Culturele Aikido Bond Nederland

After his dismissal from prison on bail Onisaburo Deguchi still was accused for Lése-Majesté and violation of the Press Law. He stood under surveillance of the police. But after 3 years and nearly 8 month the attention of the police must have been faded away. So Onisaburo Deguchi himself was able to fade away at the 13^th of February 1924. Before he started he produced a big farewell speech to the assembled believers of Omoto at Ayabe in which he explained to the surprised assembly his mission to Manchuria and Mongolia, given by Gods commission and for the beneficent development of the Japanese nation. In his mind he sees himself as a kind of “Messias”, who would gather all the different religions under one Omoto umbrellaTogether with the attended persons Masazumi Matsumura (a bachelor of law), Morihei Ueshiba (O Sensei) and Otokichi Nada (hairdresser), Onisaburo Deguchi set off toward west, crossing the sea with the Shimonoseki-Pusan ferry and than taking the railway to Shenyang. He and his companions were joined up there with Takateru Kitamura, Toshiaki Hagiwara and some other now unknown people at the 15^th of February 1924. Also Japaneses, who were living at Shenyang, as Tesshu Okazaki, Ryo Oishi and Yaichi Sasaki, appeared on the scene. Okazaki and another follower of Omoto, a businessman Yutaro Yano, a former Captain of the Navy, who had been chiefly sailing with weapons, tied up connection before with the dictator of the three Chinese north-east-provincies, Zhang Zuolin and his Lieutenant-General Lu Zhankui. The rank Lieutenant-General is in deed euphemistic, bandit is the better characterisation The group left Shenyang at the 3^rd of March 1924 to meet again at Tao´an Some were traveling by train, Onisaburo Deguchi and Tesshu Ozaki took one car and O Sensei and an interpreter another one. During travelling they intended to cross the apparently frozen Liao River. By fortune the car, where O Sensei was sitting in, slid down the hill to the banks. There O Sensei saw, that the river was not completely frozen. Even the water could somewhere be seen. If they had tried to cross the river over the ice, they would have been broken in. The whole trip by car was attended by permanent breakdowns of the cars, so that a foot march would have been lasted shorter.At Tao´an the group around Onisaburo Deguchi arrived at the 26^th of March and spent one month to prepare the further journey and to recruit troops under the banner of Lu Zhankui and Onisaburo Deguchi. On the 26^thof April Onisaburo Deguchi and his attendance left Tao´an, accompanied by a guarding troop of 200 men Lu Zhankui sent him. At a strategic place, named Horqin Youyi Qianqi a provisional headquarter was established. There Onisaburo Deguchi proclaimed:

• -himself as Supreme General of the “Inner and Outer Mongolia Relief Armies”with the title “Dalai Lama Suzu Khan”
• Masazumi Matsumura as General with the title “Panchen Lama Wang Wenzhen”
• Lu Zhankui as General with the title “Commander in chief”

This behaviour reminds a little on playing boys “Robber and Gendarme”or playing “Wild West”, adopting famous Indian names like Winnetou and Old Shatterhand. Onisaburo Deguchi seemed to be in a good mood. This indicates his permanent production of so called “Wang Poems”, a Japaneses style of poems, mostly written in four lines. For example a verse, produced during horse riding and being a little late pubertic:Under the shining nearly-full moonI urinate on the plains of MongoliaDrawing a circle on the ground

