Lunch with Taiji Saotome
2/3/92
Mark J. Norton
Every one in a while, life tosses little coincidences at you just to see if you are
paying attention. One of these happened to me today. I had been selected by my company (Avid Technology)
to investigate building a Japanese version of a major software product. Our Asian representative, Lou Shipley had already contacted a consulting firm to come in and brief me on
the problems and issues. This consultant was named Taiji Saotome. Naturally, I
noted the name similarity to Mitsugi Saotome, founder of the Schools of Ueshiba in
Washington, DC, but shrugged it off to a family name. Family, indeed, as Taiji is his son.
After a fruitful technical session, I invited him to have lunch with me. I mentioned
in passing that I had become interested in Japan through the Martial Arts and showed
him a picture of myself and Joe Caulfield in action. He recognized it as Aikido,
later at lunch he mentioned that he had also studied Aikido under his father, Mitsugi.
I in turn mentioned meeting his father many years ago at his dojo in D.C. We discussed
Aikido for a while. I related how long I had been studying and describing the classes I teach. He in turn told me that his father desired him to follow in his footsteps,
but he felt that life as Sensei in the US was a difficult one which he was not prepared
to pursue at this time. Taiji said his father has wished that O-Sensei would return for a brief visit, to demonstrate the true dynamic nature of Aikido. He feels
that no one can convey it quite as O-Sensei did when he was alive and that most people
today do not embody the true nature of Aikido. I told him that I felt that most
had not adopted the philosophy of Aiki, but instead concentrated on the techncial aspects
of the art. We both agreed that there was a lot of politics in Aikido and that it
detracted from the study of it. He said that whenever he sits at a meal with his father and some
other Aikidoka, talk always turns to politics: who is doing what to whom.
Taiji has clearly had a great deal of experience with this sort of exchange. Although
superficially open, he did not really express his opinion clearly. It must be difficult
to have a father who expects a successor to his art, and to have the courage to strike off on your own. Taiji said that he really hadn't practiced much in recent
years. He occasionally works out at Bill Gleason's dojo in Brookline (Mr. Gleason
is affiliated with Schools of Ueshiba). I invited him to come up to Chelmsford to
work out with me, incognito if he likes. He did not respond.