Sensei

President & Head Instructor Introduction

Master Imamura began practicing Aikido in the spring of 1965 at the Headquarters Dojo and the directly affiliated Shimbashi Dojo. The following year, he established the Aikido Club at Saitama University, where he served as the first club president, diligently training in the spirit and techniques of Aikido and mentoring junior members. Later, he founded the Aikido Club of the Byakkō Shinkōkai. In 1992, he began instructing and supporting the development of Aikido organizations in the Siberian region of Russia. In July 1993, he established the former Hokkaido International Aikido Association, which was renamed in 2013 to the Aikido International Peace and Cultural Exchange Club. Since its founding, Master Imamura has served as the president and continues in that role to this day.

His activities extend not only throughout Hokkaido but also across Japan and internationally, fostering mutual exchange, cooperation, and instruction with Aikido organizations and dojos around the world connected to Hokkaido. Through these efforts, he aims to promote the sound development of Aikido and contribute to global peace, culture, and friendship.

Currently in Hokkaido, he provides instruction at seven dojos and organizations, including A&P Aikido Peace Dojo, Central Hokkaido Aikido Association, Shirataki Jiyū no Mori Dojo, Takikawa Aikikai, and Samani Aikikai. Domestically, he conducts seminars several times a year in regions such as Shikoku, Tokai, and Kanto. Internationally, he has responded to invitations from various parts of Russia (Moscow, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Blagoveshchensk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Barnaul in Siberia), and Europe (Austria, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, etc.), and has been engaged in Aikido instruction and promotion abroad approximately four times a year. Additionally, in April 2012, he conducted a seminar in Missoula, Montana, USA.

Since 2000, separate from instruction in Aikido dojos, he has launched Aiki Health classes for women and Aikido programs for children and the general public at culture centers. He also regularly introduces and teaches Aikido through special programs by the Ministry of Education, as well as conducting Aikido courses for international trainees at JAICA and HIECC. His vision for Aikido goes beyond martial arts — aiming for the development of a broad discipline that integrates mind and body for health, supports children's growth and education, and contributes to society holistically.

(Aikikai Foundation - 7th Dan)

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What do you seek in Aikido?

■Aikido is fundamentally There is no match in combatant form. Therefore Aikido do not decides who is winner or loser. Once the form of match to decide winner or loser in combatant form is applied, it is no longer called Aikido. When I was much younger I was tempted to compete to determine who is stronger. However, I realized match in combatant form should not be taken place under any circumstance in Aikido because Aikido is art of harmony, not hostility. That may be the exact reason why Aikido attracts people in different way compared to other forms of martial art.

What is Aiki? Chinese character for Aikido is 合気道, which can be translated into "the way of Aiki" in Japanese. "Ai" means putting things together and "Ki" means spirit, so the meaning of Aikido is "the way of putting spirits together". But who put spirit together with whom? That is the question I always ask myself. The sound of "Ai" can also mean love, once the founder said. So Aiki can also mean "loving spirit", hence Aikido can also mean "the way of loving spirit"..

Individual purification, global purification The founder of Aikido once said that Aikido is an art of individual purification, and the global purification at the same time. It is, somehow, the relationship of cause and effect. By practicing Aikido, one may purify his/her body and soul. It is my strong belief that practicing the art of Aikido can be the first step towards creation of world harmony; honing one's skill with colleagues may lead to individual purification, and eventually lead to purification of the world as the world is collective form of individuals essentially. One may be creating a path for the world peace without knowing it this way. Aikido can breakthrough the boundaries of countries. It is beyond boundaries, ethnicities and cultural differences. Our founder had been striving towards his ideal, namely world peace, by getting rid of walls that divide people in the world to promote unity among us through practicing and spreading Aikido. I suppose we, as practitioners of Aikido, are expected to go the same way as our founder did to pursue the mission of Aikido by our founder. It is my dearest hope to make some contribution for the creation of the world peace through teaching and practicing Aikido hand in hand with Aikido practitioners with same goals of around the world. May Peace Prevail on Earth