page_title: Iwama Dōjō
section_title: Aiki Jinja
hierarchical_section_title: Iwama Dōjō / Aiki Jinja
caption_attribution_description: English: Aiki Jinja日本語: 合氣神社
context_page_description: The Iwama Dōjō is a dōjō built by the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, who lived there from 1942 until his death in 1969. It is located in the former town of Iwama and became an important historical location for the development of aikido and "a Mecca to the aikido community." This dojo is also where Morihiro Saito, one of the founder's closest students, learned and taught aikido from 1946 until 2002 developing what is often referred to as the Iwama Style.
  Iwama was a small farming village in Japan, located 100 km north-east of Tokyo and at the centre of Ibaraki prefecture. Iwama was annexed into the City of Kasama in 2006. The original Iwama aikido dojo, Aiki Shrine and the neighbouring Tanrenkan are now addressed in the Yoshioka district of Kasama city, Ibaraki.
  The Iwama dojo was significantly damaged in the 2011 earthquake. The Aiki Shrine and other dojos in former Iwama Town were also affected by the disaster.
context_section_description: Aiki Jinja (合気神社) is the shrine built by Morihei Ueshiba in Iwama in honor of the deities of aikido. (Jinja is the Japanese term for a shrine.) The shrine grounds include the Ibaraki Branch dojo (training hall).
  The 42 kami enshrined within the Aiki Jinja include Morihei Ueshiba's Guardian Gods, Saruta Hiko no Ookami, Kunitsu Ryuoh Kuzuryu, Daigongen, Tajikarao no mikoto, Amenomurakumo Kukisamuhara Ryuoh, Ketsumi Miko no Ookami, Wakumusubi no Mikoto, Ryuoh, Daigongen, Ootengu, Daibosatsu, and others.
  The first part of the shrine building (the Honden or "Okuden" housing the deities of aikido) was completed in late autumn, 1943. The second bigger part (the Haiden) was erected in front of the Honden in 1962. Both parts were renovated by care-taker Morihiro Saito in 2001-2002 with the approval of  Dōshu Moriteru Ueshiba. This renovation also included a fence set up around the compound, and a stone with the carvings "Aiki Jinja" designed by Seiseki Abe, a master of both calligraphy and  Aikido, who was also the calligraphy teacher of Morihei Ueshiba. A large statue of the founder of aikido was erected in the shrine grounds and unveiled on 8 November 2009. Surplus material from this monument was used to make a bust of the founder which was unveiled at the newly rebuilt Iwama Station on 24 July 2012.
  The Torii gate and Honden were damaged during the Great Tohoku earthquake. The relatively unscathed Haiden was used for aikido training while the dojo was unusable.
  When Morihei Ueshiba was alive, once a month he would preside over what was initially a small religious ceremony in the Aiki Jinja called  Tsukinamisai (月並み祭), which lasted up to an hour. Food offerings of fruits, vegetables, and fish adorned the kamidana.Later, a small party with the uchi deshi (live-in students) was held inside the dojo. After Ueshiba died, caretaker Morihiro Saito took responsibility for hosting the ceremony every month on the 14th. This tradition is kept up by current Dōshu Moriteru Ueshiba.
  Every year on April 29 (the start of the Japanese Golden Week holiday), the annual shrine festival "Aiki Jinja Rei Taisai" (合気神社例大祭　"Grand Festival of the Aiki Shrine") is held by Oomoto priests in commemoration of Ueshiba's death on April 26, 1969. Under former caretaker Morihiro Saito, the event grew to become a very big day for the small town of Iwama. The festival has continued to attract hundreds of Aikido practitioners to the small dojo and shrine under current Dojo Chief Moriteru Ueshiba.
  The Aiki Shrine Festival usually starts with a "shubatsu"　(a Shinto ritual), "taisai-shukuji"　(ritual felicitations) and "tamagushi-hoten" （offering of sacred sprigs） by the Ueshiba family and representatives from the aikido world and local community. The attendees then take part in a ritual prayer and memorial service offered by the Ueshiba family and other dignitries. A special Shinto prayer called the "Amatsu Norito" is recited before the current Dōshu makes a speech and a ritual demonstration of Aikido called a "hōnō embu" (奉納演武) within the haiden of the shrine. The festival usually closes with "naorai" (a celebratory meal) in  the dojo and surrounding gardens, often with the azaleas in bloom.
caption: The Aiki Shrine in Iwama
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