 Masuda Seijuro was born in 1936 and he joined Hombu Dojo in 1962. He retired a few years ago after undergoing several serious surgical operations on his back. Of short stature, he possessed however an an outstanding power and was a bodybuilding athlete before starting Aikido. It was Masuda Sensei who, apparently, taught bodybuilding principles to the famous writer Mishima Yukio.
His Tuesday evening classes were very well attended and usually followed by a diner at the legendary Yamakura eating place, a notorious tonkatsuya close to Hombu Dojo. Always cheerfull, he liked to wisper in his uke’s ears while executing very effective Aikido techniques. One would soon forget the playful attitude to concentrate on the usually painful projection or pining that was soon to come. |