Aikido is Misogi

According to the explanations on his Aikido given by O-Sensei, Aikido is Misogi 1. So then, what is Misogi? „Misogi is a Japanese Shinto practice of ritual purification by washing the entire body“ 2 . Surely there may be better and more detailed or deeper explanations about what Misogi is and what it represents, but for the moment I will just leave it at that: Misogi is a purification practice. So then, if Aikido is Misogi and Misogi is a purification practice, then Aikido is a purification practice too.

 

"Aikido is Misogi,
Aikido is a purification practice"

 

To follow my line of thoughts on the subject here, I will make some assumptions first: 

1. Misogi is a purification practice to purify the self
   
2. the self consists of body, mind heart and spirit
3. body, mind, heart and spirit are not different parts of the self, but they are just different aspects of the same thing, the self

By following this line of thoughts, the question that now comes to mind is: in what ways exactly would or could our Aikido training be a purification practice to purify the self?

So maybe here's a way how to look at it:
By cleansing our sometimes more or less clogged or clouded perception 3 , we are getting more sensitive in our perceptive capacities. By clogged or clouded perception I mean our perception being reduced, diminished or limited due to personal circumstances like tension, personal filters and distortions which basically most of the times just represent or mirror parts of our own ego. By cleansing our perception, by becoming more sensitive we become more likely to perceive the situations we are in more clearly, thus enabling us to act more accordingly and getting closer to do just what is needed, by not doing to much and by not doing to little either.

We then act not so much anymore like what we think is needed according to our own and sometimes egoistic thinking. We don’t feel the need to impose our thinking, our ideas, ourselves over others. In training situations as in our daily Aikido training in the dojo we don't need to force a technique onto our training partners, but by allowing our body to perceive and make the experience of non-resistance our mind too, will be able to understand at once and a change of spirit towards a less egoistic behavior becomes possible. Thus a change of spirit towards a more peaceful thinking may happen too. 

Michio Hikitsuchi sensei explains 4 :
"Aikido, this budo of purification, this thing we call Aikido is dedicated to Susano o kami. Susano o kami’s job was to cleans and purify the universe. He was the god of the breath of live, but that’s the legend, the myth, but the idea of purifying through breath is still important. It’s all ki, we must purify what might be called the world of conflict and opposition, the world of fighting and destruction. Purification must start with one’s own self. So, the purpose of aikido is firstly, on a small scale, to perfect the individual and secondly, on a large scale, to bring peace and harmony to the earth. That's why Aikido was created, it is only by becoming one with nature that truly inspired Aikido can be born. 

Aikido must not become a mere sport. Aikido is a true budo, a true martial way, it should not be reduced to a simple game played for amusement. It is essential that O-Sensei’s original goal be preserved, that Aikido be a way to develop individuals with courage and sincerity. Without sincerity there is nothing, sincerity is the most important aspect of human endeavor. Humanity and sincerity must take precedence over all other things. Our efforts in life should lead to happiness and joy for all, this is the goal of Aikido, this is what makes Aikido a budo of great love. Where there is love there will be harmony. O-Sensei said love gives birth to harmony, harmony brings forth joy, joy is the greatest treasure. This is our motto and this is our goal as aikidoists. Ki, this thing called life energy, there’s ki that pours down from heaven and there’s ki that springs up from the earth, these two, the ki of heaven and the ki of earth flow into one another forming the ki of the universe, there is also the individuals ki. Aikido has the power through it’s techniques and spirit to connect and unite all of these sources of ki, thereby bringing them into actuality. This is the path of Aiki. The dojo should be a place to teach a budo of harmony and love. It has to be a budo that draws the world together as if one family. From here on we have to spread aikido around the world. The techniques (after the war) were different from what I had originally learned before the war. I still have books describing the old techniques, but the modern Aikido we started to practice in 1952 was different. The old destructive fighting attitude had been replaced by an emphasis on leading and harmony.

What is Aikido? As is said before, Aikido is dedicated to Susano o kami which is to say, Aikido is a way of purification. Aikido is a way to cleanse the individual spirit that’s what it means. It means to get to a place in your life where there’s no fighting, to make a world where there is no fighting, to work in this sense of great love we aim to have a heart capable of generous, large love like the love of god. God gives us the light of the sun, the warmth, the air. All of these are aspects of gods infinite grace. The first step is to purify your own heart and to perfect yourself as an individual, to work so that the whole world is like one family, it’s possible through purification. At all these levels this is the start of all Aikido, this is what Ueshiba Morihei, O-Sensei, the founder of Aikido taught in Aikido. 

You must be able to read the opponent’s ki and thus grasp their intention in advance of the actual attack. This involves a speed much greater than the speed of light or electricity, this requires a speed that transcends space and time, the ability to instantaneously sense the flow of a situation and change accordingly as such. It involves a spiritual transcendence of one’s own limited self . O-sensei called this masakatsu agatsu katsu hayabi, true victory, self victory, the speed that transcends time and space. This is the mystery of Aikido, the central teaching. Study it well, practice until you understand it’s essential principal. When your heart is bright and full of love, the spirit of the kami can enter into you and fill your Aikido with a wonderful life giving power, that’s what Aikido is about. 

You have to train your spirit at the same time as you train your body. We practice the techniques of Aikido to cleanse our body and to cleanse our spirit. Aikido is a practice created to build personal character in the larger sense. Aikido exists in order to build a world of peace and of harmony, that’s what it’s about. Everything depends on the movement of your ki. Cultivate your ki, you have to purify your soul and in the crucible of your own practice, only then will you attain a fine and wonderful spirit and this is the most central goal of Aikido, this is the most important point."

 

"The Aikido we do
is a mirror of our self,
body, mind, spirit and heart"

 

So yes, by looking at it this way, Aikido indeed can be seen and practiced as a Misogi practice. The Aikido we do is a mirror of our self, body, mind, spirit and heart.

 

1  see Takemusu Aiki, Aiki Shinzui
2  Quote taken from Wikipedia: Misogi
3  Perception is a receptive thing as it receives rather than it gives
4  Michio Hikitsuchi sensei "The heart of Aikido" Vol.1 (transcript by blog autor)

 

 

Page first published on 30.12.2024
Page last updated on 11.03.2025

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Disclaimer: everything presented in this post only represents my personal opinions based on my personal  knowledge, understanding and experiences made regarding the matter in discussion except where quotes are made. Other opinions are highly respected as long as they can withstand the argumentation. Some of the points presented may be purely speculative on my side due to the lack of evidence known to me. Any evidence presented to help clarify the points in question is highly welcomed. The post may still undergo little changes, although the content will mainly remain the same.

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