Training at Iwama
The uchi-deshi experience (Part 1 of 2)
by Ethan Weisgard

Ethan Weisgard is an instructor at Copenhagen Aikido Club — Iwama Ryu Scandinavia, and an old friend of Fran Turner Sensei

This is the first in a two-part series. The conclusion will appear in the next issue.

Ethan Weisgard

In the Iwama Dojo, there are three categories of aikido practitioners: deshi — regular members of the Iwama dojo who come and train as they please; uchi-deshi — literally "inside student," a person who lives at the dojo in an apprentice-like relationship with Saito Sensei; and soto-deshi — literally "outside student," someone who has served as uchi-deshi for some time and then moved into their own accomodations but still has a close relationship with Saito Sensei. Soto-deshi are still expected to train as diligently as possible while living outside the dojo — a sort of an extended uchi-deshi relationship.

I have been to Iwama seven times, the first time in 1984. I met my wife Midoriko on that first trip. I have been back to Japan almost every other year since, to train and to visit family. My wife and I lived with our daughter Nanami and our son Yuji in Tomobe, the town next to Iwama, for a year and three months in 1990-91.

Morning practice at Iwama (author takes ukemi for Saito Sensei)

I trained as soto deshi during this period, experiencing training and living through four beautiful seasons in this wonderful part of Japan, northeast of Tokyo. The small country town of Iwama is located in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, close to the sea, in a mountainous area that abounds with lush forests. The capital of Ibaraki prefecture is Mito. A bit farther north of Mito you will find the city called Hitachi, which is home to the electrical appliance and electronics corporation of the same name.

O'Sensei used to come here to do misogi (purification) under the waterfall.

Iwama is about a two-hour ride by train from Tokyo on the Joban train line. The Iwama Dojo is a ten-minute walk from the station, in a quiet area with mostly private houses. If you walk from the Iwama dojo to the far side of town, you reach the mountain called Atago-san (san is another pronunciation of the word "yama" meaning mountain, not the polite prefix you add to names in Japanese, although with the beauty of the mountains in Japan, you do wish to address them with respect!). On top of this mountain is the Atago Jinja (Shinto shrine) where O'Sensei would come for special practice, being gently pushed up the steep steps by his students. On the far side of the mountain, past an area with old, thatched-roof farmhouses, lies a special jinja next to a small brook with a waterfall and pond by its side. O'Sensei used to come here to do misogi (purification) under the waterfall — a tradition that is still carried on today by Saito Sensei and the students at the Iwama dojo. Special weapons practice is still done here, just as in O'Sensei's day.

Saito Sensei and Students in Iwama

This area is truly magical. It is difficult to find places in Japan that still show no sign of modernization, but as you stand there, with the mountains sloping down on one side, the stream cascading into the pond, the worn-down stone steps leading up to the simple wooden structure of the shrine, the small cluster of farm houses further down the small road leading up to the shrine, time seems to have stood still.

...when our chores were finished, Sensei would often go out of his way to cook a special meal for us

My first trip to the Iwama Dojo to study as uchi-deshi under Saito sensei was in 1984. I was 26 years old and had been practicing aikido since 1976 under Takeji Tomita sensei, one of Saito Sensei's best students who had moved to Stockholm, Sweden. I went together with my good friend and fellow Copenhagen Aikido Club instructor Torben Dyrberg. We spent two months in the dojo, and at that time there were only four uchi-deshi, all from the Copenhagen club. This was a special opportunity to experience the feeling of training and living together in very close proximity to Saito Sensei. Sensei's house is about 50 meters from the dojo, and when our chores were finished, he would often go out of his way to cook a special meal for us and use these occasions to teach us a myriad of things, ranging from table manners to using a tenugui (Japanese handkerchief) for self defense!

To be continued in the next issue...


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