Sonic Japan: Sounds of Iwama

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Walking on the path to the Aiki shrine
Walking 'silently' to the shrine to sweep the gravel - no speaking, just the sound of footsteps before dawn (2013/09/29)
Sweeping gravel at Aiki shrine, Iwama
The sound of the tines of a bamboo broom sweeping thin horizontal lines in the gravel outside the Aiki Shrine, Iwama, 5:30am (2013/09/29)
Iwama dojo training
Iwama style training involves a noisy 'kiai' or vocalisation that accompanies the movements. (2013/09/28)

Latest posts

Sweeping Silence

Fri Apr 01 2016 by Tamara Kohn

Four of us awoke at 5:30am, before dawn, and silently carried brooms from the dojo grounds down the drive and over the road to the Aiki Shrine. Sweeping the large 'dry' gravel garden in front of the shrine or the leaves under the trees is part of any live-in student's...>>

岩間の合氣神社で掻く音 Raking the Aiki Shrine in Iwama

Fri May 23 2014 by Tamara Kohn
The live-in students at Iwama dojo wake at 5am every morning in the dark and very quietly get dressed, grab narrow-pronged bamboo rakes known as kumade (pictured above) and walk in silence from the dojo on the gravel driveway to the small road and the Shrine area on the other side. You hear the sound of our footsteps in the first recording - loud crunching noises that pierce the quiet pre-dawn.>>

岩間道場での合気道稽古 Iwama Dojo Aikido Training

Tue Apr 15 2014 by Tamara Kohn
In this recording you hear the sound of aikido training in the Ibaraki Dojo in Iwama, a small farming town 100km north-east of Tokyo. This dojo (place of practice) in Iwama has been a very important site in aikido's short history, as it was built by the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, and he lived there from 1942 until his death in 1969.>>