Tokyo, April 15, 2025 — In a historic milestone for martial arts, Mutsuko Minegishi has become the first woman ever to receive the 8th dan ranking from the Aikikai Hombu Dojo, the global headquarters of Aikido. The promotion was officially announced during the Kagamibiraki ceremony held in January 2025 in Tokyo.​

Christian Tissier Shihan is widely regarded as the most senior and most prominent non-Japanese aikidoka active today. Since returning from his formative years of training in Japan, he has published numerous technical works that have shaped generations of practitioners.

Finally, after several years of dimished formats, the All Japan Demonstration was back into full swing, all the more reason to celebrate since this year also marked the 60th edition of this major event for the Aikido world.

Every year on October 27th to 29th, Kodokan Judo Institute celebrates the birth of Judo founder Kano Jigoro Shihan. This was particular as it marked the 140th year since Kano Sense founded the Kodokan, and the 100th year since he proclaimed the principles of "Seiryoku-Zenyo" and "Jita-Kyoei".

This year again, the Aikido World's major event, which sees the unravelling of the names of the newly promoted persons to the grades of 5th dan and above had to be held in private due to the likely surge of Omicron cases in the greater Tokyo area.

In spite of the pandemic which greatly undermined the scale of any public event, the hosting by Tokyo of the 2020 Olympic Games saw the organization of a relatively large number of non-competitive events as part of its official program. One of those events was the “武道祭2020 - UNIVERSAL BUDO FESTIVAL in YOKOHAMA” and as its name suggests, it focused specifically on promoting and disseminating Japanese martial arts.

Last winter, I wrote about the fact that due to the COVID situation and the decree of a state of emergency in Tokyo, it had been necessary to hold the Kagamibiraki 2021 ceremony in a very small committee, and that the Aikikai had asked me to to take care of streaming the event so that as many people as possible can enjoy it. Unfortunately, given that the situation had not improved in the meantime, the two major spring events, the Aiki-jinja taisai and the All Japan Demonstration, also had to be held in scaled down proportions.

Even though it was subject to change until the very last moment, with the announcement of the imminent declaration of a state of emergency in Tokyo, this year's Kagamibiraki ceremony was held at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo as expected on Sunday 10th of January.

It is often said that what matters most is less the hardships that we face than how we react to them. I am convinced of the fact that it is when a number of doors start to close in front of our noses that we often dare to take the path that closest to our hearts.

The founder of Aikido, Ueshiba Morihei (1883 - 1969) was born in Tanabe, which is the second largest city in the Wakayama Prefecture. The city has been a popular destination for Aikido enthusiasts, who often make the trip to pay their respect on O Sensei's grave, which is located on the grounds of the Kozan-ji Temple (Shingon Buddhism), in the north of the Prefecture. Perhaps of equal importance to Aikidoka, is the bronze statue of O Sensei, which was built in Tanabe’s Ogigahama Park on the occasion of the 5^th International Aikido Federation Congress in 1988.

The year 2020 is upon us and it is definitely going to be a rather busy one, not only due to the upcoming summer's Olympic Games, but also because of a number of Aikido events, which will be more or less directly affected by the Olympics.

The Kokumin Taiiku Taikai (国民体育大会, lit.: National Sports Festival) is the most important sports event held annually in Japan. This event is a commemoration of His Majesty the Emperor’s Accession to the Throne. It is held in several locations, at different times, and is jointly organized by the Japan Sports Association , the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology and the host prefecture.