Aikido originated in the Daito Aiki-jujutsu school. Daito Aiki-jujutsu was founded by Saburo-Yoshimitsu Shinra, who was younger brother of the Shogun Yoshiie Minamoto, some 800 years ago. After that Aikido was handed down by the Takeda family of Kai-genji as a secret martial art. Because It was never allowed to be taken out of the family, Aikido was not made known to the general public until the Meiji era by Soukaku Takeda, a master of martial arts. This was in the late 1800s.
Today's Aikido was established by Takeda's
outstanding pupil, Great Master Morihei Ueshiba. He combined and
developed the essence of techniques from various schools of Japanese
martial arts. Great Master Morihei Ueshiba widely promoted the spread
of Aikido after World War II. Today Aikido as Budo, its spirit and
techniques, can be applied in our society.