Editing Shintaido (section)

==Origins==

===Budō for the modern age===
Hiroyuki Aoki's spiritual and artistic aspirations were not satisfied by karate as it existed in the 1960s. Striving for beauty and peace, he was searching for ‘both soft and expansive movement, spreading out to the ends of the earth – and power which could be used comfortably without turning against nature or the body.’<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last = Hokari |first = Shiko |title = Origins; A History of Shintaido |year = 1989 |publisher =Shintaido of America |pages = 14 }}</ref>

While studying karate under [[Shigeru Egami]], he created his own research group which, as well as including karate practitioners, included others who had abandoned it as being too severe and unsparing, and also people with physical limitations.  Then in 1964 he reached his goal of discovering a way of moving the body in a more natural, beautiful and effective manner. Yet he believed it might have taken a beginner 20 years of study to achieve this kind of movement. If it were to spearhead the new culture that he aspired for, Aoki realised that he needed system that could be learned relatively easily. He wanted to create an entire martial art that would convince the public at large – but one capable of revitalising both the body and the spirit, giving energy, refreshment and the hope of living a more colourful life, of restoring the soul day by day.<ref name="auto"/>

Aoki has said that he wanted to bring martial arts to the same level of attainment as the works of great Western artists such as [[Beethoven]], [[Van Gogh]] or [[Dostoyevsky]], or the American writers he admired, notably [[Henry Miller]], [[Jackson Pollock]] or [[Walt Whitman]].

===Rakutenkai (楽天会)===
To this end, on 23 September 1965, he collected an informal group around him which he called ‘Rakutenkai’, which had as its aim to ''pursue truth in daily life, acquire perfect liberty, live within the light of liberty, and become the light of the world''.
The only requirement was that members should practise with the group at least twice a year; among its members were active high-ranking martial artists, others who had given up their practice, women, children, old people and people with physical disabilities. Aoki wanted even the least strong people to be able to enjoy the fruits of his study even though the traditional processes of the martial arts tended to be selective and exclusive. From his own experience and careful study of the texts, Aoki believed that anyone, if properly supported, could reveal him- or herself as a ‘living treasure’. So he set the group five rules:
# Stick to your own morality
# Never forget your original self
# Never judge others
# Love your neighbour as yourself
# -
(the last was left blank, to be filled in by each person according to their own beliefs).<ref>{{cite book |last = Hokari |first = Shiko |title = Origins; A History of Shintaido |year = 1989 |publisher =Shintaido of America |pages = 17 }}</ref>

From this group he chose a team of around 30 instructors to conduct deep research into technique. From their experimental practice, Hiroyuki Aoki selected certain movements and techniques, and introduced them into his new system. Three fundamental kata emerged during this period: Tenshingoso (which Aoki had created by April 1966), Eiko (which the Rakutenkai discovered during a late-night practice on 1 December 1966; and Hikari (see below). In 1970 he set up his own school, Sogobudo (holistic martial art) Renmei, to revive traditional [[Budō]] by developing and teaching Shintaido.
After Rakutenkai had been disbanded a number of Aoki's leading practitioners and teachers, who had helped him create Shintaido, left the group.  Among these were Master Egamis son Masatake Egami, Kato Tomorori, Hokari Shikoh and his brother, Ito Juguro, Toshima Shigeiko and Chieko Kato. With this passing much of the creative energy left the Shintaido organisation and practice.