Tenkawa Gasshuku
This year (2010), Shimamoto Shihan’s annual gasshuku at Tenkawa Shrine was held on July 24th and 25th. The gasshuku is usually offered to all his affiliated students in Osaka including his home dojo Shosenji in Toyonaka, Yano-Sensei’s dojo at Budokan Hibiki, and Tamayuki-Sensei’s dojo at Namba Parks. This year, Shihamoto Shihan has also invited Kani Sensei, chief editor of the ‘Aikido Shimbun’ (aikido newspaper) and head of a sub-division of the aikikai, and his wife.
The program took place as follows:
Saturday
8.30 meet at Shosenji dojo
13.00 arrival at Tenkawa Shrine
15.30-17.00 training
18.30 dinner
20.00 lecture meeting with Shihan & Guji (this year: his son)
22.00- party till bed time
Sunday
6.00 wake up
6.30-7.30 training
8.00 breakfast
10.00 ceremony (usually held by Guji, head priest of Tenkawa Shrine, who is absent this year and replaced by his son) and aikido demonstration on the shrine’s own NOH-stage
12.00 lunch
13.30 departure
Tenkawa Shrine
Tenkawa Grand Benzaiten Shrine in Tenkawa Village, Nara, is known to be the place where mythical emperor Kammu received the word ‘Hinomoto’ from Heaven, which became the inspiration for Japan’s Japanese name 日本 (nihon – origin of the sun).
This fact alone easily justifies that it is thought to be the most important spiritual site in Kansai. The shrine is headed by Guji. Guji, Tamayuki-Sensei, has told me once when I was lucky enough to sit on the passenger seat of his car on the way back from a ceremony at Kosenji Shrine, is the main figure of Soto-Zen in the Kansai area and has taught him how to perform many ceremonies and prayers.
Koya, Kumano, and Yoshino are traditionally the three holiest areas of Japan. Tenkawa Shrine is located in Yoshino. It enshrines the Goddes Benzaiten, identified with the Hindu Goddess Sarasvati. Benzaiten is the Goddess of art, literature, music, and eloquence.
The shrine is closely associated with NOH theater and has its own NOH stage, where we are allowed to do our aikido demonstration each year, although it is usually not permitted to step onto a NOH stage with bare feet, without wearing the customary white tabi socks. Shihan emphasizes what an honor this is and reminds us to keep our eyes looking upwards when we do our initial bows before the demonstration, upwards to the gods dwelling at this shrine to thank them for the special permit and apologize for the dirt of our feet on the pure NOH stage.
Another major feature of the shrine is the ‘Iwakura’, an ancient dwelling place of ‘kami’ or gods that played a central part in emperor Jimmu’s offerings made at the shrine. It lies half hidden in the woods, inside a beautiful building made of Yoshino hinoki (a local type of cypress used in many souvenirs today), and is not accessible to visitors.
The second important object at this shrine taken straight from the Japanese creation myth is the ‘Isuzu’, a triangle formed by three bells. It was held by mirth Goddess Uzume when she performed a sacred dance that managed to convince sun goddess Amaterasu O-Mikami to re-emerge from a cave in which she had hidden herself, depriving the world of sunlight. The Isuzu is said to contain 50 kami. Its sound harmonizes with the vibration of the universe (the vibration of the universe is also called ‘kotodama’ and was a power O-Sensei Morihei Ueshiba deeply respected and harnessed in his quest for harmony), creating a special connection between humans and kami.
Tenkawa Shrine is also said to have influenced Ennogyoja, the founder of Shugendo, and Kukai (or Kobo Daishi) the founder of Shingon Buddhism, both important religious figures in Japanese history who visited the shrine during their life time.
The Shrine is situated in the forest-covered Omine mountains and appeals to our aesthetic sense with its natural surroundings, ancient Japanese architecture, and bright red torii. Finally, however, it must be noted that there seems to be another energy emanating from this place that addresses a sense usually hidden in the mysterious folds of human existence.
Although I am far from having harnessed, or even fully discovered it for myself, I am convinced that this is what is meant when we say: ‘In learning martial arts, we must try to develop a sixth sense,’ that this is what Musashi meant when he said ‘Your eyes are weak. Your perception is strong.’ I cannot see this energy I am talking about. But I can perceive it. In short, being here at Tenkawa Shrine, I can understand why it is said to be one of several centers of divine energy in the world.
自然体 (Shizentai) – Being Natural
In our first training session on Saturday afternoon, Shihan says: ‘I believe that the energy in this place brings out the best in everybody. It helps you get closer to your essence, to truly commit to and express who you are. It makes young bamboo trees look even greener, mountains even mightier, the sky even vaster.’
And with this, he introduces the theme he has chosen for this gasshuku: (shizentai) (being natural).
‘Everybody, simply be who you are. I would like to conduct this gasshuku concentrating on one thing: 誠を尽くす (makoto wo tsukusu) – aiming for the highest level of honesty.
At the same time, let’s try to preserve shizentai throughout the gasshuku. Shizentai does not mean letting your shoulders slump forward or your head fall back. It means putting your shoulder blades close to the spine, and moving them downwards. It means keeping your knees slightly bent, ready to move in any direction. Please be aware of this difference. Let’s be honest, let’s be ourselves. And, finally, let’s try to maintain shizentai at all times.’
Flying Sword, Smiling Master
‘Once,’ Shihan tells us, ‘I was supposed to do a kendo demonstration with Osawa Sensei, the teacher of my life. We stood opposite each other and began the demonstration. I was intent on performing well and attacked so hard, I knocked Osawa-Sensei’s sword out of his hands. It flew high up in the air and turned and turned. When it fell back down, Sensei just picked it up, completely relaxed, ready to get on with the demonstration.
What I think now is, WOW, he was SO NATURAL about this incident! Nobody usually behaves like this. Any teacher who has his sword knocked out of his hands by a student at a demonstration would be completely embarrassed. And probably angry with the student. But Osawa-Sensei had no such hang-ups.
I didn’t understand or appreciate it at the time, but he was very special in how natural, how completely unperturbed this event left him. Now, in retrospect, it is this attitude that I try to emulate. To not be embarrassed about making mistakes. To not be fearful, or angry. To simply open yourself up and take things as they come. To be natural. Osawa-Sensei was a master of shizentai. He was masterfully natural.’
一大事 (Ichidaiji) – The Most Precious
‘Some things seem obvious to us. Like the fact that we get to breathe air every day. But imagine this. A car has gone off a cliff and landed in the water. The doors and windows won’t open. Slowly, slowly, the car begins to sink, and the water rises. Above the driver’s feet, above his knees…there is less and less air in the car. The water rises above his belly button. Above his chest. Above his chin. He cocks his head back, so he can breathe even when the water climbs still higher. And that’s when he gets to breathe his last bit of air. This will be the moment he has appreciated air the most in his entire life. But isn’t that a little late?
I only realized how great Osawa-Sensei was when he had already passed away. I only learned to respect Suzuki-Sensei’s greatness when I was no longer training with him. A lot of the time, we don’t realize what is most important to us until it is no longer there. In a way, this is how we can identify the things that are most precious to us – air, water, a great teacher, the things that occupy the place of 一大事 (ichidaiji – the most precious) in our lives.
But once they’re gone, it is too late. Let’s try to identify the things and people that are most important in our lives and appreciate them while they’re there.’
Top
‘When you spin a top, after a while it stays in one place, spinning and spinning. When you don’t look too closely, it seems like the top is standing still. But really, it is spinning really fast, emitting an enormous energy. There is an expression called 静中動(seichudo), 動中静 (dochusei) meaning calmness inside movement, movement inside calmness.
This is the principle I would like you to emulate when training aikido. You need to stabilize your axis and ground yourself. This is the calmness you need. But at the same time you need to move freely and flexibly and emit the energy needed to perform a technique. Absorb energy through your crown, neck, and shoulders down your back, emit it spiral – shaped through your abdomen, keep your knees slightly bent and ready to move in any direction. In aikido, this is how you get to the top. Be the top.’
Heaven Is Not Selfish
After dinner, I walk past Shihan and Mama-san’s tatami-room. Shihan is leaning against a folded pile of futons, relaxing. ‘Anna,’ he calls me, and I kneel down beside him. He points at a calligraphy in a frame above the door. ‘Can you read this?’ ‘No,’ I have to admit. It is the old, artistic style of calligraphy, in which characters are often difficult to recognize. ‘I don’t even know whether it is read from left to right or right to left.’ In the old days, characters were still written from right to left even in horizontal writing, which today, runs from left to right as in English. Many calligraphies of this kind still employ the old style. Shihan laughs and asks some Japanese girls walking past if they can read it. They can’t. ‘Japanese people can’t even read this!’ He tells me with his typical kindness, making me feel less concerned about my ignorance. ‘It says 天無私心 (tenmushishin),’ he enlightens me. Literally ‘heaven’ ‘nothing/ no/ none’ ‘I/ self’, ‘heart/ mind’.