Brief outlines of Chinas situation between 1912 and 1937All this shows, that Onisaburo Deguchi had not realised his situation in this nest of vipers. In February 1912 the Chinese Emperor was forced to retire. But the following parliamentary system lasted only 2 years, because the brains of the Chinese were still adjusted to the ideas of Kungfutse. The democratic parliamentary system, introduced by Sun Yatsen, was not accepted. Many provinces of China fell off from the so called central government and formed autonomous districts with different War Lords as leaders, who fought against another. One of the most powerful War Lords was in northeast of China Zhang Zhuolin, who played his part until 1928 . Then by conspiracy of the Japanese Kwantung Army he was assassinated by blowing off his train he was sitting in. Even an attempt of reintroducing an Emperor was tried 1915. But this happened immediately after an insurrection. On the 4^th of May 1919 students protested against the assignment of the rights, the Germans had before, entitled to Japan due to the Treaty of Versailles, with which the Germans were engaged with after the loss of the 1^stworld war. But it was also a rebellion against the old pigtails of the lifestyle due to Kungfutse. The young intellectuals proclaimed that this old fashioned lifestyle let China fall behind. 1921 the Communistic Party of China was founded. And in the first years this party cooperated with the Kuomintang, whose General Chiang-Kai-Shek started to get the upperhand over all the different War LordsIn July 1924 Outer Mongolia declared a republic with the help of Soviet troops residing in the capital Ulan Bator. It was during Onisaburo Deguchi’s Mongolian disaster. At this time and some months before the Soviet troops had invaded Outer Mongolia. In spite of this fact Onisaburo Deguchi proposed at the first strategic conferences with Lu Zhankui to march with the “Inner and Outer Mongolia Relief Armies” directly to Ulan Bator. And this as this army was not at all in “statu nascendi”. One can only be of the opinion that Onisaburo Deguchi was captured by megalomania.

Zhang Zhuolin was at this time, when Onisaburo in 1924 arrived in Manchuria, the War Lord of the three North-East-Provincies of China. Lu Zhankui, with whom Onisaburo Deguchi cooperated, was his subordinated Lieutenant General. At the first time Zhang Zhuolin was certainly not against the cooperation of Lu Zhankui and Onisaburo Deguchi, but as Onisaburo Deguchi began recruiting soldiers and establish an army with a new flag, of course designed by him, and create this pompous title “Inner and Outer Mongolia Relief Armies”, he felt offended and sent his troops against this developing concurrence of his subordinate General.At the 3^rd of March 1932 a new formed state with the name Manchukuo was proclaimed , which was formed under the presence of the Japanese Kwantung Army. The year before this Army overstepped the northern border of Korea, unleashed a war with China under the government of Chiang-Kai-Shek, and conquered the area in which this story played.The march into ruinHorqin Youyi Qianqi was the right place for Onisaburo Deguchi. At this place is an old famous buddhistic monastery. During his operation and stay at Horqin Youyi Qianqi, Onisaburu Deguchi was busy to perform miracles as healing eye diseases, skin diseases, stomach diseases, syphilis, toothache and brain diseases. In one case he brought a man, lying down for dying, to jump up and laughing only by laying his hand on his forehead and roaring : “devil, depart!”O Sensei meanwhile was showing and teaching the amazed population Jiu-Jitsu. He, a man of 1,53 m height, was able to throw Mongolians with bodies like sumo wrestlers.On the 3^rd of June the “Inner and Outer Mongolia Relief Armies”left Horqin Youyi Qianqi and began marching towards the Great Hingan Mountains, at which Mongolia begins. The objective point was (Onisaburo Deguchi was always thinking in large scales) the capital Ulan Bator of the new republic Mongolia, which was at this time creating with the help of the Soviet Union (proclamation in July 1924). The advance soon was stopped in the area of Arxan because it became evidence that the Red Army of the Soviet Union was stationed 70 km away in the mountains. It became clear to the leading persons, that the forces of the “Outer Mongolia Relief Armies” are too weak for proceeding on. Therefore it was decided to go back to a safer region in Inner Mongolia for a winter camp and starting negotiations with the Soviet troops.In May 1924 troops of Zhang Zhuolin began to attack the “Inner and Outer Mongolia Army”. This displacement was ordered by Zhang Zhuolin, because the fighting efficiency of the troops around Onisaburo Deguchi was low. Permanently during marching they had been attacked by “unidentified nomads”, as they thought. Lu Zhankuis right hand general Mandahan was killed in battle on 16^th of June. The soldiers morale sunk and so Lu Zhankui forced Onisaburo Deguchi to perform a miracle in front of the troops: He has to show the soldiers his supernatural forces by a conjuring trick: He prayed for rain. At Horqin Youyi Qianqi Onisaburo Deguchi succeeded by accident. Although it was clear weather, a short stormy downpour happened. But this time being on march no drop of rain fell. The march to Tongliao has to be continued without moral support. Arriving at night at Tongliao on 21^stof June 1924 the Japanese took up quarters at an inn called Houbinguan where they fell asleep soon. Meanwhile Lu Zhankui and all his men were slaughtered Afterwards the Japanese around Onisaburo Deguchi were waked up harshly and tied in their underwear. Since some of them had shit into their trousers, all of the Japanese, tied together in a chain, had to pass the toilet one after another. It was decided to shoot them on the spot and so the Japanese were led to the execution place. The execution should be performed with a machine gun. But the gun had a jam. This short difference in time to remove the jam was enough to save the lives of delinquents.The execution was cancelled. A Japanese, who was no follower of Omoto Kyu, had informed the Japanese Consulate at Shuangliao, which immediately contacted Zhang Zhuolin. He stopped the execution (in the last moment), because he feared troubles with Japan because they didn’t

