Seiseki Abe
Seiseki Abe (阿部醒石, Abe Seiseki) (April 26, 1915 – May 18, 2011,
shodo and aikido teacher who had a unique relationship with aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba, being both his student in aikido and his teacher in calligraphy.[1]
Early life
Born in
Takatsuki, Osaka, Seiseki Abe was introduced to the art of calligraphy by his father in 1934 and became a shodo teacher in 1948, teaching in his hometown of Osaka. Finding himself in a sort of spiritual crisis early in his calligraphy career, he started training in misogi under Kenzo Futaki, director of the Misogi no Renseikai ("Misogi Training Society"), who happened to be a former student of Morihei Ueshiba. Futaki advised him to learn aikido.[2]
Seiseki Abe and Morihei Ueshiba
Abe met
dan by Ueshiba, although the Aikikai
only recognized him as 8th dan.
Later career
After the death of Ueshiba in 1969, Abe continued to teach both shodo and aikido at his dojo in Osaka. He had formed over 200 shodo
Kansai region as well as in the United States (New York, Los Angeles) and in Australia. He was an active member of the Nitten, the most important art organization in Japan. In aikido, one of his most notable former students is the movie actor and martial artist Steven Seagal.[citation needed
]
Abe is the author of the large "Aiki Jinja" stone carving at the
Aiki Jinja shrine in Iwama
.
References
- ^ Aikido Doshinokai Archived 2006-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Interview with Seiseki Abe Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (in Japanese) Interview With Seiseki Abe Archived 2006-09-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Seiseki Abe Sensei - Shihan, 10th Dan
- ^ Interview with Abe Sensei
External links
- (in Japanese) Demonstrating ki on Japanese TV on YouTube
- Aikido Shihan Seiseki Abe – Meeting Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei