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Minoru Hirai (平井 稔 March 1903 - 16 October 1998)[1] was a Japanese martial artist and creator of the korindo style of aikido.[2]
As a youth, he studied many different martial arts including Togin-ryu, Okumura Nito-ryu, Takenouchi-ryu, Kito-ryu and Saburi-ryu. By 1938, he became a master in iaido and jujutsu and established his own dojo, the Kogado dojo in Okayama.
In 1938, he met Morihei Ueshiba at Okayama, who told him about the technique of "aikibudo" he created and invited him to his dojo in Tokyo. Hirai found similarities in Ueshiba's art based on circular motions with his own style of jujutsu he was developing and decided to enter Ueshiba's Kobukan dojo.
During World War II, Hirai was the head of the jujutsu department of the Japanese Army's military police school and was instrumental in developing a new arrest technique employed by the military police.
In 1942, he was appointed director of the General Affairs for the Kobukan Dojo by Ueshiba, helping him with daily matters at the dojo. The same year he was sent as the Kobukan representative to the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, an organization promoting martial arts in Japan, and was instrumental in creating the term "aikido" to refer to Ueshiba's art within the Butokukai's circle.
In July 1945, the Butokukai awarded him the rank of Hanshi.[1]
He died in 1998.[1]
- ^ a b c HIRAI, MINORU 平井稔 Archived 2006-05-07 at the Wayback Machine Aikido Journal
- ^ "History of Aikido" (PDF).