Questions on the Oversea Deployment of ‘Martial Arts’

Inaga considers the post-war spread of aikidō in Europe and the United States, tracing its introduction by Japanese masters before the death of founder Ueshiba Morihei in 1969. Unlike other martial arts, aikidō resists competitive sport, emphasising creative movement and the effacement of opposition rather than victory. Its global diffusion raises questions of transformation and possible ‘deformation’ through contact with Western culture. Engaging ideas of self, nothingness, and freedom, the chapter probes whether aikidō &s;s international expansion has altered its philosophical underpinnings, and asks if the practice still sustains its quest for ‘emptiness-as-fullness’ across cultural boundaries.