conceded defeat and bowed to the
new champion.
The crowd stood still. The people
couldn’t believe it. They just stared at
each other silently. In a moment, one
of them who had regained his senses
shouted, “Banzai!” (hurrah) The rest
whooped in unison, “Banzai! Banzai!”
to the new champion.
Ueshiba put on his geta and
headed for the tree where he’d left his
gear. The men joined him while the
women prepared lunches and drinks.
Rice, fish, meat, tea and sake were
placed before the group. After serv-
ing the men and boys, the women,
conforming to their custom, hurried
home without a bite.
THE AFTERMATH
Ueshiba drank cup after cup of warm
tea and strong sake to quench his
thirst, and he swallowed his food
in great gulps. He drank and ate as
much as three people. Finally, he
could not eat any more. He was so
bloated that he could hardly sit up. As
he leaned against the tree, he felt the
cold, damp garment on his back, giv-
ing him goose pimples. He removed
the top half of his kimono and began
to wring out the perspiration.
The villagers then got a look
at the new conqueror’s partially
exposed body. “He isn’t flabby,” they
exclaimed. “Look at the bulging flesh
rippling in the sunlight!”
As Ueshiba leaned his bare back
against the tree, he felt content. Even
the odor from the rice paddies did not
disturb him. The cool breeze evapo-
rated his sweat. Completely relaxed,
he stared into the blue sky and
watched the clouds playing peekaboo
with the sun. Finally, he closed his
eyes and began to reminisce.
THE BACKGROUND
Ueshiba recalled his first master in
the martial arts, Tokuzaburo Tozawa,
who taught him kito-ryu, an ancient
form of jujitsu. Ueshiba was only
a teenager then, but he became so
fascinated that he vowed he would
spend his life studying all the mar-
tial arts.
Later, at age 20, Ueshiba studied
yagi-ryu under Masakatsu Nakai,
a small but tough samurai. It was
Nakai who taught him how to use the
bokken proficiently. The small samu-
rai left an everlasting impression on
Ueshiba when he promoted the lad to
black belt.
During the Russo-Japanese War
(1904-1905), Ueshiba was inducted
into the Japanese army. Although he
was extremely huge yet short in stat-
ure — 5 feet tall and 195 pounds — he
was an excellent soldier. He was even
recommended for cadet training,
although he refused.
The strenuous basic training of the
Japanese army practically exhausted
his whole company by each evening,
but Ueshiba enjoyed it. He was finally
being repaid for his continuous dedi-
cation to maintaining a strong and
healthy body. He clearly remembered
how he used to rise early each morn-
ing to lift heavy rocks and to uproot
trees in his path.THE FITTEST
In his slumber, his mind wandered tothe recent afternoon contest. Ueshiba
felt sorry for the champ, but he
believed in the concept of survival of
the fittest. As one grows old and slow,
he thought, the person will eventu-
ally face defeat.
Then his thoughts reflected on
himself, and he became quite per-
turbed. “When will I fall?” Ueshiba
wondered. Just then, a gust of cold
wind blew, interrupting his reverie.
He lazily opened his eyes and was
astonished to find no one around.
“I must have been alone for quite
a spell,” Ueshiba muttered. As he
glanced toward Tokyo, he was spell-
bound by the sunset. The fluffy white
clouds turned a deep red and illumi-
nated the entire sky.
Ueshiba slowly put on his kimono,
gathered his belongings and strolled
toward the big city, where he would
seek another opponent.72 BLACKBELTMAG.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019