Most history books about Aikido mention at one point or another the famous first public demonstration held for five days on the rooftop of Takashimaya Department Store in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district. Its significance is indeed great since it constitutes one of the most important breaks between the secretive nature of Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu transmission and the universal ambitions of Aikido. While this event was truly a cornerstone for Aikido’s development in Japan and beyond, I have come to realize through my years of research that the information that was given about it was very inconsistent, which has always bothered me since I always try to make sure that the information add in my articles is accurate. I started to look more carefully into it, and found out that indeed, most sources available contained some inaccuracies of some sort, from the date at which the event itself took place, to the images used to accompany the text.
The picture that will come to the mind of most people is the following one, showing O Sensei kneeling on a tatami laid out on the roof of a building. It is found in several volumes but it is most famously featured in the 1995 edition of Ueshiba Kisshomaru’s book “合気道一路 戦後合気道発展への風と雲”. In this particular book, it is described as: “The founder greeting during a public demonstration”, and the accompanying text gives the September 1955 date. This has led a lot of people, myself included, to assume that this picture was indeed one from the first public demonstration.
Picture from the book “合気道一路 戦後合気道発展への風と雲”. The legend says: “The founder greeting during a public demonstration.
This 1955 date is confirmed in the chronology presented on the website of the Aikikai, the event is described as: “1955 - First public demonstration held on the rooftop of Takashimaya in Nihonbashi”.
Screen capture of the Aikikai website stating: "Showa 30 (1955) - The first public demonstration was held on the rooftop of Takashimaya in Nihonbashi." [retrieved December, 12th, 2019]
In the booklet “合気道 合気会の歩み” given to attendees on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Aikikai Foundation, the date given is also September 1955, but the pictures are different. We actually get to see the window of the department store with the advertising display for the event.
Pictures issued from the commemorative booklet offered during the Aikikai's 70th anniversary. The one on the left says: "First public demonstration", and the one on the right says: "First public demonstration - Posters in Takashimaya's display window".
Things start to get confusing when looking at the special version of 合気道開祖―植芝盛平生誕百年 that was published in 1983 for the anniversary of the birth of O Sensei. The following picture is annotated as:
September 1956 - First Demonstration on the rooftop of Tokyo’s Takashimaya.
The same picture and same legend appear in the 規範 合気道 基本編 book, published in 1997.
The images that appear in 合気道開祖―植芝盛平生誕百年 (1983) and 規範 合気道 基本編 (1997). Both legends state that it was the first public demonstration at Takashimaya in September 1956.
More recently, I got to contemplate the display boards setup on the occasion of the 74th Japan National Sports Festival held in Iwama in 2019, with a gorgeous picture of O Sensei, and again that 1956 date. The legend says: September 1956 - First public Aikido Demonstration (Nihonbashi Takashimaya).
Part of the historical panel setup for the 74th Japan National Sports Festival held in Iwama in 2019. The legend says: September 1956 - First public Aikido Demonstration (Nihonbashi Takashimaya).
The picture’s location looks very similar to the first one I presented (pay particular attention to the chimney at the back) but a discussion I had with Kobayashi Yasuo Sensei raised my suspicion. He told me that even though he was present and helped out with setting up the tatami during the Takashimaya event, he was too recently enrolled to participate in the demonstration. He proceeded to look into one of his photo albums and showed me the following picture, saying that he did however demonstrate during a subsequent event. The photo he gave me showed him taking ukemi for non others than André Nocquet (the photo is actually signed by Nocquet). I was immediately struck by the similarity of the setting with that of the two previous pictures of O Sensei.
André Nocquet and Kobayashi Yasuo demonstrating.
While it is quite possible that Kobayashi Sensei might not remember exactly the date, I did not doubt that he can’t have been mistaken on the fact that he did not participate in the first Takashimaya demonstration. One could argue that the picture of O Sensei could have been taken during an event held at the same location one or two years before, but Kobayashi Sensei was adamant that the picture of him and Nocquet was not taken at Takashimaya, but on the rooftop of a department store in Ikebukuro. I therefore started to do some more digging about the location itself, and I found the following picture that seems to have been shot in the exact same location.
Kuroiwa Yoshio throwing Sasaki Masando (original here).
Instead of clearing the mystery, the legend suggested a different date and a third location! It said:
昭和３３年 渋谷東横百貨店（現東急百貨店東横店）特設会場（屋上）における演武会での黒岩先生（受けは佐々木将人先生）
1958 - Demonstration on the rooftop of Shibuya Toyoko Department Store (Present Tokyu Department Store). Kuroiwa Sensei (Uke: Sasaki Masando Sensei).
One detail struck me though when I compared it with another picture in André Nocquet’s 1975 book “Maître Morihei Uyeshiba, présence et message”. Unfortunately Nocquet did not add any legend but we can see that the banners are identical, and more importantly, the flag is folded in the same odd manner.
Picture from André Nocquet's book: "Maître Morihei Uyeshiba, présence et message"
The banner behind O Sensei says that the event was organized by the Yomiuri Newspaper, and it looks as if it says the same behind Kuroiwa. Comparing the crowds behind Nocquet and Kuroiwa confirms this assumption. It must therefore not only be the same location, but also the very same day. This implies that the date therefore cannot be 1958 since Nocquet left Japan in 1957. It can only have taken place between August 1955 and October 1957, the period during which Nocquet was in Japan. If the date on Kuroiwa’s picture is wrong, then potentially, the location might be incorrect too. I went and collected photos of the main department stores in Tokyo in the 1950’s and I found the following picture.
