Kiyoyuki Terada (寺田精之, ''Terada Kiyoyuki'', March 20, 1922 – July 13, 2009) was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

teacher. He was ranked 10th

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

Yoshinkan Aikido Yoshinkan (養神館 ''Yōshinkan'' lit. "Hall of Spirit Cultivation") Aikido is a style of aikido that developed after World War II in the Yoshinkan Dojo of Gozo Shioda (1915–1994). Yoshinkan Aikido is often called the "hard" style of aikido b ...

and served as the most senior instructor in

until his death.

Early life

Terada was born in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. His

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

life began in April 1934 at Kaisei Junior High School where he took up his first martial art of

Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

. At age 15, he received an award for the best

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

player of the year after winning a

championship that same year. Upon his entry into

Takushoku University Takushoku University (拓殖大学; ''Takushoku Daigaku'', abbreviated as 拓大 ''Takudai'') is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913).

at age 18, he began his

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

training. It was there that in 1941 he met

Gozo Shioda was a Japanese master of aikido who founded the Yoshinkan style of aikido.Yoshinkan Aikido Yoshinkan (養神館 ''Yōshinkan'' lit. "Hall of Spirit Cultivation") Aikido is a style of aikido that developed after World War II in the Yoshinkan Dojo of Gozo Shioda (1915–1994). Yoshinkan Aikido is often called the "hard" style of aikido b ...

dojo. During the period between 1940 and 1943, Terada learned

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

from Akutsugawa Sensei, Judo from Sone Sensei, and Kashimaryu Jujitsu from Osugi Sensei.

War Years

At age 21 in 1943, Terada joined the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

due to the ongoing

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. In March 1944 he was ordered to the Japanese Airforce Academy and became an aircraft mechanic. From 1944 to 1945 he worked in aircraft maintenance at

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

Airfield. It was here where he learned that the war had ended and two days later on August 17, he returned home to

Post-war to present

Terada moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in 1948 and worked for the Miyakoshi Company. In 1950 he went to work for the military police in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

. This same year he joined the

Aikikai The Aikikai is the original school of Aikido. It is centered on the Aikikai#Aikikai Foundation, Aikikai Foundation in Japan, and its figurehead is the Aikikai#Doshu, Doshu (the family heir of the founder of Aikido). It is represented globally thr ...

Honbu dojo. His primary teacher was

Kisshomaru Ueshiba was a prominent Japanese master of aikido.Pranin, S. A. (''c.'' 2009)Encyclopedia of Aikido: Ueshiba, Kisshomaru Retrieved on March 1, 2010. He was the son of Morihei Ueshiba, founder of aikido, and became the international leader of aikido after ...

and he also took lessons from

founder,

Morihei Ueshiba was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher/Old Teacher (old as opposed to ''waka (young) sensei'')". The son of a landowner from Tanabe, Ueshiba st ...

. In 1952, Terada conducted an aikido training seminar for the NKK Company and at 85 different police stations with

Gozo Shioda was a Japanese master of aikido who founded the Yoshinkan style of aikido.Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

and at the US Army base, Camp Drake in Saitama.

Yoshinkan Aikido

In 1955, Terada Sensei was with

. In 1957, the Yoshinkan was visited by US Senator

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

and Prime Minister Nakasone. Terada served as chief instructor of the Yoshinkan honbu until 1961 when he left

to teach aikido at the US Naval Base in

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

. It was here that his most senior student, Amos Lee Parker began his aikido life. From 1967 to 2009, Terada made trips around the world to teach aikido. Such destinations include

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Terada received his 9th degree black belt from Gozo Shioda Kancho in 1990. At this time he also received the title of Saikō Shihan (Chief or Head Shihan). He served as the president of the National Yoshinkan Renmei and the president of Aikido Yoshinkan Seiseikai. Terada held the title of Yoshinkan Aikido Saikō Komon. (Yoshinkan Aikido Supreme Advisor). It was announced in January 2008 that Terada had been awarded 10th dan by the Yoshinkan Foundation making him the first to receive such an honor by the Yoshinkan. On Monday, July 13, 2009, Terada died at the age of 87.

External links

Yoshinkai Aikido Foundation, IncAikido Yoshinkan Seiseikai, Terada honbu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terada, Kiyoyuki Japanese aikidoka 1922 births 2009 deaths Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II Imperial Japanese Army soldiers