Aiki Jinja
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Aiki_Jinja_Iwama.jpg
Aiki Jinja is the shrine built by Morihei Ueshiba in Iwama in honor of the deities of aikido. Jinja is the Japanese term for a shrine. The shrine grounds include a dojo (training hall), often referred to as the Dojo at Iwama.
The first shrine is a small temple built in the 1940s, the second one, much bigger, was erected in front of the small one in 1962. They were both renovated by the Saito family in 2001-2002 with the approval of the Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba, owner of the Aiki Jinja. This renovation also included a beautiful fence set up around the compound, and a huge stone with the carvings "Aiki Jinja" designed by Seiseki Abe, a master of calligraphy and of Aikido who was also the calligraphy teacher of Morihei Ueshiba and is the teacher of Hitohiro Saito Shihan.
Every month, on the 14th, the Saito family hosted the Doshu and a religious service was held at the Aiki Jinja (Tsukinamisai). Later, a small party with all the uchi deshi (resident students) and the Saito family was held inside the old dojo.
Every year, on April 29th a big religious and commemorative event is held by oomoto priests in commemoration of Ueshiba's death on April 26th, 1969. Through the years, the Saito family developed this event transforming it into a very big day for the small Iwama town and for aikido. Hundreds of visitors, some of them old students of the founder of aikido, others very big and famous aikido masters, come to Iwama to participate in the event. A religious celebration is held in the temple and ancient music is played for the joy of all. Before finishing a small ritual demonstration of aikido is held. To finish, the more than a thousand visitors are invited to a huge lunch in the dojo compounds.