Ceremony in T’souke for Kawahara Sensei

L to R: Joe Planes, Bruce Riddick, Barb Wolfe, Ed Wass, Hilary Dawson, Michael Richardson,
Shirley Alphonse, Ralph Kopperson, Ishiyama Sensei, Chief Gordon Planes, Scott Macphail(photo taken by Kimberly)

The Ceremony

Boommmm. Boommmm. Boommmm … Chief Gordon Planes beat theceremonial drum and began hischant as the war canoe skimmed
the cove just off the T’souke
traditional cemetery. The drumbeat, dense, with a velvety
resonance vibrated through ourbodies and Kawahara Sensei wasagain among us, his spirit cloaking

us like a warm, comforting andsheltering cloak.
The Canada Geese wading on
the spit lined up along theshoreline and honked theirrecognition and saluted
Sensei as we passed. As
the chant stopped, a large
flock of seagulls on thespit off the starboard bow
soared and Sensei lifted
his cloak to soar withthem, and plane above us
in the war canoe below.
Slowly and reverently
Scott versed Sensei’s
ashes into the waves andthey settled a meter below
us in a grey patch as thecanoe rode over above and we all had
our last look.
Ishiyama Sensei expressed hisparting prayer made on the group's
behalf when the ashes were being
spread, "May Kawahara Sensei's soulandspirit rest in peaceand guide andprotect us in ourjourney for years
to come."“Ah,” said
Kawahara Sensei,“my voyage
complete, now thesea will take mehome,” and his spirit disappeared into the sky.
As we quietly paddled back, I saw a seal crossing ourpath, head and shoulders just above thesurface; it took a last look at us in the warcanoe, dove, and I did not see it surface.

envelope
placed it on the pebbles until
there were only ashes
remaining on the beach, to be
washed by the tides.

Returning to shore andbeaching the canoe, Shirley
Alphonse, the T’souke Healer,lighted the white envelope thatcarried the ash container. The
rising flames reminded us ofmemories burnt into our souls.
Ishiyama Sensei held theas long as possible then

The T’souke tradition recalls the legend of
their women, tired of domestic strife, sailingoff across thePacific toJapan. Thus,Sensei knew it
had been
done before
and he would
travel homeborne by thesame currents
as the T’souke
had been
centuries
earlier.
The solemn ceremony started earlier with eachparticipant receiving a cleansing smoke smudge at an
altar of sacred T’souke objects.
Everyone blessed the envelope with the container of Kawahara Sensei’s ashes withsacred water from the T’Sooke and from Japan waving cedar boughs over the envelope
after dipping them in the sacred waters. I remember cedar boughs being used in asimilar manner during a Shinto ceremony at the Aiki Shrine in Iwama during theremembrance ceremony for O Sensei.
Finishing back at the altar we all thanked Shirley the Healer, Chief Gordon Planes andtheir team before taking our leave of each other. Sensei cared for us, for years, and onbehalf of all Aikido practitioners hetouched, we paid our last respects
and honoured his last wishes,
perhaps with even more symbolism
than he, or any of us, might haveimagined.
Background
These were not the only links
between Aikido people and theT’souke Nation. Kaya Sensei, Chief
Priest of the Tanashi Shrine and a physician (psychiatrist), is a close friend of Ishiyama
Sensei’s and he kindly visited and offered purification ceremonies at several dojo
locations over the years. In 2006 Kaya Sensei visited Victoria Aikikai to perform a dojo
purification ceremony, and that is where Kawahara Sensei and Kaya Sensei first met
and they became very good friends.
Whenever Kawahara Sensei
returned to Japan, he made a pointof visiting Kaya Sensei's shrine inTokyo.
Ishiyama Sensei arranged for aspiritual exchange event in 2008, inwhich Kaya Sensei performed ashinto ceremony and Healer Shirley
Alphonse and Chief Gordon Planes
did their traditional native rituals atT'souke Nation Band Hall.
Afterwards, they had private

purification ceremony near thebeach. Kawahara Sensei's
ashes were spread about 30
feet off the same beach, rightnext to the T’souke
Nation sacred burial site.
In 2009, Healer Shirley andChief Gordon were invited toJapan by Kaya Sensei, and theyshared their spiritual tradition
with Japanese people. Since
then Shirley Alphonse and Kaya
Sensei remain in contact.
by Bruce RiddickContributions
Michael Richardson observed:“About four or five years ago, Ed Wass and I were asked if we would assist Kawahara
Sensei with his morning practice at the dojo in Victoria. We were strictly instructed thatsuch practice was not about us and our practice but we were to assist Sensei in every
way possible with his practice. As practice progressed, and Sensei being theconsummate teacher that he was, he began teaching us and guiding us forward in ourAikido journey.
When he would be absent for a period of time, he would leave us a ''curriculum" tofollow in our thrice weekly practice. We did this practice standing on a part sheet ofplywood and when Sensei was away, we always set out his plywood board so that hecontinued to be with us in spirit. Sensei's spirit was so strong that it was easy tovisualize him, there, on his piece of plywood leading us through practice even when he
was off on a seminar or in Japan.
Elements of the ceremony in Sooke were like that too. As the canoe glided near theT'Souke Nations sacred burial spot and Scott Sensei eased Kawahara Sensei's ashes
into the sea there was the strength of Sensei's spirit with us as he moved on his final
journey and we continued on ours.
As each day passes I feel his spirit and think of him. We still set out Sensei's plywood
board.
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“While I turned my head
That traveler
I'd just passed ...
Melted into the mist”

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Shiki”by Michael Richardson

Ed Wass observed:“I was drawn to the moment when Scott Sensei poured Kawahara Sensei’s ashes into
the water along side the canoe. We were moving slowly forward with the ashes flowing
in a ribbon, mixing with the water, mixing and flowing, which eventually will head withthe out going tide into the Strait. The water was still (no ripples), Seeing the ashes
flowing along side, I felt at peace to be there when his final wishes were carried out.
On our paddle returning to shore I thought of sensei,

His talking of cars,
His gentle slap on my shoulders telling me to relax, relax, and then saying
with a smile “ten years Black belt”!
Liked leather, touched my leather jacket and said, very old, butvery nice!
Smoke from shell,fanned by feather
Drumming spirit.
Sensei’s ashes,mixing with water,
current, circular swirls,
flow, dancing, movement
Aikido.”by Ed Wass

"In my memory of that day I see only the lovely embroidered white fabric that had
contained Sensei's ashes, crumbling to ash itself, nestled casually on the tidal
shore. All that remains now of Kawahara Sensei in this world is his work: in ourminds, as we remember him; in our bodies, as we strive to follow his teachings,
and in our hearts. Domo arigato gozaimashita, Sensei."by Barb Wolfe