When I let the meaning of the characters roam my mind for a translation, I get stuck during the interpretative part. There are so many different things that could be expressed with these characters in this order. ‘Heaven does not have its own mind.’ ‘Heaven and nothing are in my heart.’ ‘When I get over my mind, I will be in Heaven.’
Seeing my puzzled face, Shihan explains: ‘Heaven does not possess an ego. It does not act selfishly.’ The right translation crystallizes through his words. ‘Heaven is not selfish’.
Through this little bonus lecture I am lucky enough to receive, Shimamoto Shihan has shown me once again that he is one of the people in my life I consider ‘ichidaiji’, and I thank him for his kindness and his wisdom with a deep bow.
平常心 (heijoshin) – A Steady Mind / Determination
‘Usually the word ‘heijoshin’ is interpreted to mean a state of mind in which nothing can make you budge. It means that you keep your mind stable and unperturbed by outside influences. But in my opinion ‘heijoshin’ means being determined to make the best of ourselves, being strict with ourselves at all times, no matter where we are, what we’re doing, or what is happening around us. Always try to maintain good posture, shizentai, and good attitude. Be respectful, honest, and mindful of your actions. Each and every moment, be strict with yourself. Be determined. Be your best possible self. In my opinion, this is the real meaning of ‘heijoshin.”
四規七則 (shiki nanasoku) – Four Principles, Seven Rules
At our lecture meeting, Guji’s son tells us about Tenkawa Shrine and its history (see ‘Tenkawa Shrine’ above). Afterwards, Shihan gives us a little lecture and a beautiful present. He has hand-written Sen no Rikyu’s 四規七則 (shiki nanasoku) – Four Principles, Seven Rules for each of us, complete with beautiful calligraphy wrapping paper, our names, and plastic covers he has gone to buy with his car late last night when he realized he didn’t have any. ‘They were 100 Yen each,’ he laughs apologetically when he tells me this little anecdote later at the party. ‘100 Yen or 10,000 Yen,’ I say, ‘it makes a big difference having them!’, and express my gratefulness for his consideration. He is a living example of ‘heijoshin’.
Shihan has decided to use the 四規七則 (shiki nanasoku) – Four Principles, Seven Rules at this gasshuku to help us achieve shizentai. Although he is not a student of the tea ceremony, his mother was good at it, and he has chosen this set of rules by Sen no Rikyu, the famous inventor of 茶道 (sado), the tea ceremony, to give us a message he thinks we can apply to training aikido, expressing ourselves, and finding shizentai in everyday life. These particular rules of the tea ceremony do not directly refer directly to making the tea, but to the mindset and the attitude towards the tea, the ceremony, and the guests.
The four principles are 和敬清寂(wakeiseijaku) – harmony, respect, cleanliness, and a character also used in the second half of the word ‘wabi-sabi’, sometimes translated as Zen-art. It means something like ‘loneliness’ but has positive rather than negative connotations. Some attempts to translate it could be ‘self-sufficiency’, ‘modesty’, or ‘humility’.
The seven rules are:
1 Serve the tea so it pleases the guests.
2 Place the coals to make the water boil.
3 Arrange each flower according to its nature.
4 Coolness in the summer, warmth in the winter.
5 Be ready ahead of schedule.
6 Even when it doesn’t rain, take an umbrella with you.
7 Be mindful of the guests.
‘Point one and two sound obvious, but as I said before, often things that appear obvious are the most important things, and there are rules for how every little thing should be done.
Point three expresses what I told you about aikido. I asked you all to try and be as honest as possible, to express yourselves just as you are. If a flower’s head hangs down, it will be arranged with its head hanging down. No proper practitioner of the tea ceremony would try to straighten it out. This would be against the third rule.
Number four. Each action needs to be appropriate to the particular situation in which it is carried out.
Number five. Remember when we came into the dojo today? They had already turned on the air conditioning for a while, cleaned the room, put away anything that was in the way. Do you remember how nice it was to be welcomed into a cool room like that? A room that was already perfectly prepared for us when we entered?
Number six means, be prepared for things that could happen. Always be ready.
Number seven means be mindful of your partner and everybody else you interact with.’
The Face of the Buddha
After Shihan’s lecture, Mama-san raises her hand. She has something to tell us: ‘Earlier, during training, when you were all sitting there, listening, I was looking at your faces, and suddenly noticed that you all had the same expression in your face. Then a thought occurred to me that touched me deeply. I thought: Wow! This must be the face of the Buddha!’
And with this, Mama-san opens the door to a lively night of drinks and conversation that, for many of us lasts till morning, when we are welcomed anew into a cooled, well prepared training room and blessed anew with the presence of Shimamoto Shihan, our most precious teacher.
