The Ichikukai Dojo is a place for training in Misogi-no-kokyu-ho (a Shinto

Shinto

or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 purification through breathing practice) and Zen meditation. The Misogi practiced at the Ichikukai traces its roots to Inoue Masagane.

The dojo

Dojo

A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...

 was originally founded in 1922 by members of the Tokyo University Rowing Team along with Ogura Tetsuju, the last disciple of famous swordsman and calligrapher Yamaoka Tesshu

Yamaoka Tesshu

also known as Ono Tetsutarō, or Yamaoka Tetsutarō, was a famous samurai of the Bakumatsu period, who played an important role in the Meiji Restoration...

. The Ichikukai is perhaps best known for its severity and for the many martial artists (esp. aikido

Aikido

is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...

) who have trained there http://www.aikidojournal.com/article?articleID=269. The purpose of training at the Ichikukai is best explained by the following, an excerpt from a treatise written by the founding members of the dojo in 1922 (taken from the Ichikukai Web site http://members2.jcom.home.ne.jp/ichikukai/eayumi.htm):

"Toward the Building of a New Dojo



Our practice of misogi shugyo is the desperate, ravenous, fierce and relentless seeking of truth and purity. In order to bring forth and strengthen that core most essential to humanity, we break our bones in training. This training is a way to devote body and soul to that quest.



Today’s world is a mess of mixed-up ideas, and young people feel lost. While misogi shugyo does not necessarily solve the problem completely, we believe it does offer a way out of the confusion. Materialistic and emotional concerns have become convoluted and strange, leaving a world populated by masks and empty husks. Many people still huddle behind those masks; alone, afraid, and without hope.



Misogi shugyo is about exploding this dualistic life, and distilling from it the true, genuine and natural state. There is nothing for us now but to strip ourselves naked to the bone, jump in boldly with both feet, and see with our bare eyes what lies at the ground of our being."

Training at the Ichikukai continues to this day.