Sokaku Takeda
Japanese master from the Aizu domain, founder of Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu and teacher of Morihei Ueshiba, Choi Yong-sool, and Ryuho Okuyama.
Quick Facts
JapanBiography
Sokaku Takeda was a Japanese martial arts master and founder of the Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu school. He was born on 10 October 1859 in the Aizu domain, in what is now Fukushima Prefecture, and died on 25 April 1943.
His father, Takeda Sokichi, was a samurai-farmer and local martial arts teacher, from whom he received his first training. His mother, Tomi Kurokochi, was the daughter of the spear and sword master Dengoro Kurokochi. He was exposed to the teachings of the Hozoin-ryu and Ono-ha Itto-ryu schools. Tradition also holds that he was a student of Kenkichi Sakakibara, though contemporary records do not confirm this.
After the abolition of the samurai class and the ban on carrying swords, he focused on unarmed techniques. He first called his art Daito-ryu jujutsu, later Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu. He traveled around Japan and held seminars for army officers, police officers, and martial arts enthusiasts, keeping detailed records of participants' attendance and fees.
His students included Morihei Ueshiba, Takuma Hisa, Masao Tonedate, Yukiyoshi Sagawa, Kodo Horikawa, Hosaku Matsuda, Tomekichi Yamamoto, and Ryuho Okuyama. He adopted the Korean student Choi Yong-sool, who later founded hapkido. His son Tokimune Takeda took over the Daitokan school in Hokkaido after him.