合気道新聞　　　平成１３年９月１０日

道場を訪ねて 杉並合気会　　　　

荻窪体育館で週３回　アメリカに姉妹道場

地名というものは、普段話したり書いたりするときはなんとも思わずに使っているが、そのいわれを問われると戸惑ってしまうものだ。ところが、答えを知ると意外に単純で、「なんだ、そういうことなのか」ということが多い。｢杉並｣の語源も、江戸初期の領主が青梅街道の路傍に杉並木を植えて領地の境界にしたためだというから単純明快にすぎるほどだ。かつては江戸近郊の純農村地帯であり、ケヤキの屋敷林も残っているので、都内二十三区の中では緑に恵まれている方だといえるだろう。

　昭和五十年代後半、高円寺体育館で加藤弘師範（現八段）の指導の下、合気道の同好会が誕生したが、その後、同六十二年になって合気会の支部道場・杉並合気会として新発足する。ところが高円寺体育館には武道場がなかったのでいちいち畳を敷かなければならなかったが、平成三年に百六十畳の武道場のある荻窪体育館が完成し、以来、同館が週三回の稽古の場となっている。中央線荻窪駅下車七分、向かいは図書館という静かな住宅街だ。

　加藤師範が入門したのはまだ十代の時だったが、植芝盛平開祖の姿を間近にして心を打たれ、一生合気道を続けようと決意を固めたという。杉並合気会でも開祖を知る人は数人しかいなくなったが、「武道は他人に教わるものではないとの言葉が今になってよくわかるようになりました。稽古はあくまでも自分の問題であり、自身を厳しくしなくては何にもならないと思う」としみじみ語る。会員は約百人だが、米西部のサンフランシスコ、その南東方にあるサンノゼ、NASAの宇宙センターで知られる南部のヒューストンにも姉妹道場（計約三百人）があって、師範は年に二回、稽古と審査に訪れている。逆に荻窪の道場にも外国人が絶えず稽古に来ており、合気道をするために日本に来て就職した人もいるそうだ。
　
　たとえ言葉は十分に通じなくても、開祖の｢和を尊ぶ｣の教えさながらに、老若男女が国境を越えて和気あいあいと稽古に励む光景は、これからの日本の一つの理想像を見る思いがあった。        (藤)

Report on Suginami Aikikai

Practice held three days a week.  Affiliated dojos in the U.S.

We seldom think about the roots of a name and sometimes we are embarrassed when asked about it, but they are sometimes quite simple.  Suginami's root is that the landlord planted sugi's (Japanese cedars) to define the boundary on the Ohme road in the early Edo period.  Nami is a row.

Suginami was an agricultural area near Edo (old Tokyo).  Many other kinds of trees as well were planted, so now it is very full of green compared to other areas of Tokyo.

In 1975, Hiroshi Kato sensei (now 8th dan) first established this Aikido club (associated with Aikikai from its beginning) at the Koenji public gymnasium.  In 1987, Suginami Aikikai was officially designated as an affiliated dojo (marshal training place) of Aikikai.  As there was not a regular Aikido dojo at the Koenji gymnasium, they had to place many tatami's (mats) by themselves before practicing Aikido.

In 1991, the Ogikubo gymnasium was completed, including a regular dojo with 160 tatami mats.  Since then it has been a regular training place for three days a week.  Found in 6-7 minutes by walking east from the JR station's south entrance, it is located in a quiet residential area near the public library.

While still in his teens, Kato sensei began to practice Aikido.  He met the founder of Aikido, Ueshiba Morihei, was very impressed by him, and decided to dedicate himself to practicing Aikido into the future.  There are few people now in Suginami Aikikai who knew the founder.

Recently, Kato sensei said he has found that Aikido is not something to learn from others, but to learn by oneself.  Ideally, the practice should be for oneself, and it should be rigorous and sternly self-disciplined, by one’s own choice.

The members of Suginami Aikikai are about 100.  There are affiliated dojos in the U.S.: in the west, San Francisco and Palo Alto in California, and Houston, Texas in the south (famous as the NASA space shuttle center).  Nearly 300 students are learning Aikido there.  Kato sensei regularly visits those dojos to teach and administer testing twice a year.  Students have also come from abroad to visit and practice Aikido in the Ogikubo dojo.  Some have obtained jobs in Japan to enable them to stay longer and deepen their practice of Aikido with Kato sensei.

I found one of the ideal images in their practice when I saw young and old men and women were learning Aikido in a friendly spirit, including students from abroad who believe in the founder's saying of wa wo tohtobu (respect peace, admire getting together in a friendly spirit) even if they can not communicate well in words.  (written by Fuji)

=========================================================
その他の記事　other article

Aikido newspaper 2001/9/10

前進する合気道の国際化 Aikido is getting international

第６回ワールドゲームズ秋田大会で植芝道主が演武披露
Ueshiba Doshu offered an enbu (Aikido demonstration) at the 6th World Games recently held in Aikita
=========================================================