Hitohiro Saito is an aikido instructor and founding headmaster of.
Background
Hitohiro is the son of Morihiro Saito. After Ueshiba died in 1969, he continued his practice with his father. Years before his father"s death, Hitohiro took over the main work at the Founder"s dojo and Shrine of Aiki, Aiki Jinja, thus relieving his aging father of the great amount of work required in running the campus.
Career
The younger Saito became an official instructor of the Iwama dojo in 1986 and remained so until 2004 when he separated from the Aikikai organization and formed his own group. Since 2009 he is also identified as Hitohira (仁平) Saito. His father spent his last years taking care of the vegetable gardens and travelling abroad for seminars.
The main teaching of the dojo was passed to Hitohiro"s hands and remained so until 2004.
In 2000, he inaugurated his own dojo, the Tanrenkan (鍛錬館), sponsored by his father Morihiro Saito. Upon his father"s death, Hitohiro inherited his house and his dojo, then called the "Shin Dojo", built in 1990.
lieutenant is named (岩間神信合氣修練会, lit Iwama spiritual aiki drill association). lieutenant has dojo in about 20 countries.
He had also prepared to surrender these roles to the Aikikai, which own those properties.
The latter did not occur, and Hitohiro also came under pressures within the Iwama group. In November 2003, Hitohiro separated from the Aikikai. By February 2004 he had formed his own organisation (ISSASK).
While a number of Morihiro Saito"s students preferred to remain affiliated with the Aikikai, others decided to follow Hitohiro Saito upon his break from the organization.
Today he teaches full-time at his own Tanrenkan and travels constantly inside Japan and around the world, instructing at seminars attended by hundreds of aikido students each month. His Aikido is known for being precise, austere and dynamic.
He emphasizes aiki-jō and aiki-ken.