Minoru Hirai (平井稔 March 1903 - 16 October 1998)HIRAI, MINORU 平井稔
Aikido Journal 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 ...

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

and creator of the korindo style of

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 ...

. As a youth, he studied many different martial arts including Togin-ryu, Okumura Nito-ryu, Takenouchi-ryu, Kito-ryu and Saburi-ryu. By 1938, he became a master in

iaido , abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports ...

and

jujutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

and established his own dojo, the Kogado dojo in Okayama. In 1938, he met

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 ...

at Okayama, who told him about the technique of " aikibudo" he created and invited him to his dojo in

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 ...

. Hirai found similarities in Ueshiba's art based on circular motions with his own style of

he was developing and decided to enter Ueshiba's

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

dojo. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Hirai was the head of the jujutsu department of the Japanese Army's military police school and was instrumental in developing a new arrest technique employed by the military police. In 1942, he was appointed director of the General Affairs for the Kobukan Dojo by Ueshiba, helping him with daily matters at the dojo. The same year he was sent as the Kobukan representative to the

Dai Nippon Butoku Kai ''Dai Nippon Butoku Kai'' (DNBK, ja, 大日本武徳会, en, "Greater Japan Martial Virtue Society") was a martial arts organization with strong ties to WWII-era Japanese government, originally established in 1895 in Kyoto. Following the end of ...

, an organization promoting martial arts in Japan, and was instrumental in creating the term "

" to refer to Ueshiba's art within the Butokukai's circle. In July 1945, the Butokukai awarded him the rank of ''

Hanshi The Japanese language makes use of a system of honorific speech, called , which includes honorific suffixes and prefixes when referring to others in a conversation. Suffixes are often gender-specific at the end of names, while prefixes are a ...

''. He died in 1998.

Korindo aikido

His own style, , was founded in 1938 and combined elements from classical

and traditional Japanese weaponry with the early teachings of Ueshiba. It is based on the principle of circular

tai sabaki is a term from Japanese martial arts and which relates to 'whole body movement', or repositioning. It can be translated as ''body-management''. It is a term used widely in and very important in kendo, jujutsu, aikido, judo, karate and ninjutsu. T ...

. In October 1945, he established the Korindo Dojo in

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

. In September 1953, the Korindo Dojo in

was inaugurated. Korindo's taisabaki consists of seven forms or kata: kesagiri, kote-sabaki, irimisabaki, shihosabaki
isogaeshi
tsuiage, and ushirosabaki. Usually they are practiced solo, but they can also be done with a partner. These seven kata are practiced to the front, back, right, and left, and they help develop the ability to apply techniques from any position. Minoru Hirai's unique taisabaki forms, which constitute the basis of his Korindo Aikido, can be practiced empty-handed, with a sword, short staff, or spear. The goal is to express the natural mind as natural martial arts techniques.

References

External links

Korindo Korinkai Japan HP
Japanese aikidoka 1903 births 1998 deaths Martial arts school founders People from Okayama Prefecture 20th-century philanthropists {{aikido-bio-stub ja:光輪洞合気道