I have written extensively about the two schools of Daito-ryu to which I belong, the Takumakai from Osaka and the Shikoku Hombu from Wakimachi. Throughout the years, whenever I talked to an instructor of one or the other groups, one name came up more than that of any other, that of Makita Kan'ichi. Though Makita died well before I ever got into Daito-ryu, as I became more knowledgeable, I came to realize and appreciate the central role that he had in establishing connections between different Daito-ryu schools. In this article, I would like to present information I was able to gather about him. It is to my knowledge the only account of his life available in the English language.
Makita Kan'ichi (蒔田 完一) was born on the 10th of June 1917 in Komatsushima in the province of Tokushima on the Shikoku island. As an amateur of the fine arts, he was known in sumi-eSumi-e (墨絵) is a kind of traditional ink wash painting. under the pen name of "Tensei" (天声, lit.: heavenly voice), and he was also a calligrapher and an instructor of sakuhachiSakuhachi (尺八) is a traditional Japanese flute made of bamboo.. Makita was also an enthusiastic practitioner of budo, including kendo and bojutsu. Most notably, he held a 4th dan in judo from the Kodokan, and a menkyo kaidenMenkyo kaiden (免許皆伝, "license of total transmission") is a license stating that the student of a classical school has learned and mastered all aspects of training in the school. It is the highest level of license that exists under such system. from the little know classical school of jujutsu called Fudou Shintoku-ryuFudou Shintoku-ryu (不動真徳流) is a school of bujutsu that spread mainly in the Awa Province of Shikoku. Its techniques, which include jujutsu, kenjutsu and bojutsu, are said to be influenced by Yoshin-ryu..
Makita Kan'ichi performing a technique on Kobayashi Kiyohiro under the direction of Hisa Takuma during a 2-day seminar at Makita's Komatsushima Branch Dojo (May 19th and 20th, 1973). Takumakai director (総務長) Mori Hakaru (森 恕) is visible at the back on the far left. On his left are Chiba Tsugutaka (千葉 紹隆) and Amatsu Yutaka (天津 裕).
Makita was introduced to his Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu teacher, Nakatsu Heizaburo (中津 平三郎) by fellow student Sumitomo Bunshiro (住友 文四郎). He practiced in Nakatsu's dojo in the city of Ikeda with Sumitomo, Imai Toshikatsu (今井 敏勝), Chiba Tsugutaka, Onishi Masahito (大西 正仁), Okizu Hirofumi (沖津 弘文), Izawa Masamitsu (井沢 将光), and a few others.
Following Nakatsu's passing in 1960, he continued learning Nakatsu's techniques from Chiba Tsugutaka and also went to Osaka in 1967 to learn under Hisa Takuma (久 琢磨)Hisa Takuma (久 琢磨, c.1895 – 1980) was a prominent Japanese martial artist with a strong sumo background. He was student in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu under both Ueshiba Morihei and Takeda Sokaku. He received the menkyo kaiden in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu from Takeda in 1939 and the 8th dan in aikido from Ueshiba in 1956., who was a fellow student with Nakatsu during the time of the practice at the Asahi Journal in Osaka under Ueshiba Morihei (植芝 守平) and subsequently, Takeda Sokaku (武田 惣角).
Makita Kan'ichi demonstrating Daito-ryu Aiki-budo during a TV show called "On the Subject of Tokushima" (徳島の話題). The segment is entitled "Heart - Technique - Harmony".
The same year, Makita invited Hisa to Komatsushima to teach a seminar, which marked the first formal gathering of the students of Nakatsu and Hisa, a tradition that would endure for many years after that, and lead to the formation of the Takumakai in 1975 in order to officialize those gatherings. It is on that particular occasion that Hisa met Chiba Tsugutaka, and upon recognizing the high level of skills that Chiba had learned from Nakatsu, he asked him to help him teach his own students during this and subsequent events.
Group photo during the 2nd joint training at the Osaka Asahi Journal on August 26th, 1973. Hisa Takuma is at the center (wearing the dark vest), Makita Kan'ichi is on his right, followed by Chiba Tsugutaka. Imai Toshikatsu is on Hisa's left.
Makita, who had formally registered as Hisa's student, was appointed by him as kyoju dairiKyoju dairi (教授代理, "representative instructor") is a teaching title awarded by various classical Japanese schools to signify that a student is able to teach on behalf of his own teacher. in 1975. Makita eventually became the director of the Kagoshima branch (小松島支部長) of the Takumakai. He was later appointed director of the instructor section (指導部長) of the Takumakai, where he taught current senior instructors such as Kobayashi Kiyohiro (小林 清泰) or Kawabe Takeshi (川辺 武史).
