norito and Kami Goto chants. You can catch it at the end of the video above. I believe it is important to keep our connection to Osensei alive. Training in Shingu every morning Hikitsuchi sensei taught after the class there would always be the formal prayers offered. It was a part of our training to be present for that. Anno sensei says Osensei would often start class with the norito.
Often times Aikido is seen as movment or philosophy or social interaction. But it was Osensei's way of connecting to the Kami, the creation forces of the universe, and to his own true nature/original consciousness that allowed him to stand with the kami. So as best as I can I continue to chant these ancient prayers. When Mary Heiny sensei and I got back to Santa Cruz at the end of 1973 into 1974, we would meet at her apartment on Locust Street and she would chant these ancient prayers. She wrote out both Amatsu Norito and Kami Goto in Roman characters so that I could learn them. On a year long stay in Japan in 1977 I was in the Shingu dojo and felt I got a message from Osensei:"Learn the Kami Goto and you'll always have a connection to me!" It took me about 6 months learning a line or two everyday. In Japan especially in Shingu there are lots of shrines, so I could practice pretty much everyday.
which continues from the ancient times through today. Hikitsuchi sensei's uke in the above poster is me. It was May of 1977 in the Budokan in Tokyo. A whole group from the Kumano Juku dojo went and participated in the All Japan Aikido Demonstrations. It was the only time I went.
The topic of discussion in the above video is Osensei's statement that the dojo is a graveyard. A place where matters of life and death are resolved. Where old ideas go to die. For takamusu(creativity) to flower, the old must give way to the new.I think it is well presented in the video. One thing that is lacking in much of Aikido today is that sense of "Shinken Shobu", that every moment is like an encounter with live blades. H talks about fixing your thoughts on emptiness, standing in the void, transcending life and death. That creativity comes through focus and development. It is interesting sometimes to reflect on that. The Osensei Revisited camp is cancelled due to the coronavirus epidemic. But it is crucial we keep Osensei in our hearts, especially in these difficult times.
Onegai Shimasu.......
posted by jack wada at 10:07 PM
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