Sadateru Arikawa was a Japanese aikido teacher and Aikikai Hombu Dojo shihan.
Born in Tokyo in 1930, Arikawa practiced karate as a youth. He began training in aikido at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in 1948 and was promoted to 9th dan in 1994.
Arikawa was for many years the editor of the Aikikai’s newspaper, and taught outside of Hombu at branch dojos including those of the Asahi Shimbun, Hosei University, and at several other universities.
Arikawa Sensei was talkative, tireless, severe yet cheerful, fearsome on the mat, and fiercely loyal to the Ueshiba family.
He was one of the few remaining giants of the postwar generation of instructors that played a predominant role in the dissemination of the art worldwide.
Stanley Pranin said about him :
” I had the pleasure of knowing and associating with this enigmatic figure over a 33-year period. During that time he taught me a great deal about Japanese martial arts history, research methodology, etiquette, and the ins and outs of the aikido subculture. There was no one more knowledgeable than he on all things aikido-related. He was a walking dictionary and a martial arts’ historian par excellence.”
Source: Aikido/Facebook