Tokyu Toyoko Department Store in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (original here).
This is the Tokyu Department Store in Shibuya. If you look at the roof, you will notice that the chimneys are very similar. So is the white wall on which the red and white backdrop might have been hung. To confirm this, let’s look at the same demonstration with Kobayashi and Nocquet, but from another angle.
André Nocquet and Kobayashi Yasuo demonstrating in Shibuya.
If you look at the tatami, the loudspeaker on the top right, and the red and white background, they naturally correspond to that of the other angle. Interestingly, the horizontal the beam above the staircase can also be seen on the structure of the Tokyu Department Store.
Tokyu Toyoko Department Store in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (original here).
More convincing even is the following picture of a children's hula hoop competition that was held on the roof of Toyoko Department Store in Shibuya on November 23, 1958. The location looks identical.
Children's hula hoop competition held in 1958 on the roof of Toyoko Department Store in Shibuya, Tokyo (original here).
I am therefore convinced that all of those pictures were taken during the same event, held not at Takashimaya Nihonbashi, but at Tokyu Shibuya. The book 合気道開祖 植芝盛平伝 published in 1999 confirms that hypothesis. It shows a photo of O Sensei standing in front of a similar backdrop, with similar ropes to limit the surface of the tatami, and states that the event took place in Shibuya’s Toyoko building in 1957, which would fit all the conditions stated above, the least of which being Nocquet’s presence in Japan. In the same book, it is stated that the first public Aikido demonstration took place on at Nihonbashi's Takashimaya Department Store in 1956, but no photo is presented.
O Sensei again, this time, the legend says: "1957, Tokyo Shibuya - Demonstration at Toyoko Department Store"
As for the actual date of the Takashimaya event, Kobayashi Sensei made it clear that even though he was present, he was considered too green to be participating. If Nocquet was in Japan in September 1955, he must only have arrived very recently and therefore, I doubt that he would have been asked to demonstrate. Judging by the way the crowd is dressed during Shibuya event, it must therefore have been between spring 1956 and fall 1957. Showa 32 (1957), therefore seems quite likely.
Luckily, Ueshiba Moriteru Doshu recently released a new book called “合気道――稽古とこころ” (available as "Aikido, the Contemporary Martial Art of Harmony" in English) and in it, he actually mentions that event, stating:
“その後、合気道紹介のための説明会演武会を積極的に開催します。昭和三十二年（一九五七）十月十八日〜ニ十日、東京・渋谷の東横百貨店、翌三十三年（一九五八）五月十七日〜十八日、東京池袋の三越百貨店での演武会を経て、合気道の知名度は以前にも増して格段に上がったのでした。”.
After that, we held promotion campaigns for introducing Aikido. Following the demonstrations at Shibuya’s Toyoko Department Store from October 18th to 20th 1957, and Ikebukuro’s Mitsukoshi Department Store on May 17th to 18th 1958, Aikido's name recognition rose markedly.
Not only does this confirm the date of the Shibuya demonstration, it also explains why Kobayashi Sensei might have mistakenly thought that the picture of him and Nocquet was taken in Ikebukuro. Still, it does not clear the issue of the elusive Nihonbashi Takashimaya demonstration!
I went on to look into my library of 100+ books on Aikido and I found one single book citing the Takashimaya event and presenting a different picture. It is the English translation that Kei Izawa did of Ueshiba Morihei’s biography written by Ueshiba Kisshomaru: “A Life in Aikido”. Interestingly, I could not find that picture in the various Japanese editions that I own, so as far as I know, it is unique to Kei’s translation.
Picture from the book "A Life in Aikido".
We can see that the location is substantially different compared to all other shots so far. I was back to square one trying to figure out the location. Luckily, there are two statues behind O Sensei that look very distinctive, so I went back to the various pictures of the 1950’s Tokyo department stores and eventually found identical statues in the following shot.
The actual Takashimaya Building in Nihonbashi as it was in 1952 (original here)
On the original website, the photo came with the legend:
日本橋髙島屋百貨店東京支店（増築）南側外観（1952年）
Nihonbashi Takashimaya Department Store Tokyo Branch (extension) South side exterior (1952).
The entrance on the ground floor is quite characteristic and still looks the same today, so we now have one confirmed picture of that event! As for the date itself, I am afraid I was not able to confirm it with certainty, but if we have to rely on the two books that gave us the most accurate information so far, i.e. “A Life in Aikido” and "合気道開祖 植芝盛平伝", both state September 1956, and therefore, until I find more accurate information, I will assume that this date is the correct one.
Case closed?
EDIT: Sept 28, 2022
The Aikikai recently published a Facebook post, which reproduced an introduction letter from the Yomiuri Shinbun and which is dated from September 1955. The letter states that the demonstration was scheduled to take place from 15:00 on from September 28th to October 2nd. The demonstration therefore took place from Wednesday, September 28th, 1955 to Sunday, October 2nd, 1955.
