May 16, 2009 - Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Words

In the front of almost any traditional Japanese dojo is the kamiza, or “top seat”, which is where a kamidama is usually found. In Aikido, this is also where the picture of O Sensei is hung (though in some schools, the kanji for Ki is found instead).

From what I’ve experienced so far, the most common picture of O Sensei has been this one. It’s a very noble picture of him, I think, and I like it very well. During the beginning of class, while we’re all lined up in seiza, I’ll sometimes glance up at his picture. Usually I simply tell myself, ”I’m glad he was able to teach his art to so many people,” though sometimes my imagination start to wander.

Know the cliche in horror fiction where the ominous picture on the wall has eyes that follow people? Sometimes I would get that same feeling when looking at this picture, like he was looking right back at me. His stern look felt, well, very stern. It wasn’t scary or anything, but it did feel like I was obligated to perform to my very best. This is all in my head, yes, but bear with me.

When I switched to my current dojo, the first night of class I noticed we had a different of O Sensei hanging up on the wall. I still had that feeling that he was looking at me, but it was a lot more easy going and friendly. During the middle of class, if the previous technique didn’t go well for me, the other picture would have given me the feeling of “I failed.” But this picture almost feels like both he and I are laughing it off internally, like “learn from the mistakes this time and just try again next time.”

Again, this is all in my head and personal experience. I don’t think either picture is more correct, or that one should be hanging and not the other. But it has proved to me that pictures really are worth a thousand words.