| YOSHIDA KOTARO (continued) |
Sokaku Takeda was so impressed with Yoshida’s skill he even gave him a teaching license (Kyoju Dairi) which in those days was something very special. Yoshida was a graduate of Tohoku Gakuin in Sendai (1906), Waseda University and an American University. He authored numerous books, operated a newspaper company and oversaw a private library. Although few are still alive that had actually seen him perform, there is much evidence that Yoshida Sensei was a master beyond compare. His skill was acclaimed by such notables as Mas Oyama in his book “This Is Karate”; Katsuyuki Kondo, Yoshida taught Kondo in his later years (Kondo trained from 1963 to 1965 with him); and, our own Richard Kim. He was a staunch right-wing activist and belonged to such ultra-nationalist organizations as the Genyosha (Black Ocean Society) which later became Kokuryu kai (Black Dragon Society). This group believed very much in the old ways of the samurai and, even though the samurai class was disbanded in the Meiji Restoration (January 3, 1868), it still operated but in the quiet. Yoshida was a member of this elite group and continued its ways and teachings until he passed away. Yoshida Sensei had obviously been strongly influenced by his teacher, Sokaku Takeda, who was prepared to go to battle against the new regime in 1875. Also a member of this groups was Doshin So, founder of Shorinji Kempo. Although we have no proof, we also believe that other Martial Arts masters of that era, like Gogen Yamaguchi, Mas Oyama and Richard Kim were also members of this underground group of spies. In his book, “The Cat”, Yamaguchi talks in length about his involvement with spies in Manchuria. Oyama was in the Japanese Army and he, Richard Kim and Yamaguchi all became very good friends in the late 1940s. Both Richard Kim and Oyama became students of Yamaguchi and received their black belt in 1950 from him. | BACK TO TOP | The Black Ocean Society was started in 1881 by a group of former samurai who had been suppressed during the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. They became famous for their espionage and sabotage techniques, particularly in Russia, China and Manchuria in 1904-1905. They were especially active in the training of spies and agents. Toyomo Mitsuro was also a member of the Dai Nippon Bu Toku Kai which, prior to the end of WWII, every martial artist belonged to – in fact, it had millions of members throughout Japan. It was shut down in 1946, as was the Black Dragon Society, by General Douglas MacArthur because the Dai Nippon Bu Toku Kai was deemed an ultra right wing organization which had a dangerous political influence on the Japanese society. Yoshida Sensei passed away in the summer of 1966 in Hitachi Ibaragi Prefecture. According to Sensei Kim, he had been injured and paralyzed on his left side during an accident when he ran his bicycle in front of a truck to save a young child’s life. By diving in front of the truck on his bicycle, he forced the truck to turn and saved the life of the child but was seriously injured in the accident. When Sensei Kim visited him in the hospital he said that when he looked at him with pity in his eyes, Yoshida Sensei sensed it and said, “Do not worry about this, as I will now have to operate on mind power, I will use the wireless system,” and began laughing. He lived with Sensei Richard Kim in Yokohama, in his house with his family, and this is when and where he taught Sensei Kim. He trained under Yoshida Kotaro for seven years (according to Black Belt Magazine, June 1969). Sensei Kim often expounded on how difficult these years were under Yoshida. He was apparently tough to deal with and a real task master. | BACK TO TOP | It was Sensei Kim who introduced his friend Mas Oyama, a Korean by birth, to Yoshida Sensei and he began training with Yoshida Sensei as well. In his book, “This Is Karate”, Oyama refers to him as his teacher and the greatest of them all. This now being hindsight, this was quite a compliment – having both Richard Kim and Mas Oyama calling him Sensei – so we know he must have been something very special. He was an eccentric in many ways according to Mas Oyama, and lived a life of poverty. His life’s work was reading, writing and the study of the Martial Arts. He once said that the Martial Arts were meant for human development physically, psychologically and for mental discipline and were not meant for gaining wealth or fame. Yoshida Sensei was most definitely from the old school of the Martial Arts, as he would not teach just anyone, no matter how much they paid him, unless their character was compatible with that of his. Oyama, who apparently only trained a couple of years directly with Yoshida Sensei, was so impressed with Yoshida’s skills that he said in his book, “My teacher’s mastery of the arts can only be described as perfection and I fear that the readers of this book will only half believe me.” Yoshida Sensei taught him reverse locks, joint techniques, women’s self defense using a parasol and Jo Jitsu and Bo Jitsu techniques. He tells how Yoshida Sensei could actually catch a fly with his chopsticks at will. He did it by constant practice (over 