Norito: Resonance - Itsuo Tsuda School

Morihei Ueshiba O-sensei used to recite the norito, a Shinto invocation, during his practice. Itsuo Tsuda recited it daily during the last few years and the tradition is still kept within the Itsuo Tsuda School.

‘The norito does not belong to the world of religion world but certainly to that of the sacred in the Animist sense. The vibrations and resonance flowing from the pronunciation of this text brings to each practice a feeling of calmness, fullness and sometimes something that goes beyond and remains inexpressible. The norito is a Misogi¹. In its essence, it is never perfect, it always changes and evolves. It is the reflection of a moment in our being.’ (Régis Soavi)

This norito is very popular in Japan, it is called Misogi no harae. The Norito version of Master Tsuda is in some way a short version. Itsuo Tsuda received this Norito from the hands of Nakanishi sensei, met during a trip to Japan. She also passed on the position of the hands, which, without being stiff, reflects high accuracy. It is a KI knot; all the fingers must touch each other and the position of the elbows has its own importance too. Nakanishi sensei was the Kotodama teacher of Morihei Ueshiba.’ (from an interview with Régis Soavi)

Itsuo Tsuda himself wrote: ‘At one point in his life, Mr Ueshiba felt stuck in the pursuit of the Way and faced a dead end. He was very strong physically, but he felt that something was missing. He was extremely strong physically, but he felt he was lacking something. It was then that he got to know the Nakanishis. He was fifty-six or seven years old, and Mrs Nakanishi, twenty-something years old.’²

In his book The Way of the Gods, Itsuo Tsuda attempts to clarify Shinto and Kotodama, some difficult subjects to access. We will publish some extracts as part of the listening of the Norito recitation by Itsuo Tsuda.

‘It is very difficult to define that which is called “Shintoism” – translated word for word: the way of the gods. It is a name adopted due to the necessity of comparison with other forms of “belief” that have been introduced to Japan over the centuries.’³

‘If I have to say what Shinto is, in a word, I will quote a French proverb:

“Eau qui court ne porte point d’ordure – flowing water carries no filth”. (fifteenth century).

What matters is not dogma, but an immediate feeling of serenity.

Is it possible to constantly maintain the feeling of serenity, under any circumstance? If you can do it, I have nothing more to say. I tend to agree that most of the time we experience a precarious serenity, under certain specific conditions. We try to keep hold of this serenity by tensing up. It is a maintaining of appearances. Not to admit that we have weaknesses and flaws is blindness.

This proverb is almost unknown today.’⁴

Kotodama (vibration)

‘The whole Universe is conceived as filled with sensations of vibrations.

These vibrations already exist before they become noticeable.

So, Master Ueshiba often spoke of kotodama of the vowel “u”, for example, which is a vibration that springs from the belly. He explained the functions of all the vocalism, which were basically very simple but it was very difficult for me to understand them because these are things to which I was not accustomed.’⁵

‘According to Mrs Nakanishi, the defining quality of budo, martial arts, lies in the inclination to respond to different resonances. This is where martial arts unite with kototama. This is also where they differ from sports.

Indeed, the martial arts were born in times when one was exposed to fate at every moment, without warning. It was not about showing off physical technique in front of spectators who admire you, as in a circus. You had to foresee the approach of danger before any data of perception could confirm it. The moment of confirmation is already too late because it does not determine scores, but life or death.’⁶

‘Aikido, conceived as a sacred movement by Mr Ueshiba, is disappearing to make way for athletic Aikido, a combat sport, more in accordance with the demands of civilised people.

“True budo must be like a kind of mai,” says Mrs Nakanishi,” the others are circling around you, but the master does not move.”

In Shinto, there is no opposition between God and man, as there is in Christianity. It is about finding God in yourself.

This is called chinkon kishin, calming the soul and returning to God. In fact, one can neither calm nor agitate the soul. We purify the ki that attaches to us to keep us alive, but at the same time exposes us to constant agitation.

[…]

“Miracles – you don’t need them,” she said, “the hard part is being natural, being normal.”

The beautiful sea reflects the moon in its round shape. The rough sea gives only burst reflections.’ ⁷

‘Mrs Nakanishi’s teaching revealed to me a new dimension of the universe. The Shinto universe does not correspond in any way to the geocentric conception that existed before Copernicus, nor to the heliocentric conception consolidated by Newton.

The universe she talks about is not located anywhere. It creates itself from the original Void, when and where it is needed, and disappears as soon as the matter is finished.

From the Void, Nothingness is created and Nothingness creates Existence. And Existence ends in Nothingness which returns to the Void.

Therefore, there is no creation that takes place at the beginning of the world, once and for all. Every moment can be the moment of creation. Anyone who tries can create the Universe, wherever he or she is.

So we don’t have to argue with Gagarin to deny or affirm the existence of God in space.

Shinto is too fluid to freeze, to become ossified. Each day is the first day of creation. Each day is perhaps the last day of returning to the Void.’⁸

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Notes

1
Misogi, translated as “purification”
2
Itsuo Tsuda, The Way of the Gods, Chap. XVI, 2021, Yume Editions, p. 125 (1^st ed. in French, 1982, Le Courrier du Livre (Paris))
3
ibid., Chap. XIII, p. 99
4
ibid., Chap. XVIII, p. 141
5
ibid., Chap. XIII, p. 101
6
ibid., Chap. XVIII, p. 142
7
ibid., Chap. XVII, p. 133
8
ibid., Chap. XVIII, p. 144

Kotodama (vibration)

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Notes