want international disputes, which could follow the execution. The rescuing messenger came late but still in right time.

The extradition of the Japanese group around Onisaburo Deguchi to the Japanese Consulate at Shuangliao lasted from the 21st to 31th of June 1924, although to valid agreements this should have been done within 24 hours. In this time the Japanese were shackled in twos in firm leg irons and handcuffs and all six together with a hemp rope tied to some timber outside through the window. But this treatment to condemned prisoner was relieved due to interventions by the Manchurian Railway Office and the Japanese Residents Society. The prisoners underwent investigations at the court and of the governor of Tongliao and later as they were handed over, on the 5^th of July 1924, to Japanese authorities at various other places. Finally they were escorted back to Japan, where they arrived at Shimonoseki on the 25^th of July. There a big crowd of curios people was waiting for them, because the Japanese press had blown up the adventures of Onisaburo Deguchi meanwhile. The end station of course was the detention house at Osaka, where they arrived at the 27^th of July. O Sensei and the other prisoners were dismissed after some days of interrogation, but Onisaburo Deguchi only on bail after 98 days (1^st of November 1924).Open questionsWhen the adventure started in February 1924 Morihei Ueshiba was at an age of 40 years. Over this he was married and had children to care on. So nobody might assume youthful carelessness. It is the combined meaning of all authors about this Mongolian adventure that his participation must be explained by his duty as a body guard to his religious master Onisaburo.The following story may make this behaviour clear. In the fiftieth year of the 20^thcentury a baptist priest from USA attracted in the whole world fanaticized Christians in big halls with a capacity of many thousand persons, so as well in Germany. His name: Billy Graham (not identical with the inventor of the equal named bread). The mother of a man, who was an atheist, was a fanatic Christian and went to Grahams arousing sermons. At the end of his event Graham has thought out an effective proof of his mission: Everybody who wants to follow Jesus should come to him to the podium. The fanatic mass rushed to the front, where Graham was standing safe on the stage. A dangerous crowding and impact pressure was developing where one came into danger to be crushed or trampled to death. So this man, although being an atheist, went to this religious show and rushed at the end of the performance together with his mother to the front stage endeavouring to protect her.One easily may see that a man can act against his common sense.Literature

1. Kyotaro Deguchi: “The Great Onisaburo Deguchi”,Aiki News, Matsugaeaccho 14-17-103, Sagimahara –shi, Kanagawa-ken Japan 228, 1998, ISBN 4-900586-54-4
2. Kisshomaru Ueshiba: “A Live in Aikido”, Kodansha International, Toky, New York, London, 2008, ISBN 978-4-7700-2617-0
3. John Stevens: Unendlicher Friede, Die Biographie des Aikido-Gründers Morihei Ueshiba” Werner Kristkeitz Verlag, 1992, ISBN 3-921508-49-5, Original: „Abundant Peace, the Biography of Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido”, Shambhala Pubications, Inc., Boston and London 1987.
4. ADAC Weltatlas 1997, ISBN3-87003-807-1

6. O-Sensei Quote:

Altai