300,000 attempts) as he believed nothing was impossible. He at first caught a bee and then he tied the bee with a thread and continued practicing this until he was able to catch it at will with his chopsticks. He then caught a large fly, like a horse fly we suppose, and then he tied this up and practiced until he could catch it at will. Then came a regular fly in the winter months and finally a regular fly in the heat of summer. Quite possibly this is where Sensei Kim came up with the idea of having us cross out two words in our dictionaries – “try” and “impossible”. | BACK TO TOP | Although we have no proof of this, we again suspect that this is where Sensei Kim developed his thirst for knowledge of hypnosis. He was a master of both direct and indirect hypnosis. (I personally saw him hypnotize over 200 people in less then 10 seconds in Britainne, France, while at a summer camp hosted by Richard Lee in 1985). Yoshida Sensei was somewhat of an eccentric and his study of the occult was well known and documented, as was Yamaguchi Gogen’s who loved his crystal ball. Ueshiba Moreihei was also a student of the occult and loved his crystal ball, as well. This is what makes us think that this interest in hypnosis came from Sokaku Takeda to Yoshida Kotaro to Sensei Kim. Remember that Sensei Kim also trained with Yamaguchi Gogen and Moreihei Ueshiba, whose experience with the occult can be seen in videos and photos. Sensei Kim introduced his class to Dr. Milton Erickson, one of the world leaders in clinical hypnosis. In Mas Oyama’s book, he talks in length about hypnosis and its relationship to the Martial Arts. On more then one occasion, I personally saw Sensei Kim sitting down as he watched an individual who was on the other side of the room and then he began to explain everything about the individual and how ‘it all made sense’. He watched the way the person walked and said, ‘you can tell everything you need to know about a person by the way they walk’. He watched how they were dressed, watched the way they ate their food, watched their eyes, and anything else that was evident. He would explain things like if the man was well dressed he was probably well educated, or if he was sloppily dressed he was more then likely a factory worker. He would note things like which hand he used to eat with, and what he was eating. Whether he ate healthy or non healthy foods might dictate whether he was a martial artist or an athlete. He said he learned this in Japan and again we suspect he learned this from Yoshida Sensei. Yoshida was a spy for the Japanese during WWII, as well as in Manchuria, and was trained in these ways. Yoshida Sensei’s skill with all the traditional weapons of Japan was apparently unequalled and he was well known for his skill with the spear, sword, halbred, knife and shuriken as well as joint and muscle manipulation. | BACK TO TOP | Yoshida received a teacher’s license from Takeda and created his own style and a set of scrolls to go with the style. These scrolls contained the secrets of Yoshida’s Daito Ryu Aiki Jitsu. These scrolls are now in the possession of Mrs. Richard Kim (Sensei Kim’s wife) and were seen by several of her followers as recent as Winter 2005. The scrolls are as follows, from left to right: This photo of these scrolls was taken by George Dong for an article written in June 1969’s Black Belt Magazine. It was taken in the apartment of Mr. Robert Leong. They were translated by Mr. Naito, a senior citizen in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo, and his assistant. These scrolls are signed by Yoshida Kotaro. There is no date on them in this picture. Apparently the date is inside the scrolls. In the Black Belt article, Sensei Kim says that Yoshida sensei was the greatest Martial Arts master that Japan has produced since the Meiji Restoration 1868. Only those in the Bu Toku Kai and those who lived in Japan knew him, said Sensei Kim. It was Yoshida Sensei who ordered Sensei Kim to go and study with all the greats in the Tokyo area, including Ueshiba Moreihei. Sensei Kim personally told me that he trained everyday from 6:00 a.m. until about 9:00 a.m. with Ueshiba, in his home in Tokyo, for close to one year. According to Mas Oyama, Yoshida Sensei’s skill in Aiki, Sword fighting, judo and knife and shuriken throwing were unequalled. He never gave up the traditional dress and always wore kimono and carried an iron fan (tessen). In fact, it is reported in Frederick Lovret’s, “Budo Jiten”, that he actually killed a bear with his iron fan. This is also indicated in the notes of Sensei Kim’s ‘Six Lectures of Yoshida Sensei’. | BACK TO TOP | Mas Oyama was given a teacher’s license (Mokuroku certificate) from Yoshida Kotaro . Although we have never seen the certificate that Yoshida gave Sensei Kim (as he never had a formal dojo) but we would assume that it was similar to the one Oyama received from him. In the article June 1969 Black Belt it does say that Sensei Kim did receive a certificate from Yoshida Kotaro. Kotaro also gave Sensei Kim an iron fan, which was one of his most valuable possessions from Yoshida Sensei who, according to Sensei Kim, had won 111 actual matches by using the fan. |