Makita Kan'ichi teaching a seminar in Osaka. At the back are Kobayashi Kiyohiro (left) and Mori Hakaru (right). Kawabe Takeshi is the uke. [Photo kindly provided by Kobayashi Kiyohiro]
In 1978, Makita took part with Hisa and a number of his students in the shooting of a documentary on Japan's classic martial arts at the request of the Nihon Budokan and the Ministry of Education.
Documentary on Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu. Makita Kan'ichi is visible at timestamp 7:14 where he executes techniques from volume 7 of the Soden (総伝).
Hisa stopped teaching at the Kansai Aikido Club when he relocated to Tokyo in 1968. He never used any particular way to organize his teaching, which left his students with the difficult task of having to pass on the techniques that he had taught them. Makita decided to go to the city of Abashiri in Hokkaido in order to learn from Takeda Tokimune (武田 時宗), the son of Takeda Sokaku, since unlike Hisa, he had designed a comprehensive teaching system. There, Makita first received instruction on the 118 techniques of the hiden mokurokuHiden mokuroku (秘傳奥儀目録, transmission scroll of secrets) is the first level of techniques in the Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu curriculum covering 118 techniques. and upon returning to Kansai, he produced the first technical handout containing those 118 techniques in the aim of using it for instruction within the Takumakai. This deeply affected the teaching in the Takumakai as beginners and intermediate would be instructed almost exclusively through that curriculum from thereon.
Excerpt from Makita Kan'ichi's photographic record of the hiden mokuroku.
Makita would make several more trips to Hokkaido and on some occasions, he took a few of his sempai including Chiba Tsugutaka and Imai Toshikatsu with him. There, they learned from Tokimune and other DaitokanDaitokan (大東館) is the dojo established in the city of Abashiri, Hokkaido, by Takeda Tokimune and which served as headquarters for Daito-ryu Aiki-budo. instructors, most notably from Suzuki Shinpachi (鈴木 新八). At the end of those training periods, they were allowed by Tokimune to use the four-diamond symbol in their respective dojo of Komatsushima and Ikeda as representatives of the Daitokan. Later, the two dojo were merged and Chiba Tsugutaka became the official Daitokan representative for Kansai.
List of officers of the Daitokan (as of August 1st, 1973). Takeda Tokimune is listed as Soke and Hisa Takuma as Director of the Daito-ryu Aiki-budo Headquarters. The section pertaining to the Shikoku branch lists Imai Toshikatsu as Shikoku Headquarters Director and Makita Kan'ichi as Komatsushima Branch Manager. [Reproduced with permission from Marc Trudel's blog]
Suzuki would in fact make several trips to Shikoku in order to maintain the teaching of Tokimune's Aiki-budo. A fine calligrapher himself, Suzuki also taught calligraphy to Makita.
"Dedicated Shikoku Headquarters", an article from the Daitokan newsletter (August 1st, 1973) reporting on the visit of Suzuki to Shikoku. [Reproduced with permission from Marc Trudel's blog]
As someone who brought people together, Makita had connections with numerous other practitioners, including for example Tsuruyama Kozui (鶴山 晃瑞), when the later was working on a book of the techniques of Horikawa Kodo called "Secret Aikido - Dictation from Horikawa Kodo". In the letter below to Tsuruyama, Makita inquires about the completion of the book.
Postcard from Makita Kan'ichi to Tsuruyama Kozui dated from December 13th, 1974. [For the entire story, please see source.]
Makita was truly passionate and meticulous about technique and his very large skillset made him an excellent demonstrator of the art during seminars and public events.
Front page of the Daito-ryu Aiki-budo newsletter issue of July 1984. It reports on the 3rd Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu Takumakai Demonstration. Makita Kan'ichi is part of the organizing committee and he is also involved in several of the demonstrations of the day. [Document kindly provided by Marc Trudel]
He went on to produce more didactic materials and he is said to have put together an exhaustive list, along with some photos, of all the techniques taught by Hisa, classified according to the Daito-ryu scrolls that he was able to copy from Hokkaido and elsewhere. After retiring from the Tokushima Prefectural Office, he started a judo rehabilitationJudo seifuku jutsu (柔道整復術) is a type of alternative medicine accredited in Japan by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare through a national qualification. Its method is based on the techniques originally used to treat injuries such as fractures, dislocations, sprains, contusions, and bruises that commonly occurred during the practice of martial arts such as judo. practice and set up his dojo, the Shintokukan Dojo, in order to transmit Daito-ryu to younger generations.
Makita Kan'ichi demonstrating Daito-ryu (uke: Izawa Masamitsu)
In September 1989, Makita gave his last seminar during the Mt. Kongo Takumakai summer camp, even though he knew that he was at an advanced stage of cancer. He passed away on April, 5th 1990 at the age of 73. A memorial demonstration was organized by the Takumakai, where the most senior instructors taught some selected parts of Soden technical memorandum created by Hisa and documenting the techniques taught a the Asahi Newpsaper.
